AIA Philadelphia held its annual Design Awards Celebration on Thursday, November 21st, at the 2300 Arena in South Philadelphia. Rebecca Johnson, Executive Director of AIA Philadelphia, announced the evening’s award recipients, including two BCJ projects: Greenhill School, Rosa O. Valdes STEM + Innovation Center, and the University of Florida, Malachowsky Hall for Data Science & Information Technology.

The Valdes STEM + Innovation Center was recognized with the chapter’s highest honor, a Gold Medal, and a Sustainability Design Award. The project is a new home for upper and middle school math, science, and innovation at an independent K12 school outside Dallas. The design distills familiar campus elements – including brick, wood, natural light, and indoor-outdoor connections – to create a contextual building that feels deeply rooted to its place. Designed to provide tactile opportunities for students to learn about sustainable design, the Valdes STEM + Innovation Center incorporates an exposed mass timber structure, daylight autonomy, rainwater harvesting, bird-safe glazing, and more. Allison Smith, AIA, Sustainable Design Leader at HKS and a jury member, shared, “The material palette, consisting of warm woods and glass, creates an inviting atmosphere while also reflecting the forward thinking and innovative spirit of the center. The materials are both tactile and functional, supporting the center’s educational mission.”

Project team includes OJB Landscape Architecture, Walter P. Moore, and DBR Engineering Consultants, with photography by Nic Lehoux.

University of Florida, Malachowsky Hall received an Honor Award and was celebrated for its unique facade, sustainable strategies, and resolution of a complex building program. “Referencing patterns of nature and data, the facade creates a surprising and engaging pattern that begins to unfold into the sustainable and well-being-minded building. The jury appreciated how the interwoven labs and academic villages could spark innovation and creativity,” shared Audrey Maxwell, AIA, Principal at Malone Maxwell Dennehy Architects and jury member. Initially a campus parking lot, the new Malachowsky Hall, currently targeting LEED Platinum, co-locates departments from the Colleges of Medicine, Pharmacy, and Engineering into a single facility focused on the advancement of data analytics through interdisciplinary science. The building is organized around a vertical commons that draws occupants up and through the seven-story building, incorporating a multilevel forum to foster engagement and interaction. The building features a textured, origami-like facade, forming a play of light and shadow that aids in subduing its considerable scale.

Project team includes Walker Architects, Ajax Building Company, Walter P. Moore, and Affiliated Engineers, Inc., with photography by Nic Lehoux.