Facility Design Awards

The ACUI Facility Design Awards were created to encourage and recognize excellence in the design of student-centered facilities that support campus community building and student learning.

Awards may be given for four budget categories of new college union buildings, additions, renovations, restorations, outdoor environments, interior dining environments, interior or outdoor recreation environments, and interior redesign and refurbishing. The total cost of the building or individual environment is the determining factor: less than $25 million; $25 million–$35 million; $35 million–$55 million; more than $55 million. Another award may be given for a campus life project other than a college union regardless of the cost of construction.

Projects Less than $25 Million 
2026 Recipient: KSS Architects and Connecticut College,
Crozier-Williams Campus Center 

The partial renovation of the Crozier-Williams Campus Center revived and activated the space as a social hub, making it the symbolic heart of a sustainability-minded academic community. The redesign pulls inspiration from the college’s identity as an arboretum. The renovation brings the arboretum inside, a unifying concept that employs biophilic and universal design strategies to activate this space, reinforce campus identity, and support student wellness. The renovation included the lobby, the upstairs dining area, downstairs retail dining, attached terrace, and the main event space.

Projects Between $25 Million and $55 Million 
2026 Recipient: ikon.5 Architects and Rowan University,
Chamberlain Student Center 

Influenced by the unique ecological phenomenon of its site in the New Jersey Pine Barrens, the addition to the Chamberlain Student Center at Rowan University creates “an agora of social and intellectual discovery” among the pines. The building’s mass timber roof cascades down a sloping site, opening spatially and visually to the campus greenway beyond. Like an agora, the center is filled with diverse program interests where students, faculty, and staff can explore and participate in a wide variety of activities that promote collaboration and discovery, including a demonstration area where students can present their work in an open forum.

Projects More than $55 Million 
2026 Recipient: Shepley Bulfinch and Lehigh University,
Clayton University Center

Lehigh University’s Clayton University Center is a vibrant campus crossroads, thoughtfully redesigned to foster student connection, inclusion, and well-being. The renewed center, originally built in 1868, blends historic character with modern amenities, offering flexible dining, study, and gathering spaces shaped by extensive student input. Its multi-level pathways link residential and academic life, while inclusive spaces—from the Club Hub and affinity lounges to accessible dining — foster belonging and flexibility. Adaptable furniture, abundant daylight, and sustainable materials create a welcoming, future-focused environment that celebrates Lehigh’s heritage while enriching daily student life as a dynamic, accessible home for diverse student voices.

Submission are no longer open. For more information, please contact corporate@acui.org.

The Project Description and Photo Upload sections in the Nominee Information application should include the following:

  1. A description about connections with the campus community at the location of the project.
  2. Details about the planning and design process, including input from students, collaborations, and planning for the future.
  3. Highlight the planning, work, and processes that might differentiate the project from other entries.
  4. Emphasize usage and people in photos, specifically illustrating:
    • Use of building by the community;
    • Exterior views showing principal facades, exterior entrance, courtyards, etc.
    • Exterior view or diagram of how the building fits into existing campus structure;
    • For renovations and additions, before and after photographs;
    • Interior views. These might include entrance area, dining service, lounges, public areas, student activities spaces, and anything else relevant to the project.
    • Any additional views and diagrams explaining special design features that capture the uniqueness of the project  

The review process includes, but is not limited to, an assessment of the criteria listed as needed in the submission.

Architects for college union or campus life facility projects built anywhere in the world are eligible to apply for these awards. Projects must:

  • Have been completed, occupied, and in service prior to entry.
  • Have been completed since December 1, 2022.
  • Have not been submitted  more than three times for the award.
  • Have not previously won an ACUI Facility Design Award. 
2025
  • Workshop Architects, Center for Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion, University of Notre Dame
  • AE Works, University Union, Towson University  
2024
  • Perkins&Will, Cox Hall Identity Spaces, Emory University
  • Workshop Architects, Purdue Memorial Union, Purdue University
  • CannonDesign, Western Michigan Student Center, Western Michigan University
  • Mackey Mitchell Architects, Lamar Johnson Collaborative, Clayco, SCAD Forty Four and Forty Five, Savannah College of Art & Design–Atlanta
2023
  • Opsis Architecture, Wacheno Welcome Center, Clackamas Community College
  • Mackey Mitchell Architects, Ashley McGraw Architects, Hildegarde and J. Myer Schine Student Center, Syracuse University 
  • WTW Architects, JLG Architects 
    Memorial Union, University of North Dakota 
  • Duda|Paine Architects, VMDO Architects 
    Student Health & Wellness Center, University of Virginia