The 2025 AIA Alabama Awards highlighted what we value most at Williams Blackstock: thoughtful design and the emerging leaders who carry that work forward. With Auburn in Birmingham honored for its design excellence and craft, and Kayla Bailey recognized as the state’s Emerging Professional Award recipient, this year’s honors celebrate both our architectural achievements and the exceptional talent driving our work and community impact.
Auburn in Birmingham received both the 𝐇𝐨𝐧𝐨𝐫 𝐀𝐰𝐚𝐫𝐝 and the 𝐃𝐢𝐯𝐢𝐧𝐞 𝐃𝐞𝐭𝐚𝐢𝐥 𝐀𝐰𝐚𝐫𝐝 at the 𝟐𝟎𝟐𝟓 𝐀𝐈𝐀 𝐀𝐥𝐚𝐛𝐚𝐦𝐚 𝐃𝐞𝐬𝐢𝐠𝐧 𝐀𝐰𝐚𝐫𝐝𝐬.
Housed within one of downtown Birmingham’s most recognizable industrial structures, the project celebrates the building’s historic craftsmanship while introducing contemporary interventions that respect its past and reimagine its future.
The jury praised the project for its:
𝐑𝐞𝐬𝐩𝐞𝐜𝐭 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐡𝐢𝐬𝐭𝐨𝐫𝐲 — preserving the building’s DNA while ensuring its continued relevance in the city’s evolving landscape.
𝐑𝐞𝐬𝐭𝐫𝐚𝐢𝐧𝐞𝐝 𝐝𝐞𝐬𝐢𝐠𝐧 — creating a quiet, authentic architecture that values continuity and craft over novelty.
𝐔𝐫𝐛𝐚𝐧 𝐜𝐨𝐧𝐧𝐞𝐜𝐭𝐢𝐯𝐢𝐭𝐲 — activating the ground floor to engage the streetscape and strengthen community life downtown.
Thank you to our partners, clients, and collaborators who helped make this transformation possible.
Please join us in congratulating Kayla Bailey, on being named the 2025 AIA Alabama Emerging Professional Award recipient — the highest honor bestowed by AIA Alabama upon an Associate Member whose leadership, service, and contributions have advanced the profession.
Kayla’s passion for people-centered design, her mentorship of young professionals, and her dedication to community impact exemplify the very best of what it means to be an architect in training. Whether leading project initiatives, collaborating with clients, or volunteering through AIA Birmingham, Kayla brings creativity, integrity, and purpose to everything she does.
We are incredibly proud to see her recognized for the difference she’s making in both our firm and the broader design community.
As we celebrate these honors, we’re energized by what they represent: a commitment to design excellence, a belief in the power of collaboration, and a future shaped by leaders like Kayla and projects like Auburn in Birmingham.