Architecture News

WoodWorks Announces Recipients of 2026 Wood in Architecture Award

Photo © Timothy Hursley
The Kreher Preserve & Nature Center Environmental Education Building by Leers Weinzapfel Associates.

The nonprofit WoodWorks – Wood Products Council has revealed the winners of its 2026 Wood in Architecture Awards at this year’s AIA Conference on Architecture & Design in San Diego. The annual program recognizes excellence and innovation in American building projects that utilize mass timber, heavy timber, light-frame, and hybrid building design.

Representing a range of building types located in a diverse number of locales, many of the eight awardees will likely be familiar to RECORD readers from past coverage, including Amy Gutmann Hall at the University of Pennsylvania, Doris Duke Theatre at Jacob’s Pillow, the Kreher Preserve & Nature Center Environmental Education Building, Orange County Sanitation District Headquarters, and Under Armour Global Headquarters, which is featured in the June issue of the magazine.

“The winning projects illustrate not only what is possible today, but where the industry is headed,” shared Woodworks president and CEO Jennifer Cover in a statement. “High-performance envelopes, advanced acoustic and vibration solutions, and hybrid structural systems are enabling wood to meet rigorous program requirements while delivering warm, human-centered spaces.”

The 2026 Wood in Architecture Award winners were selected by an independent jury that included David J. Odeh, senior vice president at WSP; Jessie Johnson, principal at DLR Group; JoAnn Hindmarsh Wilcox, partner at Mithun; and Michael LeBlanc, principal at Utile Design.

The wining 2025 Wood in Architecture Award recipients are listed below.

Amy Gutmann Hall, Data Science & AI Building
Philadelphia
Architect: Lake Flato Architects (design architect, architect of record); KSS Architects (associate architect)
Structural engineer: Buro Happold
General contractor: Gilbane Building Company
Developer/owner: University of Pennsylvania

Amy Gutmann Hall, Data Science & AI Building. Photo © Jeffrey Totaro

Cincinnati Public Radio
Cincinnati
Architect: emersion DESIGN
Structural engineer: Schaefer
General contractor: Skanska
Developer/owner: Cincinnati Public Radio

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Cincinnati Public Radio. Photo © Ryan Kurtz Photography

Doris Duke Theatre at Jacob’s Pillow
Becket, Massachusetts
Architect: Mecanoo (design architect), Marvel (architect of record)
Structural engineer: TYLin
General contractor: Allegrone Companies
Developer/owner: Jacob’s Pillow Dance Festival

Doris Duke Theatre at Jacob’s Pillow. Photo © Iwan Baan

Knight Building
Big Sky, Montana
Architect: Integrated Design Cubed (IDCUBED) / NKBAK / Peter Rose + Partners (design architects); Peter Rose + Partners (architect of record)
Structural engineer: RSE Associates
General contractor: Highline Partners
Developer/owner: Lone Mountain Land Company

Knight Building. Photo © Chuck Choi

The Kreher Preserve & Nature Center Environmental Education Building
Auburn, Alabama
Architect: Leers Weinzapfel Associates
Structural engineer of record: Simpson Gumpertz & Heger (SGH); Delegated Design Engineer: KPFF
General contractor: W.W. Compton Contractor, LLC
Developer/Owner: Auburn University – College of Forestry, Wildlife, and the Environment

The Kreher Preserve & Nature Center Environmental Education Building. Photo © Timothy Hursley

Mercer Middle School
Seattle
Architect: Bassetti Architects, a Design Studio of HMC Architects
Structural engineer: Coughlin Porter Lundeen
General contractor: Cornerstone General Contractors
Developer/owner: Seattle Public Schools

Orange County Sanitation District Headquarters
Fountain Valley, California
Architect: HDR
Structural engineer: HDR
General contractor: Swinerton
Developer/owner: Orange County Sanitation District

Under Armour Global Headquarters
Baltimore
Architect: Gensler
Structural engineer: Thornton Tomasetti
General contractor: The Whiting-Turner Contracting Company
Developer/owner: Under Armour

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Matt Hickman is senior news/digital editor at Architectural Record. Previously, he served as Senior Editor at The Architect’s Newspaper and has over a decade of experience as a freelance writer and editor specializing in historic preservation, public space, and the intersection of the natural world and built environment. A native of the Pacific Northwest, Matt holds an MFA in creative nonfiction writing from The New School.