GoKawiilUC Berkeley's Grimes Engineering Center wins Fast Company's 2026 architecture design award
Fast Company named the winners of its 2026 Innovation by Design Awards in the architectural design category, honoring buildings and interiors that address challenges in the built environment. The top prize went to UC Berkeley's Grimes Engineering Center, designed by Skidmore, Owings & Merrill, an adaptive-reuse project featuring a new seismic-responsive structural system aimed at improving earthquake resilience.
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The award spotlights how architects are combining sustainability-minded adaptive reuse with advanced engineering to make buildings safer in earthquake-prone regions like California. Recognition from a major design publication can influence how universities and institutions approach future retrofits and construction standards.
- UC Berkeley's Grimes Engineering Center won Fast Company's 2026 architectural design award.
- The building uses a novel seismic-responsive structural system for earthquake resilience.
- It exemplifies adaptive reuse, repurposing an existing structure rather than building anew.
Source: fastcompany.com, 2026-09-14
Published there as: “The best architectural design of 2026”
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