The Best in LA Residential Design: AIA|LA 2025 Award Highlights

The AIA|LA Residential Architecture Awards started in 2017. It was created by the American Institute of Architects Los Angeles chapter to honor great residential design. The awards are open to projects in Los Angeles or by architects who are members of AIA|LA.

From the beginning, the program included many types of housing, such as single-family homes, apartment buildings, and renovations. Projects are judged by a group of architects and given different levels of recognition: Honor, Merit, or Citation. Over the years, new categories were added to highlight issues like affordable housing and climate challenges. In 2025, a new award for resilient design was introduced to focus on safety and disaster-ready homes. The program continues to grow, encouraging innovation and thoughtful design in residential architecture.

The 2025 AIA|LA Residential Architecture Awards celebrate outstanding achievements in residential design by architects working in the Los Angeles area or completing projects within its reach. This annual program showcases innovation, sustainability, and design excellence across a range of housing types from single-family residences to multifamily developments.

Projects are acknowledged not only for their spatial and visual quality but also for how thoughtfully they engage with the region’s shifting cultural, social, and environmental needs. This year, the American Institute of Architects Los Angeles recognized 18 residential projects that exemplify these values. Spanning the greater Los Angeles area and beyond, the awarded works were honored across diverse categories like:

• Accessory Dwelling Units (ADUs)
• Affordable Housing, Alternative Housing
• Adaptive Reuse
• Multi-Family
• Single-Family
• Resilient Design category

The Resilient Design category, which was opened for the first time in the 2025 edition, includes designs that are highly resistant to all natural disasters, such as fire, earthquake and flood in residential buildings. Houses that are resistant to natural disasters with special materials for the region they are designed for were awarded in this category.

You can check some winner projects of the 2025 edition below. If you would like to see all winners and catch the details of 2025 AIA|LA Residential Architecture Awards you may visit the official website of AIA Los Angeles here.

South E8, (Raleigh, NC) by Lorcan O’Herlihy Architects [LOHA]

Lorcan O’Herlihy Architects (LOHA) is a Los Angeles–based firm known for creating innovative designs that emphasize social impact and urban connectivity; they have been recognized with the Multi-Unit Residential – Small Award for this project.

Project Legacy, (Riverside, CA) by Hopson Rodstrom Design

Hopson Rodstrom Design, a Los Angeles-based architectural firm, was honored with the Alternative Housing Honor award at the 2025 AIA|LA Residential Architecture Awards for their housing project.

Trancas House 2.0, (Malibu, CA) by Lorcan O’Herlihy Architects

Lorcan O’Herlihy Architects is a Los Angeles firm known for smart designs they won the Multi-Unit Residential – Small Award at the 2025 AIA|LA Residential Architecture Awards for Bellevue53 project.

Graoni Beach House, by Montalba Architects

Montalba Architects, based in Santa Monica, won a Citation Award in the Single-Family Residential – Large category at the 2024 AIA|LA Residential Architecture Awards for their Carla Ridge Residence project.

Westchester ADU (Los Angeles, CA) by Bunch Design

Bunch Design is a Los Angeles architecture firm known for creative work; they won a Merit Award in the 2024 AIA|LA Residential Architecture Awards for their SMS ADU project