Two Bruner/Cott Projects Receive National SCUP Awards

Two of our projects have been recognized in the 2026 SCUP/AIA-CAE Excellence in Architecture Awards, one of the most prestigious honors in higher education design. Of 99 applications submitted this year, the jury selected just 16 entries for recognition. We’re proud that two of them are ours! 

The Aliki Perroti & Seth Frank Lyceum at Amherst College received an Honorable Mention. Completed in 2023, the 21,000 sf Lyceum conjoins a historic Greek Revival house with a contemporary new addition to create a hub for humanistic inquiry, discourse, and collaboration. Inspired by the Lyceum of Ancient Athens, the building houses Amherst College’s Center for Humanistic Inquiry and Department of History, and serves as the incubator for a new campus district along South Pleasant Street. The project is also Amherst’s first building designed for zero embodied carbon, showcasing low-carbon construction in support of the college’s commitment to carbon neutrality by 2030. 

The Living Village at Yale Divinity School received a Merit Award. Completed in 2025 and designed in collaboration with Höweler + Yoon Architecture, the 43,000 sf graduate student residence is the largest Living Building Challenge–designed residential complex on a university campus and the first in the Ivy League. The result of a decade-long planning and design process, the Living Village serves simultaneously as an affordable student residence, a demonstration site for ecological stewardship, and a living-learning community rooted in the Yale Divinity School’s commitment to eco-theology and regenerative design. 

Winning projects will be featured on the SCUP website and presented at the SCUP 2026 Annual Conference, July 19–21 in Minneapolis, MN, where jury members will lead a session discussing observations and trends in higher education design, as well as challenges ahead for the field. Members of the Bruner/Cott team will be in attendance, and Partner/Principal Jason Jewhurst, FAIA, will be presenting.  

We’re grateful to SCUP and the AIA Committee on Architecture for Education for this recognition, and to our partners at Amherst College and Yale Divinity School for the vision and collaboration that made both projects possible. 

Bruner/Cott to Co-Chair Facades+ Boston 2026

This July, two of our partners will take the helm of one of the AEC industry’s most anticipated annual events. Partner and Principals Jason Jewhurst, FAIA, and Dana Kelly will co-chair Facades+ Boston, taking place on July 23, 2026. 

Co-chaired with The Architect’s Newspaper, Facades+ is the premier conference series on high-performance building enclosures that brings together architects, engineers, fabricators, and developers across North America to advance the conversation around facade design, technology, and sustainability. Attendees can earn up to six AIA HSW continuing education credits. 

We’re also thrilled to share that Senior Associates George Gard and Christopher Nielson, and Associate Stephanie Salsman, will be presenting and moderating at the event. 

The full speaker program will be announced in the coming weeks, and we couldn’t be more excited for what’s shaping up to be a day of conversation, ideas, and connection with the broader design community. 

Visit the Facades+ Boston conference website to learn more and register: https://facadesplus.com/boston26/  

Harvard Boathouses Receive Preservation MA Award

We’re honored to share that our preservation and renovation work at Harvard’s Newell and Weld Boathouses has been recognized by Preservation Massachusetts with the Robert H. Kuehn Preservation Award! This award celebrates extraordinary projects that meld collaborative partnerships with creative, cutting-edge ideas for the rehabilitation and active reuse of historic buildings. 

The award will be celebrated at the annual Preservation Massachusetts awards ceremony on June 11 at 521 Overlook at Fenway Park. 

Originally designed by Peabody and Stearns Architects and listed on the National Register of Historic Places, both boathouses have served Harvard’s rowing community for over a century. Working with national boathouse experts Peterson Architects, our team carefully renewed each building—replacing historic cladding and roofing, restoring masonry, upgrading building systems, and reimagining interiors—all while preserving the character that makes these landmarks irreplaceable to generations of Harvard rowers. 

We’re grateful to Preservation Massachusetts for this recognition, and to our partners at Harvard and across the project team for the collaboration that made it possible. We look forward to celebrating alongside fellow champions of preservation in the Commonwealth on June 11!  

Christopher Nielson Speaks at Carbon Experts Summit

Senior Associate Christopher Nielson, CPHC, LEED AP, spoke at this year’s Carbon Experts Summit, as part of Boston’s inaugural Climate Week, held May 3–10, 2026. 

Boston Climate Week brought together over 5,000 attendees across more than 100 events citywide, uniting climate innovators, policymakers, researchers, and industry leaders around a shared commitment to accelerating Boston’s sustainable future.  

The Carbon Experts Summit, co-hosted by One Click LCA and BE+, brought together AEC professionals, City of Boston representatives, and sustainability practitioners for an afternoon of real-world case studies, regulatory insights, and practical strategies for reducing embodied carbon in the built environment. 

Christopher presented a session titled “Technical Workflows for Carbon Reduction”, sharing how design teams can embed carbon analysis into their practice in meaningful, actionable ways. We’re grateful for the opportunity to contribute to this important conversation!  

Rivermark Featured on America ByDesign

Rivermark has been spotlighted in Season 5, Episode 8 of America ByDesign, the CBS-aired series that champions architectural excellence and the transformative power of design across the country. 

Located along the Charles River in Cambridge, Rivermark is the comprehensive occupied renovation of two 1970s-era apartment towers housing 300 mixed-income units. Completed in 2022 in partnership with our clients at Homeowners Rehab, Inc. (HRI), the project set out to improve energy performance, strengthen community identity, and keep all residents housed throughout 30 months of construction. To achieve this, the team developed a custom overcladding system assembled off-site and lifted into place, allowing the towers to be fully re-enclosed before any existing windows were removed from the interior. 

The episode features Principal-in-Charge Jason Jewhurst, FAIA, and Project Manager Jackie Mignone, alongside our clients at HRI, shining a light on a project that demonstrates how deep investment in existing affordable housing can deliver both environmental performance and lasting community benefit. 

America ByDesign, produced in partnership with the American Institute of Architects (AIA) and broadcast on CBS, highlights exceptional architectural work that strengthens communities and demonstrates how thoughtful design shapes everyday life. Having Rivermark featured brings national recognition to the importance of sustainable, community-centered affordable housing, and the power of design to preserve it. 

Watch the full episode on YouTube. Rivermark begins around the 14-minute mark, following remarks by the AIA President on the importance of affordable housing in America. 

Watch Season 5, Episode 8 on YouTube. 

Jason Jewhurst Speaks at Living Future 2026 in Seattle

This April, Partner and Principal Jason Jewhurst, FAIA, traveled to Seattle to attend and present at Living Future 2026, the 20th anniversary of the annual conference hosted by the International Living Future Institute.  

Now in its third decade, the Living Future Conference is the world’s leading forum for regenerative design. This year’s theme, Designing the Next 100 Years, invited attendees to look beyond immediate challenges and toward long-view design practices that center resilience, ecological stewardship, and intergenerational responsibility. 

Jason participated in a session offering an introduction to the Living Building Challenge, tracing where the program and the broader Living Future movement came from, and where they’re headed. He brought an architect’s perspective to the conversation, grounded in nearly a decade of hands-on experience with the program: as principal-in-charge of the R.W. Kern Center at Hampshire College, the first Living Building–certified project in our portfolio, and of the Living Village at Yale Divinity School, currently pursuing Living Building Challenge 4.0 certification.  

We’re proud to be active participants in the Living Future community, and grateful for every opportunity to contribute to a movement that has, and continues to shape the way we think about sustainable design. 

Bruner/Cott Attends International Mass Timber Conference in Portland

Senior Associate Christopher Nielson and Architect Madison Rogers traveled to Portland, OR for the International Mass Timber Conference, one of the leading gatherings for architects, engineers, and builders at the forefront of mass timber design and construction. 

The trip was especially timely as both Christopher and Madison are currently working on the Mayflower Hill Residence Hall at Colby College, a new mass timber project designed in collaboration with Hopkins Architects. The conference offered valuable opportunities to engage with the latest research, innovations, and built work in the field, from technical sessions and project tours to conversations with practitioners pushing the boundaries of what mass timber can do. 

We’re grateful for the learning and connections the conference provided, and excited to bring those insights back to our work at Colby and beyond. Mass timber is increasingly central to how we think about sustainable design, and experiences like this reinforce our commitment to staying at the leading edge.  

Charles River Speedway Featured on America ByDesign

We’re thrilled to announce that the Charles River Speedway has been spotlighted in Episode 5 of America ByDesign, the CBS-aired series that champions architectural excellence and the transformative power of design across the country.

Originally built in 1899 as the headquarters for a mile-long racetrack along the Charles River, the Speedway complex is a fascinating mix of building types across a 2-acre campus in Boston’s Brighton neighborhood. What was once a bustling community gathering place became an abandoned structure suffering from decay and fire damage before Bruner/Cott, alongside the Architectural Heritage Foundation, breathed new life into this Boston Landmark. The project combines historic preservation and forward-thinking sustainable design to create a vibrant mixed-use destination serving the Allston-Brighton neighborhood.

The episode features cameos from Sean McDonnell and Kara Anderson of AHF, alongside Bruner/Cott architects Christopher Neilson, Henry Moss, and Jason Jewhurst, shining a light on the Koji Club, Garage B, Notch Brewing, and the Speedway’s iconic courtyard.

America ByDesign, produced in partnership with the American Institute of Architects and broadcast on CBS, highlights exceptional architectural work that strengthens communities and demonstrates how thoughtful design can shape everyday life. Having the Speedway featured on the program brings national recognition to the power of adaptive, transformative reuse.

Watch the Full Episode on Youtube!

DoCoMoMo IDC 2026 Recap

Members of the firm spent nearly a week in Los Angeles, the capital of West Coast modernism, for the 2026 DOCOMOMO International Conference.

The conference focused on the challenges and opportunities surrounding the preservation of modern architecture, with an emphasis on the critical roles of climate, community, and creativity. Bruner/Cott was honored to contribute to this important dialogue through a presentation addressing the future of sustainable modern architecture.

Senior Associate George H. Gard, AIA presented our work at Gund Hall, sharing key insights from his paper on the Environmental and Historic Conservation of Modernism. The paper was co-authored with Patrick Murphy of Vanderweil Engineers and Dan Weissman, AIA, IALD, CLD, IES of Lam Partners. George was joined by B/C Associate and Manager of Marketing & Communications, Stephanie Salsman.

They left LA energized by new perspectives and reaffirmed in our commitment to advancing the sustainable stewardship and evolution of modern buildings, proving that modernism isn’t just something to preserve, but something to continue to transform.

Thank you to Docomomo US, DOCOMOMO US – SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA CHAPTER, and the USC School of Architecture for hosting a thoughtful and inspiring conference!

Jason Forney Named Chair of AIA Committee on Architecture for Education

We are excited and proud to share that Partner and Principal Jason Forney, FAIA, has been appointed Chair of the American Institute of Architects Committee on Architecture for Education (AIA CAE).

The AIA CAE is a national knowledge community of nearly 13,000 members dedicated to advancing the design of learning environments. Jason has been an active member of the committee for several years, serving as an at-large member and as part of the leadership group before taking on the role of Chair.

In his letter to the CAE community, Jason shared his vision for the year ahead with an emphasis on the “Continuum of Learning Spaces.” The idea is that people learn across all stages of life and in far more contexts than the traditional classroom: from early childhood centers and K–12 schools to higher education buildings, museums, and corporate learning facilities. As designers, our role is to understand what makes all of these environments excellent and to create spaces that are adaptable, inclusive, and rooted in community.

Jason also leads alongside a leadership group of talented architects from across the country, and four active subcommittees focused on research, advocacy, awards, outreach, and forum programming.

Congratulations, Jason!

Read Jason’s letter on the AIA Community Hub