The Harvard University District Energy Facility (DEF) has received a 2025. Built Design Award. Harvard DEF is a Winner in Architectural Design – Industrial Category. The 56,000 sf District Energy Facility (DEF) sets the stage for a state-of-the-art, cost effective, and sustainable utility generation and distribution system for Harvard’s Allston campus that also makes a significant contribution to its urban design.

Learn More Here

Last week, our office visited the construction site of the School of Public Health & Health Sciences HUB at the University of Massachusetts Amherst.

The HUB creates a unified gathering place for the dispersed School of Public Health & Health Sciences (SPHHS) – a new core where students can learn, collaborate, access support and advising services, and foster a stronger sense of community.

One of the most important and growing schools at the University of Massachusetts, SPHHS is a national leader in finding ways to improve public health and quality of life for all, with a focus on reducing inequities. The 26,800 sf Hub will house team-based learning classrooms, seminar rooms, collaboration spaces, advising offices and at its core, a school-wide Commons space that overlooks and engages with the exterior entry plaza.

Learn more about the here

We are excited to announce that Kreher Preserve & Nature Center (KPNC) Environmental Education Building at Auburn University has been awarded the Sustainable Forestry Initiative Sponsored Award in the 2025 Wood Design & Building Awards Program.

“This prestigious awards program recognizes and celebrates the outstanding work of architectural professionals from Canada and around the world for excellence in wood design and construction” – Canadian Wood Council, Wood Design & Building Awards

The KPNC Environmental Education Building was selected amongst 140 submissions. This project sought to promote wonder and exploration of the natural world and cultivate a sense of stewardship toward our community and environment.  Constructed from locally sourced timber, the building celebrates the potential of wood – aesthetically, economically, and environmentally. The preschool will incorporate cross laminated timber (CLT) produced in Alabama with southern yellow pine as a demonstration of this new, sustainable building product with great potential for the region’s forestry-based industries.

“The diversity and creativity in this year’s winning projects demonstrate how wood can connect people with nature,” says Martin Richard, Vice President of Communications and Market Development at the Canadian Wood Council (CWC). “These designs not only showcase wood’s versatility, but also create spaces that enrich daily life and support community well-being. They are high-performance solutions that respond to today’s urgent need for housing, schools, and community spaces.”

Learn more about the project here

See award announcement here

Our recent interior renovation at the Harvard Science Center is featured in The Architect’s Newspaper September issue.

As a continuation to Leers Weinzapfel Associates’ interventions at Harvard Science Center over a period of 20 years, this project has two distinct goals: 1) to create an inviting, comfortable, and engaging entry and public experience of the building and 2) to reflect current pedagogy in flexible lab design and student life, emphasizing the social nature of learning with diverse individual and group spaces outside of classrooms and labs. The 44,600 SF renovation peels away the original solid walls and celebrates science on display with newly configurated labs, offices, and classrooms. It transforms the original corridors of the modern landmark building designed by Josep Luis Sert in 1973 from passageways to welcoming places with new lounges, study nodes, and touch-down meeting areas.

“We were interested in putting science on display, In terms of materiality, we searched for minor but impactful insertions we could make.” – Zhanina Boyadzhieva, as quoted in The Architect Newspaper

Check out the feature here

Leers Weinzapfel Associates has been featured in Construction in Focus September issue highlighting the firm’s recent work and collaborative culture.

“Every project is an opportunity to create something meaningful, to uplift a community, to care for the environment. That’s what motivates us every day” – Tom Chung, as quoted in Construction in Focus

Check out this feature here

“This entire project was transformative in ways I never imagined… Glass produced an easy way to see your colleagues… pick their brain on some new idea… or even spontaneously leave as a big group to go get ice cream. The students are always here… on weekends, during the day, and late at night. This space is always in use… It really does feel like we are in a different building and I have been working in the Science Center for 35 years!” (Gregory Tucci, Senior Lecturer on Chemistry and Chemical Biology)”

As a continuation to Leers Weinzapfel Associates’ interventions at Harvard Science Center over a period of 20 years, this project has two distinct goals: 1) to create an inviting, comfortable, and engaging entry and public experience of the building and 2) to reflect current pedagogy in flexible lab design and student life, emphasizing the social nature of learning with diverse individual and group spaces outside of classrooms and labs. The 44,600 SF renovation peels away the original solid walls and celebrates science on display with newly configurated labs, offices, and classrooms. It transforms the original corridors of the modern landmark building designed by Josep Luis Sert in 1973 from passageways to welcoming places with new lounges, study nodes, and touch-down meeting areas.

Learn more about this project

The Davis Center at Williams College was recently published in ThinkWood’s Education feature, highlighting how how old and new came together in a hybrid wood design.

“Designed by Leers Weinzapfel Associates, the design honors the legacy of student activism while crafting a welcoming, accessible space for all students to gather, organize, and feel at home.” – ThinkWood

See full article here

We are pleased to announce that Williams College Davis Center and Auburn University Kreher Preserve & Nature Center Environmental Education Building have been shortlisted for The Plan Award 2025 in the Education category!

“THE PLAN Award is an annual international prize that recognizes excellence in architecture, interior design, and urban planning. With twenty different categories and over a thousand submissions every year, THE PLAN Award is an important opportunity for architects, designers, urban planners, and planners to participate in an international community and contribute to the discussion of the key issues affecting the industry today.” – The PLAN Award

The Path of Knowledge: a classroom in the forest to learn from nature

The Davis Center: memory, inclusion and sustainability in the heart of Williams College

We are pleased to announce that Williams College Davis Center has won a 2025 Chicago Athenaeum International Architecture Award in the Schools and Universities Category and Auburn University Kreher Preserve & Nature Center Environmental Education Building has received Honorable Mention in the Schools and Universities category!

“Now in its 20th year, The International Architectural Awards are the oldest and most prestigious distinguished global building awards program that honors new and cutting-edge design worldwide. This annual program, organized by both our institutions, also promotes international architecture and design to our world- wide public audience and supported by the new online magazine Global Design News.” – The European Centre for Architecture Art Design and Urban Studies The Chicago Athenaeum

Learn more about the winning features of the Davis Center Here

Learn more about the winning features of Kreher Preserve & Nature Center Environmental Education Building Here

We are excited to announce that Kreher Preserve & Nature Center Environmental Education Building has been shortlisted for the Best Use of Timber Prize 2025 for the World Architecture Festival 2025!

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