2025 Design Award Winners

The AIA Santa Barbara Design Awards program recognizes design excellence in architecture, residential architecture, restoration/renovation, and urban design. Criteria to be used by the jury include quality of design, resolution of the program idea, sustainable responsibility, innovation, thoughtfulness, and technique.

On December 4th, the following projects were awarded for exceptional design excellence.

Honor

Casa Paz

Category: Santa Barbara Heritage
Architect: Michael Burch Architects
Photographer: Diane Wilk

Merit

Honorable Mention

Category: Proposed/Unbuilt Projects
Architect: Schwaller Studio Architecture

Axis House

Category: Proposed/Unbuilt Projects
Architect: AB Design Studio

Category: Single Family Residential
Architect: Ron Radziner
Photographer: James Ray Spahn

Category: Proposed/Unbuilt Projects
Architect: The Warner Group Architects, Inc.

Recreation Pavilion

Category: Single Family Residential
Architect: Barton Myers
Photographer: Ciro Coelho

San Ysidro Retreat

Category: Single Family Residential
Architect: William Hefner
Photographer: Vonetta Baldwin

Category: Mixed Use and Multi-family Residential
Architect: agps architecture
Photographer: Jenny Rodenhouse

Louis Vuitton Wynn

Category: Commercial Interiors
Architect: Barry Winick
Photographer: Brad Dickson

Category: Commercial Buildings
Architect: Blackbird Architects
Photographer: Alex Nye

Jurors

Annie Chu (FAIA, NCIDQ, WELL AP) is a renowned architect, co-founder of Chu-Gooding, and lifelong advocate for interior architecture, celebrated for her refined approach to craft, color, and materiality. Over her forty-year career, she has worked with leading museums, cultural institutions, non-profits, and universities nationwide. Currently, she serves as an Interior Architect in collaboration with Populous for the Los Angeles Convention Center renovation. Known as the “modernist house whisperer,” she has earned multiple AIA honors for her restoration and design of historic modern residences. A dedicated civic leader and educator, Annie has served on the Los Angeles Cultural Affairs Commission, the Mayor’s Design Advisory Panel, and taught architecture and design for over three decades. She holds degrees from SCI-Arc and Columbia University and was elevated to the AIA College of Fellows in 2016. 

George Proctor is a licensed architect and professor whose experience spans from furniture design to large urban projects, including building his own home in 2004. Beginning in construction, he earned dual degrees in Urban Planning and Architecture from Cal Poly and a Master of Architecture in Urban Design from Harvard GSD. An early adopter of CAD and computer graphics, he later led Cal Poly Pomona’s digital curriculum, developing courses in Digital Modeling, Animation, and Interactive Media. His work blends architecture and entertainment-inspired digital design, and his leadership includes chairing the 2002 ACADIA Conference, serving on the founding board of the International Journal of Architectural Computing, and contributing to award-winning projects through his own practice and civic commissions.

Duncan Paterson is a Principal, Studio Leader, and Design Director at Gensler with over 30 years of experience creating vibrant, experience-driven architecture. As a global leader of the firm’s Mixed Use & Retail Centers practice, his expertise encompasses large-scale retail destinations, hotels, entertainment venues, and urban developments around the world. Based in Gensler’s Los Angeles office, he fosters a culture of design exploration and collaboration, while contributing to industry discourse on the evolution of mixed-use and retail environments through his active involvement with the Urban Land Institute and the International Council of Shopping Centers.

Design Awards Gala