(Irvine, CA) September 18, 2015 -- At the recent 2015 American Institute of Architects, Orange County Chapter (AIAOC) Design Awards, LPA Inc., one of the largest integrated design firms in California, was honored with the 25-Year Award for the design of the Irvine Ranch Water District (IRWD) Headquarters. As one of the highest honors to be given by the AIAOC the 25-Year Award is a special tribute given to projects that have withstood the test of time.

The award was accepted by LPA and IRWD at the Awards Ceremony on September 17 held at the Ocean Institute in Dana Point, California.

According to the AIAOC criteria for the 25-Year award, “The test of time is used to single out the executed project that will receive this award. The project must have excellence in function, distinguished execution of its original program and be a highly creative statement measured even by today’s standards. The highest criteria for an architectural solution will be used for this award: in a word the project should be timeless.”

IRWD has occupied the building since its completion in 1991. The two-story, 52,500-square-foot office building houses administration space and a multi-purpose conference center designed to accommodate a variety of meeting types and sizes. The concept was to design a building that would look better with age, require less maintenance and upkeep than a typical office building and be energy-efficient.

“The prestigious AIAOC 25-Year Award acknowledges a wonderful partnership between IRWD and LPA, who together shared a vision to implement sustainable design long before it became as necessary as it is today. Along with our client, LPA is truly honored to be recognized by our peers for making the right choice to practice the conservation of resources,” said Glenn Carels, Chief Design Officer at LPA.

The building’s extensive and diverse use of reclaimed water and HVAC system has been a model for the region the IRWD serves. The building surpassed Title 24 by a remarkable 50 percent in 1991. Many of the building’s sustainable design features could be part of a sustainable discussion today such as drought-tolerant planting, proper solar orientation, daylighting controls, thermal energy storage to off-set peak energy use and much more.

Exterior materials—including sandstone, precast concrete, stainless steel and copper—were selected to give the project a sense of permanence and are remarkably unchanged from when it was completed 25 years ago.

Paul Cook, General Manager of IRWD, stated, “Our headquarters is a design that was well-ahead of its time. Even after so many years its sustainable features are still great talking points for visitors and new employees who come to our office.”

About LPA Inc. 
Founded in 1965, LPA has more than 290 employees with offices in San Antonio and Irvine, Sacramento, San Diego and San Jose, California. The firm provides services in architecture, sustainability, planning, interior design, landscape architecture, engineering and graphics. There is no “Sustainability Director,” at LPA. Instead, nearly 70 percent of the professionals are LEED accredited, including the Human Resources Director, CFO, and several other support staff. With extensive experience in public and private architecture, LPA designs a diversity of facilities that span from K-12 schools, colleges and universities to corporate and civic establishments. More than 600 major design awards attest to LPA’s commitment to design excellence. For more information, visit http://www.lpainc.com.

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