Thursday, August 20, 2026
The New Children's Museum | 200 W Island Ave, San Diego, CA 92101
The New Children's Museum | 200 W Island Ave, San Diego, CA 92101
Celebrate Design Excellence at AIA San Diego's Annual Awards Gala
Each year, the AIA San Diego Design Awards recognizes distinguished architectural design professionals and celebrates their outstanding projects at a momentous ceremony attended by hundreds of architects, designers, and industry professionals.
We celebrate architectural design excellence across our region, emphasizing context, sustainability, and community impact. This year’s gala will be held at the New Children’s Museum, an iconic downtown landmark designed by San Diego's Rob Wellington Quigley, FAIA. With its bold structural expression, soaring interior volumes, and art‑driven atmosphere, the museum offers a dynamic setting that reflects the creativity and innovation at the heart of our profession.
This is more than an awards show, it’s a chance to experience exceptional work, celebrate architecture’s role in shaping San Diego, and connect with the people who make it all possible. Let's celebrate with style and come dressed to shine.
We celebrate architectural design excellence across our region, emphasizing context, sustainability, and community impact. This year’s gala will be held at the New Children’s Museum, an iconic downtown landmark designed by San Diego's Rob Wellington Quigley, FAIA. With its bold structural expression, soaring interior volumes, and art‑driven atmosphere, the museum offers a dynamic setting that reflects the creativity and innovation at the heart of our profession.
This is more than an awards show, it’s a chance to experience exceptional work, celebrate architecture’s role in shaping San Diego, and connect with the people who make it all possible. Let's celebrate with style and come dressed to shine.
Location
The New Children's Museum
200 W Island Ave, San Diego, CA 92101
200 W Island Ave, San Diego, CA 92101
Date & Time
August 20, 2026, 5:00 PM - 10:00 PM
EVENT SCHEDULE
5:00 PM - 6:00 PM: VIP Reception
6:00 PM - 7:00 PM: Cocktail Hour
7:00 PM - 8:30 PM: Awards Program
8:30 PM - 10:00 PM: Celebrations
THE 2026 JURY
Each year, AIA San Diego invites a panel of respected architects, designers, and thought leaders from across the country to evaluate submissions and select award recipients.
The 2026 jury brings together a diverse mix of voices and perspectives, reflecting the depth, rigor, and creativity of this year’s entries.
The 2026 jury brings together a diverse mix of voices and perspectives, reflecting the depth, rigor, and creativity of this year’s entries.
Design Awards Jury Chair:
Anne Marie Duvall Decker, FAIA
DUvall decker | jackson, ms
Anne Marie Duvall Decker is a founding principal of Duvall Decker, an expanded practice in Jackson, Mississippi that provides architecture, development consulting, and facilities maintenance services.
Anne Marie sees architecture as instrument, engaging the material phenomena of our environment and culture to create the potential for education and growth. She leads the studio in creating elusive forms and engaging spaces, no matter the type, size, or budget of projects. She has served the profession in many capacities, as a long-term board member and past president of AIA Mississippi and as a Trustee and 2021 Chair of the AIA Trust.
Anne Marie is often invited to share her experience as a lecturer, critic, visiting professor, and design juror. She was appointed to serve the U.S. Department of State Bureau of Overseas Buildings Operations as a 2021-2023 Industry Advisory Group peer and was awarded the 2023 Mississippi State University College of Architecture, Art, & Design Alumna of the Year Recipient. In 2023, Anne Marie Duvall Decker was a recipient of Architectural Record’s Women in Architecture Design Leadership Award. Duvall Decker was profoundly honored to be named the 2026 recipient of the AIA Architecture Firm Award.
Amanda Loper, FAIA, LEED AP
David Baker Architects | San Francisco, Ca
Amanda Loper, FAIA, LEED AP, advances architecture and urban design with originality, pragmatism, and joy. As a tenacious design leader and advocate, she champions the human experience and connection to place while empowering collaborators and communities. She is a principal with David Baker Architects, a nationally recognized and locally oriented architecture firm. Amanda leads the firm’s Southeast studio, in Birmingham, Alabama. She has led the design and realization of dozens of award-winning projects throughout California, the Southeast and beyond.
Michael Cotton
Snøhetta | New york, ny
Raised by a power tool designer and preschool teacher, nested in construction paper and saw dust, Michael has followed his passion in Architecture with a sense of playfulness and invention. Since joining Snøhetta in 2009, he has led a variety of arts and campus-related projects, believing strongly in architecture’s ability to shape community and improve lives.
Michael holds a Masters in Architecture from the University of California at Berkeley and double-majored in Architecture and Industrial Design at North Carolina State University. An optimist by nature, Michael leads projects with positivity and the belief that challenges are best overcome with collaborative teamwork and a can-do attitude.
Scott Magic, AIA, NCARB
Magic Architecture | austin, tx
Scott Magic, AIA is the principal of Magic Architecture located in Austin, Texas in 2016. The firm was established on a single commitment: to make beautiful everyday spaces. Large and small, interior and exterior, public and private without exception. There is a genuine shortage of great rooms in current architecture — places people are drawn to, linger in, and love. That absence is what drives his practice. Through thoughtful material choices, considered detailing, and a spirit of curiosity, Scott seeks to bring meaning to the spaces he shapes with his clients
Scott built his career alongside some of the most respected names in architecture and design, including Michael Hsu Office of Architecture, Architects Hanna Gabriel Wells, and architect-developer Jonathan
Segal. His breadth of experience spans an exceptional range of scales and typologies — from custom light fixtures, corporate interiors to scrappy old buildings, hospitality spaces, and large-scale master
planning. A rigorous attention to detail informs his work at every level.
A native of Lake Bluff, Illinois, Scott pursued his architectural education at the University of Oregon, where he earned a Bachelor of Architecture degree. The Pacific Northwest left a lasting impression, instilling in him a sensibility rooted in optimism, restraint, and a deep appreciation for the natural environment. During his decade on the West Coast, he developed a passion for architectural education, leading weekly tours of Louis Kahn's iconic Salk Institute and teaching studio at the NewSchool of Architecture. Upon licensure, he relocated to Texas to establish a family and establish his practice. S
cott lives in central Austin with his two sons and border terrier. He is a licensed architect in Texas, Colorado, Georgia, Florida, North Carolina, and Oregon.
Javier Sánchez, HFAIA
JSª | mexico city, mx
Javier Sánchez, HFAIA is an architect with an honorable mention from the National Autonomous University of Mexico (UNAM) (1996), and Master of Science in Sciences and Development of Real Estate Projects from Columbia University, New York (1998).
In 1996 he founded JSa, a leading architectural practice in the renewal of Mexico City, focused on comprehensive architectural interventions that transcend their contemporary context, and reinterpret the city’s heritage to contribute towards a continuos reconversion, rehabilitation and restoration of the urban fabric.
Since then, and throughout the past three decades, JSa’s practice has designed and built over 190 projects in Mexico, South America and Europe. Encompassing five cross complementary axes around: the recovery of heritage and promotion of culture; the conception of unique hospitality experiences; the design of versatile community and workspaces; the integration and development of sustainable solutions; and the continuous exploration of housing as the foundation of the urban ecosystem.
Awarded with more than 130 national and international awards, some of his accolades include: the Golden Lion of the Venice Architecture Biennale (2006), the Best New Global Design Citation by The Chicago Athenaeum: Museum of Architecture and Design (2007), the First International Prize of the Pan-American Architecture Biennial of Quito (2012), the Gold Medal of the National Architecture Biennial of Mexico (2020), and the Housing Award of the American Institute of Architects (2022).
In 2008 he was elected Honorary Fellow of the American Institute of Architects (AIA); in 2009 he became a member of the National Endowment for Culture and Arts of Mexico; and in 2014, he was invited to head the Federico E. Mariscal Lectureship at the School of Architecture of the National Autonomous University of Mexico.
Since 2011 he is a member of the National Academy of Architecture of Mexico, and in 2023 he was named Emeritus Academician of the same institution in recognition of his prominent contributions to the practice. Recently in 2024, Sánchez was endowed as the 2024 BarberMcMurry Endowed Professor of the Knoxville’s College of Architecture and Design at The University of Tennessee.
DxSD MADE POSSIBLE BY
2026 GOLD CHAPTER SPONSORS
DxSD MADE POSSIBLE BY
2026 SILVER CHAPTER SPONSORS
ABOUT THE VENUE: The New Children's Museum
Located in the heart of downtown San Diego, the New Children’s Museum offers a vibrant, art‑driven setting designed to spark creativity and connection. With its soaring open spaces, playful architectural forms, and seamless blend of indoor and outdoor experiences, the museum provides an energetic backdrop for gatherings of all kinds. Designed by Rob Quigley, FAIA, the building itself is a living piece of contemporary art, featuring sustainable materials, bold structural expression, and dynamic installations that transform every corner into a moment of discovery. It’s an unforgettable venue for a night celebrating design excellence!
Located in the heart of downtown San Diego, the New Children’s Museum offers a vibrant, art‑driven setting designed to spark creativity and connection. With its soaring open spaces, playful architectural forms, and seamless blend of indoor and outdoor experiences, the museum provides an energetic backdrop for gatherings of all kinds. Designed by Rob Quigley, FAIA, the building itself is a living piece of contemporary art, featuring sustainable materials, bold structural expression, and dynamic installations that transform every corner into a moment of discovery. It’s an unforgettable venue for a night celebrating design excellence!
DxSD MADE POSSIBLE BY
2026 BRONZE CHAPTER SPONSORS
