Designed by Dake Wells Architecture, Reeds Spring Middle School in Missouri is nestled in a hill. Photo Credit: AIA
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AIA’s 2018 Honor Awards Winners Will Make You Drool for School

WASHINGTON — As editors of School Construction News, we pride ourselves on not being susceptible to clicking through beauty shots of scholastic structures when we should be working hard for our readers. However, there are times when we’re weak — and we click — and if you’re a fan of award-winning educational institute design and the 2018 Honor Awards, you just might click, too.

Earlier this month, the Washington, D.C.-headquartered American Institute of Architects (AIA) announced the winners for its annual 2018 Honor Awards, a plaudit long-held as the greatest honor in architecture and design. In a curious coincidence of national pride, all of the winning architects are U.S.-based, however, their work is scattered all over the globe. Business Insider scribe Leanna Garfield did the heavy-lifting of ferreting through the list of honorees for, ahem, teachable monuments and found these, which we heartily encourage you to click through, too.

Consider the beauty above — Reeds Spring Middle School; Reeds Spring, Missouri designed by Dake Wells Architecture. As the AIA site explained: “Taking advantage of the site’s dramatic topography, this new middle school places the two largest programmatic spaces below grade, providing energy efficiency and storm resiliency for nearly 400 students and teachers. A cascading atrium is the heart of the school, flooded with light and activity, connecting collaborative teaching zones and flexible learning environments. A wood screen references the nearby woods while providing added safety and warmth to the building interior.”

“Cascading Atrium.” Yep, that’s our new band name. Sigh.

Selected from roughly 500 submissions, 17 recipients located throughout the world will be honored at the AIA Conference on Architecture 2018 in New York City, said the AIA in a statement. Congrats to all the honorees — but especially the schools!

The American Institute of Architects just announced the winners of its annual 2018 Honor Awards, considered the highest achievement in architecture.

Source: Beautiful schools in the AIA 2018 Honor Awards – Business Insider