Our Awards

In November, Associate Professor Teresa Rosano received two top honors at the 2025 AIA Arizona Design Awards: the Architects Medal and a Community Design Award for a student-led capstone project. The recognized project—the Tucson Hope Factory Micro Shelter Village—aims to support unhoused communities in Southern Arizona through a collaborative, student-designed micro-shelter prototype.

The Western Planner organization has named CAPLA Associate Professor Ladd Keith its 2025 Planner of the Year, honoring his pioneering leadership in climate-responsive planning and community resilience across the American West.

The University of Arizona’s Andrew Weil Center for Integrative Medicine has been recognized internationally for its innovative design, earning an honorable mention in the 2025 International Architecture Awards. The distinction highlights the university’s commitment to creating spaces that advance health, wellness, and architectural excellence.

A team of Master of Science in Urban Planning (MSUP) students at CAPLA received the Arizona APA’s Best Student Planning Project Award for their capstone, “Community Investment Strategy Toolkit for the City of South Tucson.”

CAPLA Dean Nancy Pollock-Ellwand has been named a recipient of the University of Guelph Alumni of Honour Award, recognizing her global leadership in cultural heritage conservation and lifelong dedication to education.

A team led by CAPLA’s Sandra Bernal Cordova, Altaf Engineer, and Ladd Keith aim to develop community-centered solutions to the growing threat of extreme heat.

Clare Robinson and Kelly Eitzen Smith are the 2025 recipients of the Darryl B. Dobras Awards for Excellence. Robinson was recognized for her leadership in the School of Architecture, while Eitzen Smith was honored for her work supporting accreditation and assessment in the School of Landscape Architecture and Planning.

HK Associates was recognized in "Architect" magazine’s 2024 Residential Architect Design Awards, an international program celebrating excellence in residential design.

As Montse Estrany Bover graduates with a Master of Science in Architecture from CAPLA, she leaves with a prestigious research award for her thesis on Catalunya’s historic agricultural landscapes. Now working at an architecture firm in Spain, she plans to pursue a Ph.D. to continue blending research and practice.

More than 40 landscape architecture students were recognized for showcasing exceptional talent and innovation during the Arizona Chapter of the American Society of Landscape Architects Awards Gala & Expo.

Robin Shambach is one of 18 distinguished alumni honored during the University of Arizona’s Alumni of the Year Awards Ceremony on February 27. The award recognizes individuals for their professional achievements, public service, advocacy for education, volunteerism, and contributions to students, their college, and the university.

Laura Carr, senior lecturer in the School of Architecture and co-founder of the Native Peoples Design Coalition, has been honored with the AIA/ACSA Practice + Leadership Award by the Association of Collegiate Schools of Architecture (ACSA).