John F. Kennedy High School and Hilda L. Solis Aquatic Center were each honored with a 2026 Concrete Masonry Association of California and Nevada and AIA California (CMACN/AIACA) Concrete Masonry Design Award.
Los Angeles Unified School District’s John F. Kennedy High School New Classroom Building won the Grand Award for Education Design. The high school serves 2,400 students and provides nationally recognized magnet and CTE programs in architecture, digital design, filmmaking, the teaching career academy, freshman academy, school for advanced studies, and gifted/high ability medical magnet. The new 22,906 SF, two-story classroom building completes the southern edge of campus and incorporates 10 new classrooms for science, special education, childcare development, and general study. The placement along the edge of campus allowed for an outdoor classroom, ample space for the child development play area, and a dedicated drop-off and pick-up for that program. The school’s cafeteria, student store, music complex, auditorium, and shop building were renovated and reconfigured to give each of these programs room to grow and serve growing students’ needs.
The Hilda L. Solis Aquatic Center won a Merit Award for Public/Civic Design. The $35 million Aquatic Center, managed by LA County Public Works on behalf of the LA County Department of Parks and Recreation, features a new swimming facility and community park on a 3.1-acre site within the former campus of Temple Academy Elementary School. The design of the aquatic center includes an Olympic-sized, 50-meter competitive swimming pool, a smaller practice and recreational pool, shaded bleachers and swim team areas, and modern amenities to facilitate competitive swimming events and water sports. Adjacent to the pool area, an approximately 10,800-SF building includes classroom space for swim teams and community events, offices, locker rooms with showers, public restrooms, and a break area for aquatic center staff. The joint-use community center provides vital aquatic and recreational resources for San Gabriel Valley residents and students of Hacienda-La Puente Unified School District (HLPUSD). The Balfour Beatty and HMC Architects design-build team relied on critical community partnerships throughout construction, including collaboration between LA County’s departments of Public Works and Parks and Recreation, HLPUSD, and Active SGV, as well as the West Puente Valley community at large.
The Concrete Masonry Design Awards Program recognizes outstanding architectural design incorporating concrete masonry. This program is sponsored by the Concrete Masonry Association of California and Nevada (CMACN) and co-sponsored by AIA California (AIACA). The awards will be presented at the CMACN Design Awards Banquet will be held in Pasadena on Friday, September 25, 2026. To read more and see the full list of winners, visit CMACN’s website.
