Washington, D.C. -- The American Institute of Architects' (AIA) Committee on Architecture for Education (CAE) recognized nine projects for state-of-the-art designs of schools and learning centers.

The Education Facility Design Award jury selected four facilities for its Awards of Excellence and five projects for its Awards of Merit. In order to be eligible for AIA’s Awards of Excellence, the architect must demonstrate exemplary practice. Additionally, the design must meet a host of criteria, including enhancing learning in classrooms; balancing function with aesthetics; establishing a connection with the environment; being respectful of the surrounding community; demonstrating high-level planning in the design process; and integrating sustainability in a holistic fashion.

Awards of Excellence were bestowed upon: Crosstown High School (Memphis, ANF Architects) San Francisco Art Institute at Fort Mason Center for Arts & Culture (San Francisco, Leddy Maytum Stacy Architects); Magnolia Montessori for All (Austin, Texas, Page); and Daniels Building at One Spadina, The University of Toronto (Toronto, NADAAA, Inc, Associate Architect: Adamson Associates Architects).

Projects selected for the Awards of Merit are recognized for being of superior quality. This year’s recipients include: Rutgers University-Camden: Nursing and Science Building (Camden, N.J., Perkins Eastman, Associate Architect: NELSON Architects); Cornell University College of Veterinary Medicine, (Ithaca, N.Y., WEISS/MANFREDI Architecture/Landscape/Urbanism); IIT Innovation Center (aka Ed Kaplan Family Institute for Innovation and Tech Entrepreneurship) (Chicago, John Ronan Architects); MIT.nano (Cambridge, Mass., Wilson Architects Inc.); and University of British Columbia Aquatic Centre (Vancouver, B.C., MacLennan Jaunkalns Miller Architects and Acton Ostry Architects).

For more information, visit www.aia.org.