2023 Year in Review

As we wrap up 2023, Ayers Saint Gross is reflecting on another year marked by collaboration, progress, and achievement. Amid a rapidly evolving world, this past year witnessed our commitment to supporting our clients in anticipating the shifting needs of their communities, and our dedication to forward-thinking, sustainable design.

This year, we celebrated the completion of several noteworthy projects, including the Jack C. Taylor Visitor Center at the Missouri Botanical Garden, Frisco Landing at UNT Frisco, Cunniffe Commons at the Ringling College of Art and Design, and Founders and Innovation Halls at Elon University. Learn more about all of our projects here.

As a firm, we continued our long tradition of research with our 25th Comparing Campuses poster. This year’s poster highlighted resilience through adaptive reuse, showcasing four unique stories of universities repurposing buildings and sites throughout their history. We also published new articles to our journal on nursing simulation design, trends in higher education, environmental design, past projects, and our team.

For these and other efforts, Ayers Saint Gross was ranked among the top five university architecture firms in the country on the Building Design + Construction 2023 Giants 400 Report. We were also ranked as number 8 on a list of the top 110 firms for cultural facilities and number 7 of the top 90 firms for student housing.

Individual and Team Accomplishment

The talents of our outstanding team members were recognized throughout the year in numerous ways:

Architect Lonna Babu was named ACE Mentor of the Year in the Baltimore region for her work leading local high school students through design projects.

Architect Caitlin Brady was recognized with an AIA DC Emerging Architect Award, while Kevin Miller, a member of our architecture studio, was honored with AIA Baltimore’s Emerging Professional Award.

Principal Shannon Dowling was honored with AIA Virginia’s 2023 Award for Distinguished Achievement for her work as a researcher and advocate in learning environment, strategy, and design.

Architect Scott Fundling was recognized internally for his talent, leadership, and mentorship abilities with a 2023 Lex Schwartz Legacy Award. Tim Shook, a member of our architecture studio, was also recognized with our firm’s ninth annual Lex Schwartz Emerging Leader Award. Both awards are named in honor of a longtime Ayers Saint Gross employee known for his collaborative leadership style.

Ayers Saint Gross continued to share our firm’s work, research, and ideas with national audiences this year, as 24 of our team members participated in 26 speaking engagements at conferences around the country. Five of our staff hosted panels at the SCUP International Conference in Cleveland, while other colleagues attended and presented at conferences including ACUHO-I, SEAHO, AURP, NOMA, and more. We all benefited from their experiences building relationships with clients and potential teaming partners, learning from our colleagues, and exhibiting our work.

Design Awards

Ayers Saint Gross was honored with numerous design awards this year from SCUP and the AIA for our work around the country. In addition, our proposal for the Redevelopment of the Pimlico Racing and Laurel Park Racing Facilities was recognized as a 2023 SMPS Maryland Key Award Grand Prize winner.

Design awards for projects included: