Design Draw Build  - Competition Project - Project Team: Tyler Kobick (Principle, Design), Charlie Boyd (Project Lead, Design), Conrad Scheepers (Render, Design), Sam Miller (Energy Modeling, Design), Yahnit Mehta (Communications)

In Febuary 2025, Design Draw Build won the top Honor Award from AIA California’s Architecture at Zero design competition.

The illustrious Architecture at Zero competition, now in its thirteenth year, is AIA California, PG&E, Southern California Edison, SoCal Gas, and California Energy Commission’s premier energy focused design competition. The jury commended our project’s foresight and excellence in wildfire resiliency and water reuse.

Design Draw Build’s design for Griffith STEAM Magnet Middle School creates an oasis of climate resilience and scholastic achievement within East Los Angeles’ historically underserved community. During increasingly common extreme weather events, the school is conceived of as a community emergency shelter and neighborhood-scale resource of power and water to help neighbors support each other through droughts, blackouts, and extreme heat events.

A timely solution considering the devastation our fellow Californians have faced with the wildfires early in 2025. We revere the opportunity to participate in the crucial conversation on water resiliency in Los Angeles.

Thank you to AIA California, AIA Los Angeles, Southern California Edison (SCE), Pacific Gas and Electric Company, SoCalGas, California Energy Commission, and the esteemed jury for recognizing the Design Draw Build’s Agualta STEAM Engine.