Awards / Scholarships

Edward Kirkbride Award

The Edward Kirkbride Award is bestowed upon a project that exhibits exceptional strength in each of the judging criteria.

2022 Regional Design Awards

Kirkbride Award

Solomon Solis-Cohen Elementary School
The School District of Philadelphia | Philadelphia, PA
Crabtree, Rohrbaugh & Associates

Solomon Solis-Cohen Elementary School is a 150,000 square foot replacement school, first through fifth grade school serving 1,400 students, the largest elementary school in The School District of Philadelphia completed in the fall of 2021. Situated in the heart of dense housing approximately one mile in diameter in Northeast Philadelphia, the building was designed from early discussions with the school district, staff and community to not only improve the educational environment for the students, but also to act as a center to bring the diverse and multilingual community together. Physically the building’s exterior reflects materials found in the surrounding community, but more importantly the student body is a reflection of the diversity of the community with more than 30% of the student body speaking a language other than English as their primary language. Exterior of the building proper, goals were set for the new campus to act as a park for the community during the day but as important after hours and weekends.

Project of Distinction

Benjamin W. Murch Elementary School
District of Columbia Public Schools | Washington, DC
Hord Coplan Macht

“A School in the Park” Responding to History & Place at the Urban Scale
The site of Benjamin W. Murch Elementary School is situated along a path of contiguous green space that cuts through the dense residential area of northwestern Washington, D.C. This open space has become the beating heart of the surrounding community, and the design team made a concerted effort to respect the scale of adjacent single-family homes while maximizing the amount of open space on and around the building. The resulting building massing allowed the design team to nestle the new addition seamlessly into this context.

Project of Distinction

Minuteman Regional Vocational High School
Minuteman Regional Vocational Technical School District | Lexington, MA
Kaestle Boos Associates Inc.

The architectural design of the new facility includes large classrooms, vocational programs organized into trade clusters, a “main street” retail area, and break out spaces for small group learning. Retail areas with public access are located away from the main academic areas for additional security. Academic areas are also be able to be locked off from community accessible spaces such as the gymnasium and cafeteria. The school blends performing and industrial arts with a flexible, teaching auditorium which includes a flyloft, and is adjacent to the carpentry spaces where scenery will be produced. The new facility is anticipated to achieve LEED Silver certification.

Project of Distinction

Northeast Community Propel Academy
School District of Philadelphia | Philadelphia, PA
Stantec Architecture and Engineering, LLC

The new K-8 school on Ryan Avenue in Northeast Philadelphia was a design-build turnkey project. The Stantec-Gilbane team was selected by the School District of Philadelphia (SDP) to avoid the extended timeframes normally associated with multi-prime bidding processes and to help manage the associated financial risks by securing a guaranteed maximum price (GMP).

Designing a modern educational facility for SDP started with the recognition that all learning is social. Their team then began design by considering the appropriate size for “groups within the group,” acknowledging that scaling the facility would be key to fostering the sense of intimacy required to support the new learning models. Working together in a shared “Big Room” hosted by Stantec, every stakeholder explored design strategies and options in a collaborative and integrated fashion. Their knowledge of SDP’s standards and ability to navigate Philadelphia’s regulatory agencies helped the project team remain on schedule.

Past Winners »

Scholarships

The Advanced Academy for Designing Learning Spaces – Cohort 8

The Northeast Region is offering a scholarship for members to participate in The Advanced Academy: Cohort 8. The scholarship will be given to a member in good standing and who is committed to the profession and wants to become actively involved in the Association at the Chapter, Regional, and International levels but needs financial assistance to participate.

The scholarship will financially assist a member with registration into the full program.

Applicants must be a member of the A4LE.

The Region will award one scholarship of 70% of the cost of the program, which is $5,000. The scholarship award winner will be expected to complete each module of the program with at least 80% to earn the certificate, report to the Northeast Region progress in the program, and make a presentation about the program at a Regional event. If the scholarship recipient does not achieve at least an 80% in each module, the region will no longer provide the funding to continue in The Academy.

Please submit your application by April 23, 2021.

Schedule of Scholarship
Application Due	April 23, 2021
Application Review	April 26 – May 14, 2021
Scholarship Announced	May 17, 2021

Advanced Academy Cohort 8

Schedule subject to change

Module 1: Learning Theories – Frameworks for School Design
Instructor: Sandra Duncan, EdD
August 16 – September 26, 2021
Module 2: Leading Educational Visioning and Community Engagement
Instructor: Page Dettmann, ALEP
October 4 – November 21, 2021
Module 3: Assessment of the School Facility
Instructor: Rob Pillar, ALEP
November 29 – January 16, 2022
Module 4: Educational Facility Pre-Design Planning Services
Instructor: Sue Robertson, ALEP
January 24 – March 6, 2022
Module 5: High Performance School Design
Instructor: Aaron Jobson
March 14 – April 24, 2022
Module 6: Project Management / Project Delivery
Instructor: Irene Nigaglioni