Skip to main content
Add as a preferred source on Google

CEFPI Announces 2015 James D. MacConnell Award Finalists

  • 07/20/15

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

  • California School District Completes Elementary School Modernization

    The San Diego Unified School District in San Diego, Calif., recently held a ribbon-cutting for a whole-site modernization of Pacific Beach Elementary School, according to local news. The school first opened with one building in 1930 and added six more between 1938 and 1957.

  • DFW-Area District Opens New Replacement Middle School

    The Eagle Mountain-Saginaw Independent School District near Fort Worth, Texas, recently held a ribbon-cutting ceremony for a new replacement middle school campus, according to a news release. The new facility for Wayside Middle School, originally established in 1964, was built on the site of the former district administration building and funded through Bond Proposition A in 2023.

  • Children walking along bright school corridor with motion blur

    How Next-Gen Design Is Reshaping the Student Experience

    The environments where students learn play a crucial role in shaping their growth in and out of the classroom. By centering design on well-being, flexibility, and purpose, districts can ensure their facilities remain vibrant community assets for many years to come.

  • How a Portable Sink Helped an Art Classroom Run More Smoothly

    Classroom design decisions can have outsized effects on instructional time and safety at schools juggling mismatched infrastructure, strict budgets, and crowded schedules — particularly in the arts. Between spilled paint and dirty brushes, art classes run smoother with a sink in the studio. But many schools don’t have a sink in every art classroom.