LPA Design Studios named winner of the 2025 AIA Architecture Firm Award

LPA Design Studios, the firm founded by Leason Pomeroy in Southern California in 1965, has been named the 2025 AIA Architecture Firm Award winner by the American Institute of Architects. 

The award’s 61st official recipient follows Quinn Evans in winning the honor. Their influence on architecture in the region has been felt widely even as it emerged from a 1997 rebranding to design projects wed to a philosophy that consistently exhibits sustainability credentials while internally creating opportunities for underrepresented voices to enter the professional community.

With operations in California and Texas, the practice has grown into a national firm with more than 400 architects working on projects for higher education, K-12, and municipal and state government clients. 

The firm frames its prescience in supporting the LEED certification program among a number of innovations informed by climate science and green design principles that include an early adherence to the AIA 2030 Commitment and other causes. The jury says these factors, combined with projects such as the Environmental Nature Center and Preschool — the first Living Building Challenge Petal Certified building in the region — helped make it a "thought leader" in both design and education.

The AIA Architecture Firm Award jury says: "Research and data-driven design are at the core of LPA’s success" and that "this rigorous approach ensures that sustainability is seamlessly integrated into the design process and delivers measurable benefits," adding the firm has also helped to "reshape architectural education by promoting integrated design and sustainability" determinately.

The 2025 AIA Architecture Firm Award win adds to other AIA honors such as the COTE Top Ten Plus Award included along with another long list given at the National, State, and Component levels. LPA's in-house Sustainability + Applied Research (S+AR) team was credited as well as helping its clients further deliver on benchmarks while "creating spaces that inspire and uplift communities."

AIA says finally: "Looking ahead, LPA remains committed to pushing the boundaries of sustainable design and fostering a more equitable and resilient built environment. By demonstrating that high-performance, carbon-neutral buildings are achievable for every client, budget, and scale, LPA Design Studios continues to set the standard for the architecture profession."

The firm is joined by TenBerke founder and Yale SoA dean Deborah Berke, who was named the AIA Gold Medal’s fourth living female architect recipient earlier today.