History of Design Excellence Awards Winners
Lab Design’s annual Design Excellence Awards recognize outstanding achievement in the design, planning, and construction of research laboratories, celebrating the architects, lab planners, engineers, manufacturers, contractors, and end users behind successful projects.
Since launching in 2020, the awards have become a respected platform honoring innovative, sustainable, and high-performing laboratory environments. Entries can showcase everything from advanced engineering and flexible layouts to human-centered design and holistic building strategies.
Beyond industry recognition, the awards provide an opportunity to highlight how a project supports safety, sustainability, productivity, and the scientific community as a whole, while sharing lessons learned and creative solutions with peers across the industry.
The eighth annual Design Excellence Awards competition will open for entries on October 13, 2026, with winners honored at the 2027 Lab Design Conference in Dallas, TX. Stay tuned to labdesignnews.com, our LinkedIn page, and our weekly e-newsletter for the official announcement.
A historical list of winners, with links to in-depth articles about the lab facilities, can be found below.
2026 Winners
Sponsored by Mocha Lighting
Excellence in Whole Building/Holistic Design—New Build
Winner: Aggie Square
Submitting firm: ZGF
Excellence in Whole Building/Holistic Design—Renovated
Winner: Earth Sciences & Chemistry Building Third Floor Renovations at University of Waterloo
Submitting firm: mcCallumSather
Excellence in Sustainable Design
Winner: L’Oréal North America Research & Innovation Center
Submitting firm: The S/L/A/M Collaborative
Excellence in Interior Design
Winner: A*STAR Infectious Diseases Labs, A*STAR IDL
Submitting firm: HKS Inc.
Excellence in Small Project Design
Winner: LSU Health Shreveport—Center for Emerging Viral Threats
Submitting firms: Perkins&Will, Coleman Partners Architects, WSP
Special Mention—Renovation Addition
National Research Council Canada Advanced Materials Research Facility
Submitting firm: HOK
Special Mention—Campus to Community Integration
Life Sciences and Engineering Building, George Mason University
Submitting firm: Stantec
Special Mention—User Engagement
Multidisciplinary Surgical Simulation Lab, Departments of Otolaryngology, Neurosurgery & Ophthalmology, Washington University School of Medicine
Submitting firm: HKW Architects
2025 Winners
Sponsored by Mocha Lighting
Excellence in Whole Building/Holistic Design—New Build
Winner: Applied Research Building, University of Arizona
Submitting firm: SmithGroup
Excellence in Whole Building/Holistic Design—Renovated
Winner: National Institutes of Health Building 10, Renovation of the E-Wing
Submitting firm: Perkins&Will
Excellence in Sustainable Design
Winner: Aquon Water Research & Analysis Laboratory
Submitting firm: Vakwerk Architecten
Excellence in Interior Design
Winner: Flinders University Health and Medical Research Building
Submitting firm: Architectus
Excellence in Small Project Design
Winner: Enveda Biosciences
Submitting firm: DLR Group
Honorable Mention—Laboratory Program Integration
Emory University Health Sciences Research Building II
Submitting firm: HOK
Excellence in Whole Building/Holistic Design
Winner: Rice University Ralph S. O’Connor Engineering and Science Building
Submitting firms: Skidmore, Owings & Merrill (SOM), in collaboration with Scientia Architects
Excellence in Interior Design
Winner: State of New Mexico Forensic Laboratory
Submitting firm: Dekker
Excellence in Small Project Design
Winner: NASA Asteroid Sample Curation Lab
Submitting firm: RS&H
Special Merit honorees—sponsored by El Sea LLC
Special Merit: Technical Complexity
Australian National University Research School of Physics Stage 1 Building
Submitting firm: Hassell
Special Merit: Sustainable Practices in Design
California Polytechnic State University, San Luis Obispo, William and Linda Frost Center for Research and Innovation
Submitting firm: ZGF Architects
Special Merit: Educational Lab Innovation
Tāwharau Ora–School of Veterinary Science
Submitting firm: Lab-works Architecture
Special Merit: Technical Excellence
Pacific Northwest National Lab Energy Sciences Center
Submitting firm: Kirksey Architecture
Special Merit: Design Excellence
University of San Diego, Franklin Antonio Hall
Submitting firm: Perkins&Will
Excellence in Innovation Category
Winner: Joan & Sanford I. Weill Neurosciences Building, University of California, San Francisco
Submitting firm: SmithGroup
Honorable Mention: Materials Characterization and Processing Facility at Johns Hopkins University
Submitting firm: Page Southerland Page, Inc.
Excellence in Sustainability Category
Winner: Promega Corporation Kornberg Center
Submitting firm: SmithGroup
2022 Winners
Excellence in Innovation Category
Winner: California Institute of Technology Chen Neuroscience Research Building
Submitting firm: SmithGroup
Honorable Mention: Ball Horticultural Company Helix Central Research and Development Center
Submitting firm: Christner Architects
Excellence in Sustainability Category
Winner: California Air Resources Board, Southern California Headquarters, Mary D. Nichols Campus
Submitting firm: ZGF
Honorable Mention: Phil and Penny Knight Campus for Accelerating Scientific Impact at University of Oregon
Submitting firm: Ennead Architects
Safety Category—Honorable Mention
Argonne National Laboratory Materials Design Laboratory
Submitting firm: IMEG Corp.
2021 Winners
Excellence in Innovation Category
Winner: University of Michigan Biological Sciences Building & Museum of Natural History
Submitting firms: SmithGroup; Ennead Architects LLP
Excellence in Safety Category
Winner: Texas A&M University Global Health Research Complex
Submitting firm: Perkins&Will
Sustainability Category—Special Mention for Adaptive Reuse
University of South Carolina Science & Technology Building
Submitting firm: EYP
2020 Winners
Excellence in Innovation Category
Winner: Eli Lilly and Company Innovation Development Center
Submitting firm: Flad Architects
Honorable Mention: Engineering Research Center, Brown University
Submitting firm: KieranTimberlake
Excellence in Sustainability Category
Winner:Arizona State University, Biodesign Institute C
Submitting firm: ZGF
Honorable Mention: Aerospace & Engineering Sciences Building, Metropolitan State University of Denver
Submitting firm: Anderson Mason Dale Architects
Excellence in Safety Category
Winner: Butte College Welding & Manufacturing Building
Submitting firm: JK Architecture Engineering
