In the last few weeks, the demolition crews arrived in our neighborhood, and the building where my children spent kindergarten through sixth grade was reduced to a pile of rubble.
The building’s fate was inevitable. Its replacement—a larger, more modern elementary school—opened three years ago across the street. Similar scenarios play out continually across the country as education facilities wear out and need to be replaced or overhauled to remain effective as learning spaces.
But not all new or renovated school buildings are the same. American School & University’s Architectural Portfolio, which appears in this issue, seeks to celebrate the facility designs that go beyond merely providing space. The project entries that jurors find most impressive tend to be the ones that incorporate the latest thinking on learning styles and teaching methods; their designs consider the health and safety of students and staff and how the facility fits in with its community.
The Portfolio not only honors those facility designs that achieve these lofty goals, but also provides an opportunity for education administrators and facility planners to get a glimpse of the design solutions that other institutions are employing to provide the most innovative and effective facilities.
The four design professionals and education administrators who served as 2025 jurors reviewed dozens of project entries and deliberated over their merits and shortcomings before choosing the most exemplary designs. Fourteen projects were awarded citations.
The William W. Caudill Citation—bestowed on the entry judged the best among preK-12 submissions, was awarded to the Josiah Quincy Upper School in Boston.
The Louis I. Kahn Citation, the top honor for higher education facility designs, was awarded to Haywood Community College Health Science Education Building in Clyde, North Carolina.
Whether you are inspired by a project recognized with a citation or one of the other projects included in the Portfolio, AS&U hopes some of these designs spark ideas and strategies that result in modern, effective school and university facilities.
About the Author
Mike Kennedy
Senior Editor
Mike Kennedy has been writing about education for American School & University since 1999. He also has reported on schools and other topics for The Chicago Tribune, The Kansas City Star, The Kansas City Times and City News Bureau of Chicago. He is a graduate of Michigan State University.