CEFPI Announces 2015 James D. MacConnell Award Finalists

Washington, D.C. CEFPI is pleased to announce the selection of the 2015 MacConnell Award finalists.  The MacConnell Award recognizes a comprehensive planning process that results in educational facilities that enhance the educational program, meet multiple goals and hold purpose and distinction within a community.

Renee Alexander, AIA, BBT Architects and jury chair commented, “All of this year’s entries were exceptional, making it an extremely difficult task for the jury. These projects reflected the innovative school planning and design work that is moving beyond the traditional world of schools as we know them and inspiring transformation in education for tomorrow’s learners and leaders.”

Congratulations to the 2015 MacConnell Award finalists:

Alexandria Area High School 
Alexandria School District 206
Alexandria, Minnesota 
Cunningham Group Architecture, Inc.

Ernest S. McBride High School
Long Beach Unified School District
Long Beach, California 
LPA, Inc.

Dr. Phinnize J. Fisher Middle School
Greenville County Schools
Greenville, South Carolina
McMillan Pazdan Smith Architecture in Association with Co-Design Architect Fielding Nair International

Raisbeck Aviation High School
Highline School District
Tukwila, Washington
Bassetti Architects 

The MacConnell award finalist projects will be showcased at the CEFPI LearningSCAPES Conference in San Diego, CA, October 22- 26, 2015, with the winning project recognized at the Awards Breakfast.

The Council of Educational Facility Planners International (CEFPI) is the only professional organization whose principal purpose is improving the places where children learn.  CEFPI embraces a collaborative network of professionals with one single goal – building healthy, safe, resilient and sustainable 21st Century learning places, that enhance student and teacher performance and support culture and community vitality.  To learn more, visit www.cefpi.org.

Featured

  • S4L Announces 2026 Education Design Showcase Winners

    Spaces4Learning is thrilled to announce the winners of the 2026 Education Design Showcase! Now in its 27th year, the annual awards program honors innovative solutions in planning, design, architecture, and construction across K–12 and higher education.

  • Porter Family Center

    Porter Family Center for Innovation and Academics

    Established in 1999, the Education Design Showcase is a vehicle for showing off innovative — yet practical — solutions in planning, design, architecture, and construction. The Porter Family Center for Innovation and Academics has been recognized with an EDS 2026 Project of Distinction award in the category of New Construction.

  • Architectural Power for the Modern Campus Landscape

    For generations, an outdoor classroom only required a textbook and a patch of grass. Today, not only has the laptop replaced the printed pages, the rise of agile learning has turned campuses into study halls with students listening to lectures and researching topics from quads, gardens, and plazas. The challenge for architects and facility managers is to provide connectivity without cluttering the landscape with visual eyesores or creating safety hazards with extension cords.

  • University of Kansas Breaks Ground on Entrepreneurship Hub

    The University of Kansas in Lawrence, Kan., recently held a groundbreaking ceremony for the new KU Entrepreneurship Hub, according to university news. The Hub is part of the university’s School of Business and will include spaces for experiential learning and programming.