Design Awards Gala
18th Annual Design Awards Gala
October 22nd, 2026 | 6-9:30pm | David Brower Center
Submission Portal Closes August 10th, 2026 at 11:59PM PDT.
View eligibility guidelines here
AIA East Bay recognizes outstanding achievements in architecture and design. This prestigious competition is designed to recognize the contributions of teams of architects, contractors, and developers in creating and implementing outstanding building projects.
This honor is given to architects and firms for projects that demonstrate exemplary design skill of formal, functional and technical requirements, including ecological and environmental sustainability, social responsibility, and a strong sense of place.
This Year’s Theme
“Beyond: Celebrating design that honors the seen and the unseen.”
Excellent design creates ripple effects far beyond the project itself. A small space may influence a global discussion, and a single structure may facilitate healing in a community.
Design Awards Schedule
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Submissions Open July 6th
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Submissions Close August 10th
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Nominees Announced September 11th
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Design Awards Gala October 22nd
This Year's Jurors
More jurors will be announced in the coming days.
Evelyn M. Lee, FAIA | NOMA | Practice of Architecture & Practice Lab
Evelyn M. Lee, FAIA | NOMA, believes the architecture profession needs transformation, not just innovation. Through Practice of Architecture and the Practice Lab, she helps architects rethink outdated business models, build cultures that retain great people, and create value beyond billable hours.
As host of Practice Disrupted, Evelyn brings these conversations to more than 80,000 listeners globally. She’s also an angel investor, startup advisor, and founding advisor to Women Defining AI.
The 101st president of the American Institute of Architects (2025), Evelyn is committed to helping architects build businesses as intentional and resilient as the work they design.
Yes Duffy, AIA | YES Community Architects
Yes Duffy, AIA, is the founder and principal of YES Community Architects, where we believe that design is the tool, but the people are the purpose.
Based in the Bay Area, YCA thrives at the intersection of design, progressive public policy, and construction innovation. The practice designs mixed income housing, transit-oriented development, adaptive reuse, and new models for urban infill. YCA delivers projects that require more than a conventional architectural response—projects where changing a rule, rethinking a building system, or listening differently can open up new possibilities.
Yes has helped lead major Bay Area projects, including the Ashby BART and North Berkeley BART master plans. He holds master’s degrees in Architecture and City Planning from UC Berkeley and has served as Chair and a member of the Berkeley Zoning Adjustments Board.
Lisa Iwamoto | IwamotoScott Architecture & UC Berkeley
Lisa Iwamoto is Founding Partner of IwamotoScott Architecture which she leads together with her Partner, Craig Scott. IwamotoScott has received numerous awards including the Cooper Hewitt/Smithsonian National Design Award, induction into Interior Design Magazine’s Hall of Fame, the Architectural League’s Emerging Voices and Young Architects, Architectural Record’s Design Vanguard, over twenty AIA Design Awards including a National Award, P/A Award and numerous other architecture and interior awards. Their work has been published in hundreds of journals, and exhibited in numerous museums and galleries.
Lisa received her Master of Architecture degree with Distinction from Harvard University, and a Bachelor of Science degree in Structural Engineering from the University of Colorado. She is author of Digital Fabrications: Architectural and Material Techniques published in 2009 by Princeton Architectural Press and is Professor and Chair, Department of Architecture at the University of California Berkeley.
Kevin Hart | Kevin Hart Architecture
Kevin Hart grew up in Rochester, New York, and studied at Phillips Academy Andover, Stanford University, North Carolina State University, and the Yale School of Architecture. He spent 15 years in New Haven studying with and working for renowned architect César Pelli, contributing to projects including buildings for Rice University, Princeton University, the University of Washington, and the Carnegie Hall Tower in Manhattan.
In 1990, Hart joined SMWM in San Francisco, where he worked on projects for businesses, schools, and universities while conducting research on the design principles that distinguish exceptional academic campuses. Beginning in 1995, he helped expand Gensler’s San Francisco architectural portfolio, leading the design of office buildings, the Jewish Community Center of San Francisco, Moscone West Convention Center, and the Letterman Center at the Presidio National Park. In 2005, Hart founded Kevin Hart Architecture, focusing on projects for private schools and commercial developers. In collaboration with Studio Bondy Architecture, he has designed buildings for several Bay Area schools and continues to pursue the creation of inspiring environments that support teaching, learning, and community.
Janice Mochizuki, PE LEED AP | Arup
Janice Mochizuki is an Associate Principal and Arup’s San Francisco & Oakland Office Leader. Since joining Arup in 2008, after completing dual master’s degrees in civil and environmental engineering and architecture with a focus on structural engineering, she has worked on a diverse range of projects including hospitals, high-rises, existing buildings, corporate campuses, government facilities, transit stations, tenant improvements, and utility distribution planning. In recent years, Janice has focused on multidisciplinary project and design management, leading complex internal and external teams and navigating intricate contracts and stakeholder relationships. Her local project experience includes serving as project manager for UCSF Helen Diller Hospital and as Project Director for the SFPUC Millbrae Operations Campus Improvement project.
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