For Immediate Release
Contact: Brooks  +  Scarpa Architects

Emily Hodgdon (323) 596-4703 hodgdon@brooksscarpa.com

LOS ANGELES, CA, May 1, 2014 —Today, the Smithsonian’s Cooper-Hewitt director Caroline Baumann announced the winners of the 2014 National Design Awards, which recognize excellence and innovation across a variety of disciplines.  Brooks + Scarpa was selected as the recipient of the award in architecture for their high level of excellence, innovation and public impact of their body of work.

First launched at the White House in 2000 as a project of the White House Millennium Council, the National Design Awards were established to promote design as a vital humanistic tool in shaping the world. The awards are accompanied each year by a variety of public education programs, including special events, panel discussions and workshops.

“Through programs like the National Design Awards, the museum fulfills its mission to educate, inspire and empower people through design, locally, nationally and globally, and we look forward to opening the doors to the new Cooper-Hewitt later this year,” said Baumann. “As we celebrate the 15th anniversary of the program, I am delighted to welcome this new class of extraordinary designers, each of whom represent the very best in their discipline and demonstrate design’s power to affect the quality of our life, community, economy and environment.”

A jury of design leaders and educators from across the country, convened by the museum, reviewed submissions resulting from nominations submitted by the general public. Individual nominees must have been practicing professionally for a minimum of seven years; Lifetime Achievement nominees must have been practicing professionally for a minimum of 20 years.

Media Website: http://www.cooperhewitt.org/national-design-awards/2014-winners

About the Smithsonian’s Cooper-Hewitt, National Design Museum

As the only museum in the nation devoted exclusively to historic and contemporary design, Cooper-Hewitt educates, inspires and empowers people through design. The museum is undergoing a transformative renovation resulting in 60 percent more gallery space and will open in late 2014 with an entirely new visitor experience. During the renovation, Cooper-Hewitt’s events and education programs are popping up locally at the Cooper-Hewitt Design Center in Harlem and nationally with the Design in the Classroom program in New Orleans, New York City, San Antonio, Washington, D.C., Cleveland and Minneapolis.

About Brooks + Scarpa Architects (http://www.brooksscarpa.com)

Brooks + Scarpa is known for their creative use of conventional materials in unique and unexpected ways. Over the past 10 years, Brooks + Scarpa (formerly Pugh + Scarpa) has won more than 20 national AIA awards, including the 2010 Architecture Firm Award and five AIA COTE Top Ten Green Building Awards. In 2008, Brooks + Scarpa received a Lifetime Achievement Award from Interior Design Magazine.