Awards to be given on September 18th at Designight 2025, AIA Chicago‘s signature award program, at the Harris Theater for Music and Dance in Millennium Park
AIA Chicago, the second largest local chapter of The American Institute of Architects and the collective voice of over 4,000 licensed architects, emerging professionals, architecture students, and allied professionals, today announced the finalists for the 2025 Design Excellence Awards, Unbuilt Award, Decarbonization Award and Roberta Feldman Architect for Social Justice Award. All project finalists will receive either an Honor Award or a Citation of Merit. Award recipients in each category will be announced at Designight 2025, an event which honors Chicago architects’ global design achievements, to be held at the Harris Theater for Music and Dance in Millennium Park on Thursday, September 18, 2025.
“This year’s finalist projects are a testament to how visionary design can transform our cities and our world,” said AIA Chicago’s Executive Director Jen Masengarb. “The projects demonstrate that architecture creates meaningful places and spaces with clear purpose, exceptional detail, and a deep sense of community that enriches the lives of its users.”
The Design Excellence Awards (DEA) recognize projects of all scales, from Architecture Extra Small to Extra Large, and Interior Architecture Small to Large. The Unbuilt Award honors unbuilt projects that thoughtfully address social, cultural, environmental, and technological opportunities and challenges.
2025 DEA and Unbuilt Jury Chair: Francisco Javier Rodríguez-Suárez, FAIA, Director, School of Architecture, Clayton T. Miers Professor in Architecture, University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign.
Jury for Interior Architecture Small, Medium and Large: Brent Linden, AIA, Allied Works, Portland, Oregon; Nina Cooke John, AIA, NOMA, Studio Cooke John Architecture + Design, New York, New York; Cally Niess, AIA, INVISION Architecture, Des Moines, Iowa; Rebecca Rudolph, AIA, Design, Bitches, Los Angeles, California.
Jury for Architecture Extra Small, Medium: Everald Colas, AIA, NOMA, LEED AP, STORYN Studio for Architecture, St. Petersburg, Florida; Andrew Parks, Assoc. AIA, archimania, Memphis, Tennessee; Margo Peterson-Aspholm, AIA, CPHC, Prentiss Balance Wickline Architects, Winthrop, Washington; Michael Guthrie, FAIA, LEED AP, INFORM Studio, Detroit, Michigan.
Jury for Architecture Small, Large, Extra-Large and Unbuilt: Jose Alvarez, FAIA, LEED AP, EskewDumezRipple, New Orleans, Louisiana; Arthur Chang, AIA, NADAAA, Inc., Boston, Massachusetts; Damian Hines, AIA, Hines Architecture + Design, Houston, Texas; Julie Hui-Guang Kaufman, AIA, LEED AP BD+C, BIG, New York, New York; Patricia Rhee, FAIA, DBIA; Ehrlich Yanai Rhee Chaney Architects; Los Angeles, California.
DESIGN EXCELLENCE AWARDS FINALISTS BY CATEGORY
ARCHITECTURE FINALISTS
Arch XL
320 South Canal, Goettsch Partners; Riverside Investment & Development, Convexity Properties (client), Chicago, IL
COFCO Qianhai Innovation Center, Goettsch Partners; Grandjoy Holdings Group Co., Ltd. (client), Shenzhen, China
Arch L
Conrad Shenzhen, Goettsch Partners; Horoy Group (client), Shenzhen, China
Embry, Lamar Johnson Collaborative; Sulo Development (client), Chicago, IL
Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory – Building 201, CannonDesign, Johns Hopkins University (client), Laurel, MD
Verdana, Optima, Inc.; Optima, Inc. (client), Wilmette, IL
Arch M
1516 W Carroll, Converge Architecture; Tracy Boychuk (client), Chicago, IL
Bronzeville ETOD: 43 Green Phase 1 & 2, LBBA Architects and Moody Nolan; The Habitat Company and P3 Markets (clients); Chicago, IL
California College of the Arts Campus Expansion, Studio Gang: California College of the Arts (client), San Francisco, CA
Element Labs, University Research Park, Perkins&Will; University Research Park – UW Madison (client), Madison, WI
Fermilab Integrated Engineering Research Center, Perkins&Will: Fermilab (client), Batavia, IL
Western Michigan University – Student Center and Dining Facility, CannonDesign; Western Michigan University (client), Kalamazoo, MI
Arch S
147th Street / Sibley Boulevard Metra Station, GFT; Metra Commuter Rail (client), Harvey, IL
Damen Green Line Station, Perkins&Will; Chicago Department of Transportation (client), Chicago, IL
Nothing Design Co. Headquarters, Range Design & Architecture; Nothing Design Co. (client), Chicago, IL
Arch XS
Barlow Residence, von Weise Associates, Dan and Annie Barlow (clients), Chicago, IL
Boyne Gatlinburg SkyLift Lower Building, SmithGroup; Gatlinburg SkyPark, Boyne Resorts (client), Gatlinburg, TN
Dutchmoor Valley Guesthouse, SEEK Design + Architecture; John Haas and Mary Frances Budig (clients), LaPorte, IN
Heart of the City | Discovery Walk, Latent; Destination Medical Center (clients), Rochester, MN
Rice University Anderson Hall Renovation, Kwong Von Glinow; Rice University (client), Houston, TX
Sawyer Retreat, Wheeler Kearns Architects; confidential client; Sawyer, MI
INTERIOR ARCHITECTURE FINALISTS
Interior Arch L
Confidential Law Firm, Perkins&Will; confidential client; Salt Lake City, UT
Heitman, Perkins&Will; Heitman (client), Chicago, IL
The Square at International Square, Krueck Sexton Partners; Tishman Speyer (client), Washington, D.C.
Interior Arch M
Architecture and Design Gallery, Norman Kelley with Spencer McNeil; Art Institute of Chicago (client), Chicago, IL
Lookingglass Theatre Lobby, Wheeler Kearns Architects; Lookingglass Theatre Company (client), Chicago, IL
Northwestern Medicine, Faculty Office Center, CannonDesign; Northwestern Medicine (client), Chicago, IL
Interior Arch S
162 N State Street Residential Lobby Renovation, Kwong Von Glinow; School of the Art Institute of Chicago (client), Chicago, IL
Buck Mason Oakbrook, Norman Kelley with Spencer McNeil; Buck Mason (client), Oakbrook, IL
Change in Plot, ParkFowler Plus with Students from IIT College of Architecture (Jen Park, AIA, Exhibit Curator); IIT College of Architecture (client), Chicago, IL
UNBUILT FINALISTS
National University Hospital Singapore, Gensler; confidential client, Singapore
Silo Hotel, Epstein; confidential client, Chicago, IL
AIA Chicago’s Decarbonization Award recognizes projects that have gone above and beyond base level energy reduction goals and showcases those project vanguards that exemplify the profession’s abilities to pursue the goals of the 2030 commitment while also upholding the functional and aesthetic goals of the design.
2025 Decarbonization Award Jury: Marisol Gallagher, AIA, LEED AP BD+C, CPHD, Marisol Studios, Denver, Colorado; Pablo La Roche, Ph.D., AIA, LEED AP BD+C, Arcadis, Los Angeles, California; Joyce Raybuck, AIA, LEED AP, BNIM, Kansas City, Missouri.
DECARBONIZATION AWARD FINALISTS
Academy For Global Citizenship, SMNG A Ltd. and Farr Associates Architecture & Urban Design; Academy for Global Citizenship at Cultivate Collective Campus (client), Chicago, IL
Phius Zero Historic Retrofit, TBDA; confidential client, Oak Park. IL
“The 2025 juries brought exceptional depth of experience in multiple practice areas, as well as diverse professional and geographic perspectives,” said AIA Chicago President Jason Golub, AIA, Regional Director, Ware Malcomb. “Their rigorous review honors the quality of work our members produce “
The Roberta Feldman Architecture for Social Justice Award, administered by the AIA Chicago Foundation, was established in 2020 to honor excellence in built projects and design programs guided by the conviction that access to high quality architecture is not a privilege, it is a human right. The award is named for Roberta Feldman, Ph.D., Professor Emerita at the University of Illinois Chicago, School of Architecture, an architectural activist and researcher committed to democratic design.
2025 Jury for Roberta Feldman Architecture for Social Justice Award: Jury Chair, Chris Chwedyk, AIA, The Code Group, AIA Chicago Foundation Past President; Ryan Gann, AIA, NOMA, Freelance Consultant, AIA Chicago Foundation Trustee; Helen Kessler, FAIA, UpFront Regenerative Design, Inc., AIA Chicago Foundation Trustee; Joseph Altshuler, Assoc. AIA, Could be Design, 2024 Roberta Feldman Architecture for Social Justice Honor Award Recipient; Patricia Saldaña Natke, FAIA, Urban Works, Ltd.
ROBERTA FELDMAN ARCHITECTURE FOR SOCIAL JUSTICE AWARD FINALISTS
African Heritage Hut, Converge Architecture; NLHCS (client) Chicago, Illinois
LYTE Lounge, DAAM; LYTE Collective (client), Chicago, IL
“The Feldman Award honors architects who embody the belief that design is a powerful tool for social justice and equity,” said AIA Chicago Foundation President Danielle Tillman, AIA, NOMA, Managing Principal, bKL. “The finalists for this year’s award exemplifies the ways in which architects in our city are using their creativity and design expertise to serve communities that have been historically underserved.”
Other awards to be given at Designight 2025 on September 18 include the AIA Chicago 2025 Lifetime Achievement Award, conferred upon Adrian Smith, FAIA, RIBA, and the fourth annual Lerch Bates People’s Choice Awards, presented in partnership with the Chicago Architecture Center. The People’s Choice Award finalists will be announced in early September, with information on how the public can vote for their favorite designs.
Designight 2025
Harris Theater for Music and Dance in Millennium Park
205 E Randolph St, Chicago, IL 60601
Thursday, September 18, 2025
6:00 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. with After Party to follow
To purchase Award Ceremony tickets call or visit:
Harris Theater Box Office: (312) 334-7777
Harris Theater Website: https://www.harristheaterchicago.org/performance/designight-2025
Harris Theater Address: 205 East Randolph Drive
Theater rental and services have been underwritten through support of the Harris Theater for Music and Dance in Millennium Park.
To purchase combined Awards Ceremony and After Party tickets visit: AIAChicago.org/Designight2025
About AIA Chicago
The American Institute of Architects Chicago (AIA Chicago) serves nearly 4,000 architect members in Chicago and is the second largest local AIA chapter in the country. AIA Chicago’s mission builds on the city’s architectural legacy by advocating for the profession, sharing knowledge among members, and partnering with communities. It fosters a culture of design excellence for equitable, sustainable places and spaces.
AIA Chicago offers lectures and continuing education courses; specialized, issue-specific Knowledge Communities; advocacy for architects; and help for consumers looking for an architect.
AIA Chicago is the local Chicago chapter of The American Institute of Architects. Based in Washington, D.C., The AIA has been the leading professional membership association for licensed architects, emerging professionals, and allied partners since 1857. Learn more by visiting www.aiachicago.org.