2026 Design Excellence Awards Winners Revealed in Orlando
Lab Design announced the winners of its seventh annual Design Excellence Awards at a ceremony held during the 2026 Lab Design Conference in Orlando, FL on May 12.
The awards program honors exceptional achievement in the design, planning, and construction of research laboratories, recognizing the full spectrum of contributors to successful lab projects, including architects, lab planners, engineers, equipment and furniture manufacturers, and end users.
Representatives from the winning teams received commemorative plaques and shared brief presentations on their projects with conference attendees, while the honorable mention recipients were each recognized with a certificate for their achievement.
2026 winners
Lab Design and awards sponsor Mocha Lighting are proud to present this year’s honorees:
Excellence in Whole Building/Holistic Design—New Build
Aggie Square
Tucson, Arizona
Submitted by ZGF
Excellence in Whole Building/Holistic Design—Renovation
Earth Sciences & Chemistry Building Third Floor Renovations at University of Waterloo
Waterloo, Ontario
Submitted by mcCallumSather
Excellence in Sustainable Design
L’Oréal North America Research & Innovation Center
Clark, New Jersey
Submitted by The S/L/A/M Collaborative
Excellence in Small Project Design
LSU Health Shreveport - Center for Emerging Viral Threats
Shreveport, Louisiana
Submitted by Perkins&Will, Coleman Partners Architects, WSP
Excellence in Interior Design
A*STAR Infectious Diseases Labs, A*STAR IDL
Singapore
Submitted by HKS Inc.
Special Mention: Renovation Addition
National Research Council Canada Advanced Materials Research Facility
Mississauga, Ontario
Submitted by HOK
Special Mention: Campus to Community Integration
Life Sciences and Engineering Building, George Mason University
Manassas, Virginia
Submitted by Stantec
Special Mention: User Engagement
Multidisciplinary Surgical Simulation Lab, Departments of Otolaryngology, Neurosurgery & Ophthalmology, Washington University School of Medicine
St. Louis, Missouri
Submitted by HKW Architects
About the Design Excellence Awards
The Design Excellence Awards program was launched in 2020 by Lab Design’s partner publication, Lab Manager. The competition invites industry professionals to submit recent laboratory projects for recognition among a respected group of peers in the lab design field. Entrants are encouraged to showcase the qualities that distinguish their facilities, with an emphasis on innovation, originality, and their value as models for the broader laboratory design and construction community.
A panel of industry experts—including laboratory architects, engineers, construction professionals, and Lab Design editorial staff—evaluates each entry based on its approach to laboratory design.
Mocha Lighting, sponsor of the 2026 Design Excellence Awards
The 2026 Design Excellence Awards are sponsored by Mocha Lighting.
The 2027 Design Excellence Awards will open for entries on October 13, 2026. Visit awards.labdesignconference.com for more information and a list of past winners.
The Design Excellence Awards competition invites submissions from a broad range of disciplines, encouraging participation across the full spectrum of the laboratory community. Global entries are encouraged. Submissions may be entered by lab project teams, lab end users and project stakeholders, casework/furniture manufacturers and suppliers, and all those who play a role in the design, construction, and renovation of laboratory and research facilities.
Feature articles highlighting the 2026 Design Excellence Awards honorees will be published soon on labdesignnews.com. Congratulations to all of the winners!
