Celebrating Excellence in Design
The Birmingham design community gathered at The Haven on June 25 for the 2026 AIA Birmingham Design Awards, an annual celebration recognizing projects that demonstrate excellence, innovation, and a meaningful contribution to the built environment.
We were honored to receive three awards this year, recognizing work across research, adaptive reuse, and higher education. Each project presented a unique design challenge, but all three share a common goal: creating places that strengthen connections, elevate everyday experiences, and serve their communities for years to come.
UAB Altec Styslinger Genomic Medicine & Data Sciences BuildinG
Honor Award
The UAB Altec Styslinger Genomic Medicine & Data Sciences Building received an Honor Award, one of the program’s highest distinctions.
Situated on a challenging urban site, the project was designed to foster collaboration, innovation, and discovery. Its distinctive façade, welcoming interiors, central stair, and thoughtfully designed outdoor spaces work together to create an environment where researchers, students, and healthcare professionals can connect and advance the future of genomic medicine.
The jury praised the project as a “thoughtful and well-executed plan on a challenging urban site,” highlighting its building skin, inviting interiors, prominent stair, landscape, and outdoor spaces as elements that create opportunities for collaboration and connection.
The recognition reflects UAB’s vision for a facility that not only supports groundbreaking research today but also creates an inspiring environment for generations to come.
Nextec
Merit Award
Nextec received a Merit Award for the thoughtful transformation of a nearly century-old Birmingham building into a contemporary workplace.
Originally constructed in 1927 as the Edwards Motor Company, the building has been reimagined while preserving the character and history that make it unique. Original brick, exposed structural elements, restored skylights, and expansive garage doors remain central to the experience, while contemporary interventions introduce new workspaces designed for collaboration and innovation.
The jury recognized the challenge of the adaptive reuse effort and praised the way the project “beautifully balances historic character with modern interventions,” while also highlighting the exposed structure, refined interior details, and new urban park.
The result demonstrates that preserving the past does not mean designing for yesterday — it can provide the foundation for an entirely new chapter.
Auburn University at Montgomery College of Sciences
Distinction Award
The Auburn University at Montgomery College of Sciences received a Distinction Award for a design intervention that transformed the experience of the existing building.
At the center of the project is a ceremonial stair and skylight that turn what was once primarily a pass-through space into a vibrant, light-filled commons. Positioned between laboratories and classrooms, the new gathering space creates a natural hub where students and faculty can meet, collaborate, and exchange ideas.
The jury specifically recognized the “integration of the ceremonial stair and skylight to create a light-filled internal common space,” noting that the transformation will “provide another generation of life to the existing structure.”
Together, these three awards celebrate very different approaches to design — from a new research environment to adaptive reuse and the transformation of an existing academic building. We are grateful to our clients, consultants, contractors, and project teams whose collaboration and commitment made each of these projects possible.