Spread across six offices in California and Texas, LPA Design Studios is known for delivering thoughtful institutional buildings often with limited and inflexible budgets, among other impressive accolades. The company is a recipient of the 2025 AIA Architecture Firm Award.
Since 1965, LPA has earned a reputation for having a strong sense of design research. This often leads to thoughtful, innovative and sustainable designs. The office has a dedicated wing, the Sustainability + Applied Research (S+AR) team, dedicated to these matters.
Projects that demonstrate the company's ethos and commitment to sustainability include the Environmental Nature Center and Preschool, the first Living Building Challenge Petal-certified building in Southern California; and the CSU San Bernardino Center for Global Innovation, to name a few.
“Equity and inclusivity are central to the philosophy of the LPA,” AIA said in a statement. “The company has implemented initiatives such as the Diversity in Design Scholarship and the Developing Future Project Leaders program to support underrepresented voices in the design industry.”
AIA continued, “In addition, LPA has reimagined traditional career paths to create opportunities for individuals with non-traditional educational backgrounds, exemplified by their journey in digital design.” Internally, LPA fosters a culture of mentorship and shared leadership, with most of its directors and employees having started their careers with the company.”
The judges who chose LPA were the same ones who awarded Deborah Berke this year's AIA Gold Medal. This panel is chaired by Anne Hicks Harney of Long Green Specs, a New Jersey practice. They included Kjell M. Anderson, Ung-Joo Scott Lee, Amy Slattery, Megumi Tamanaha, Roderic Walton, Korey White and Taryn Williams.
Last year’s AIA Architecture Firm Award went to Quinn Evans.