UCLA AUD faculty, students, and alumni shine in AIA-LA’s 2025 Design Awards

A range of UCLA AUD faculty, students, and alumni are among the honorees of AIA-LA’s 2025 Design Awards, presented on October 22 at The (W)rapper.

The annual AIA-LA Design Awards celebrate innovation, sustainability, and design excellence in built and unbuilt work in Los Angeles and beyond. This year’s program was themed “We Stand Together,” with a nod to projects responding to natural disasters and climate realities. The event opened with a performance by the Los Angeles County Fire Department Pipes & Drums.

The AUD community is represented across all three awards categories–NextLA Awards, Design Awards, and Board of Directors Honorees. AUD honorees include:

NextLA Awards:

In the Cityscapes category: “Farther Apart Closer Together,” by UCLA AUD Team XI, a cohort of students from Mohamed Sharif’s Spring 2025 Technology Seminar. The project was led over Summer 2025 by Ariel Chen, Xen Pei Hoi, and Sarah Zureiqat (all MArch ‘25)

In the Multi-unit Residential category: “Overwalk,” by West of West, founding partners Jai Kumaran and Clayton Taylor (both MArch '11)

In the Single-family Residential category: “King K” by Patrick TIGHE Architecture, founding principal Patrick Tighe (MArch ‘93)

In the Resilient Design category: “Long House: a Fire Safe R-1 Prototype” by Sharif, Lynch: Architecture, founding partners AUD lecturer Todd Lynch and associate adjunct professor/undergraduate program director Mohamed Sharif

Design Awards:

In the adaptive re-use/historical preservation category: “The Barrel Hall” by West of West; and Debbie Allen Dance Academy by Gensler, co-CEO Elizabeth Brink (MArch ‘93), project architect Kevin Sherrod (MArch ‘17)

In the Temporary Shelter category: “Larrabee” by Patrick TIGHE Architecture

Resiliency Award: “Riviera / a Fire Resistant Home” by Patrick TIGHE Architecture

Board of Directors Honorees:

Kate Diamond (UCLA ‘74) and Greg Kochanowski (MArch ‘99), this year’s two Citizen Architect honorees

Honored with the 25 Year Medal: Professor Emeritus Thom Mayne and Morphosis, for Diamond Ranch High School