Two CannonDesign projects recognized with national AIA awards

The two projects were recognized at the AIA Conference on Architecture & Design's awards gala on June 5, 2025. These national awards are the "ultimate acknowledgment of impactful, exemplary work that sets new standards and inspires others," according to the AIA.

UW Frank Chopp Medicine Center for Behavioral Health and Learning

Recipient of the Healthcare Design Award, the UW Medicine Frank Chopp Center for Behavioral Health and Learning (CBHL) is a pioneering integrated mental healthcare model in Seattle, Washington. The six-story building on the UW Medical Center Northwest Campus is a fully integrated, welcoming and healing environment for individuals struggling with both physical and behavioral health conditions.

The CBHL fulfills a significant need for mental and behavioral health services within the community, including mental health crisis care, medication management, state-of-the-art outpatient treatment, inpatient adult and senior mental health units and medical and surgical care for individuals for behavioral health disorders.

The top three floors house inpatient mental health units designed to support a new model of care, where nurses and staff are within the patient space rather than observing from a separate nurse station. The true heart of each unit is the milieu space, primarily intended for dining and social activities. With access to daylight, views and a physical connection to outdoor spaces, these areas are designed to allow patients a sense of agency and choice, creating the physical and mental space patients need to heal.

The design encourages users to connect with the regional ecosystem through interactive elements like interpretive signage, thoughtfully placed pathways and natural seating areas that immerse visitors in the landscape. These features raise awareness of local flora, fauna, and environmental processes, fostering a deeper connection to the place.

Edward J. Ray Hall at Oregon State University-Cascades

Recipient of an Education Facility Design Award, Edward J. Ray Hall at Oregon State University-Cascades sets a new benchmark for sustainable, contemporary campus architecture. This Net Zero Energy, mass timber building exemplifies low-carbon innovation, featuring locally sourced timber from restoration and tribal-managed forests. Perched on the edge of a reclaimed 46-acre pumice mine, it merges dramatic mountain views with a seamless connection to the existing campus and planned expansions. The building and its adjacent outdoor spaces step with the topography to create a gateway and link between the existing upper campus and the future development that will occur in and around the bowl of the transformed mine.

The building was conceived through a prototyping process focused on defining a new type of academic environment that could support a number of educational activities and functions, promote interdisciplinary collaboration and embody social equity and sustainability. A centralized, flexible technology core paired with a modular grid organizes the multiple activity-based space typologies derived from project goals and objectives.

Ray Hall’s programming reflects the university’s emphasis on interdisciplinary collaboration and experiential learning. Housing Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts and Math (STEAM) programs, the building includes specialized laboratories, general classrooms, a makerspace and a machine shop designed to encourage hands-on experimentation and innovation. 

One of the hallmark features of the building design is the intentional break in the building facade, providing transparency into the multi-level collaborative hub and lobby. This light-filled space not only softens the building’s interface with the landscape, but also serves as its centerpiece, as a welcoming and adaptable area that accommodates up to 300 people.