Series of AUD faculty honored with AIA|LA’s 2022 Design Awards, Next LA Awards

A range of UCLA Architecture and Urban Design (AUD) faculty have been honored with American Institute of Architects Los Angeles (AIA|LA) 2022 Design Awards and Next LA Awards. The annual AIA|LA Design Awards honor excellence in built work that is sited in Los Angeles or designed by Los Angeles architects; the Next LA Awards honor excellence in unbuilt work that is sited in Los Angeles or designed by Los Angeles architects.

Among the 2022 AIA|LA Design Awards honorees is AUD’s Kevin Daly and Kevin Daly Architects (kdA), with an Affordable Housing Merit Award for Gramercy Senior Housing (Los Angeles). The Design Awards jury notes: “The building delivers a humane and joyful space for the community and particularly for senior living. We commend the comfortable indoor to outdoors spaces whose program is maximized by use of the screening element.”

AUD faculty honored among the 2022 AIA|LA Next LA Awards are:

Todd Lynch and Mohamed Sharif (Sharif, Lynch: Architecture), with a Single-Family Residential Merit Award for Infill ADU (Venice, CA)

“This project uses two strategies to preserve some of the backyard space: first it is lifted off the ground, and second, it is ever-so-slim,” writes the jury. “The plan is elegantly resolved, inside and out, demonstrating that living in the backyard can be better than in the front when design is capably leveraged.”

Benjamin Claus Freyinger (The LADG), with a Single-Family Residential Citation Award for Dusty Mile (Landers, CA)

“This project works so well at many levels,” the jury observes. “Sustainably, it depicts an interesting roof system with crushed quartz to reflect sun and insulation slowing conduction, which is just perfect for its use in the desert. Materially, the stick built frame and the masonry clad bring an elegant and sophisticated easiness of construction. Ultimately, this proposal suggests a statement of what single-family housing could be.”

Narineh Mirzaeian (MNOffice), with a Competition Citation Award for “We and Our Mountains” (Armavir, Republic of Armenia)

“The uniqueness of this project lies in its versatility to adapt to the site,” the jury notes. “While partially embedded in the topography, the project distorts the legibility of the skyline by means of new relationships between ground, nature and sky. It is particularly committed to engage in dialectics with the rich history of the place and the iconic nature of its landscape, which makes this proposal to be a smart and beautiful response to the competition brief.”

The Next LA Awards were co-presented by an 11-year-old aspiring architect, Madison Dorsey, and AIA|LA ‘s2023 President-Elect, Leslie Sydnor. The presenters shared comments from the three-person jury, which included AUD’s Dana Cuff and Georgina Huljich, alongside Hilary Noll, Associate Principal of Mithun. The Design Awards were presented by that program’s three-piece jury via pre-recorded video, with jurors Lori Ferriss, Director of Sustainability and Climate Action, Goody Clancy (Boston); Nina Kinoti-Metz, Principal, Studio Parallel (New York); and Jing Liu, Principal, So-IL (New York).

Founded in 1857, the American Institute of Architects (AIA) has represented the professional interests of America’s architects and currently comprises more than 90,000 licensed architects, emerging professionals, and allied partners. The AIA leads a range of programming and activities that foreground the power of architecture and promote the excellence and livability of the nation’s buildings and communities. With over 6,000 members, AIA|LA is one of the three largest chapters of the AIA.

Peruse the full list of winners and projects via the AIA|LA press release.