Design Excellence Awards Winners Honored at 2025 Lab Design Conference in Denver
Lab Design proudly revealed the winners of its sixth annual Design Excellence Awards at the Lab Design Conference in Denver on May 12.
This awards program celebrates outstanding accomplishments in the design, planning, and construction of research laboratories. The Design Excellence Awards recognize all contributors to the lab design process—from architects and lab planners to engineers, equipment and furniture manufacturers, and end users.
Representatives from the firms behind the winning entries were each presented with a commemorative plaque and invited to deliver a brief presentation about their projects to the conference audience. The recipient of the honorable mention prize was given a certificate in recognition of their achievement.
Lab Design and awards sponsor Mocha Lighting are pleased to present the following honors:
Excellence in Whole Building/Holistic Design—New Build
Applied Research Building, University of Arizona
Tucson, Arizona
Submitted by SmithGroup
Excellence in Whole Building/Holistic Design—Renovated
National Institutes of Health Building 10, Renovation of the E-Wing
Bethesda, Maryland
Perkins&Will
Excellence in Sustainable Design
Aquon Water Research & Analysis Laboratory
Houten, The Netherlands
Vakwerk Architecten
Excellence in Interior Design
Flinders University Health and Medical Research Building
Bedford Park, South Australia
Submitted by Architectus
Excellence in Small Project Design
Enveda Biosciences
Boulder, Colorado
Submitted by DLR Group
Honorable Mention—Laboratory Program Integration
Emory University Health Sciences Research Building II
Atlanta, Georgia
Submitted by HOK
Mocha Lighting, sponsor of the 2025 Design Excellence Awards
The Design Excellence Awards program was created by Lab Design’s partner publication, Lab Manager, in 2019. The competition encourages industry professionals to showcase their recent lab projects for a chance to join a distinguished group within the lab design field. Participants are invited to highlight what sets their facilities apart—emphasizing innovation, uniqueness, and their potential to serve as exemplars for the broader lab design and construction community.
A panel of industry leaders—including laboratory architects, engineers, construction professionals, and Lab Design editorial staff—reviews each entry for its approach to lab design. The Design Excellence Awards welcome submissions from a diverse array of fields, encouraging participation from all sectors of the laboratory community.
The 2025 Design Excellence Awards are sponsored by Mocha Lighting. Feature articles highlighting the Design Excellence Awards honorees will be published soon on labdesignnews.com.
Congratulations to all of our winners!
