BROOKLYN, October 27, 2026 – AIA Brooklyn enthusiastically welcomes a jury of architects, educators, planners and developers from Brooklyn and beyond who will select compelling entries to the 2026 Brooklyn Design Awards (BKDA) program. They will be reviewing the work independently, followed by a huddle for earnest deliberation. Entries will be commended for design excellence, technical skill, innovation, environmental responsiveness, and social impact.
The BKDA program has evolved in order to better respond to the complex issues that communities are facing all over the world. The call to protect the health, safety, and welfare of the public has a new and broader meaning in the context of challenges such as increasing climate extremes and social inequity. As such, the AIA’s Framework for Design Excellence has been phased into the selection process, and submitted work will be judged not just on aesthetics, but also on measurable performance metrics.
The 2026 winners will be announced and honored in December by the chapter in a Brooklyn-based celebration, on December 7th at 501 Union. Tickets and sponsorships opportunities coming soon!
Everald Colas, AIA, NOMA, is a Haitian American architect, educator, and founder of STORYN Studio for Architecture. His work explores how architecture gives form to cultural memory, connecting the histories of land and people with the possibilities of contemporary life. Based in St. Petersburg, Florida, Colas leads a practice spanning cultural institutions, hospitality, housing, and civic infrastructure. Across these scales, his architecture joins research and community dialogue with an expressive command of material, light, and craft. Climate and culture shape the work together, informing everything from a building’s organization to the construction of its details.
Colas served as Principal Project Architect for The James Museum of Western and Wildlife Art and leads the design of the proposed Woodson African American Museum of Florida. For the Woodson, he developed an oral history initiative with descendants of the Historic Gas Plant community, translating their accounts and aspirations into architectural space. He is also Co-Design Principal for the African American Museum and Research Library in West Palm Beach.
His built work extends this cultural inquiry into everyday settings: a transit shelter that integrates public art and shade, hospitality spaces that strengthen street life, and residences shaped by regional building traditions. Before founding STORYN in 2018, Colas was a Senior Architect at Bjarke Ingels Group in New York, where he co-led The Smile in East Harlem.
His work has received recognition from the American Institute of Architects, the National Organization of Minority Architects, and the World Architecture Festival. He holds graduate degrees in architecture and architectural pedagogy from the University of Florida, where he serves on the School of Architecture Advisory Council. Through teaching, mentorship, and civic leadership, Colas advances an architecture grounded in place and generous in its public purpose.
Melissa Harlan, AIA, has over 20 years of experience designing and documenting projects of varying type, scale, and complexity for non-profits, Fortune 500 companies, the U.S. Government, and residential clients at firms including Monica Ponce de Leon Studio, Office dA, MacKay-Lyons-Sweetapple, and
Christner Architects. She brings rigorous technical skills together with thoughtful design thinking to create spaces that enhance the human experience and contribute positively to the communities in which they exist. Her current work with Kiku Obata & Company includes historic preservation and adaptive reuse projects in Alton, IL.
Melissa served on the jury for the 2020 AIA Gold Medal and Firm Award. That same year she juried the AIA Small Project Grant and chaired the AIA Small Project Design Awards. She was the 2025 AIA St. Louis President, founding member of AIA St. Louis J.E.D.I. committee, past-member of the AIA Missouri Board of Directors, past-chair of the AIA Small Project Design Knowledge Community, and past-president of the Fay Jones School of Architecture and Design Professional Advisory Board at the University of Arkansas.
Brad Leibin, AIA, CHPD, is a Cofounding Principal of LKC (lkcollaborative.com), an architecture studio based in New York City as well as Athens. His award-winning projects include affordable family housing, permanent supportive housing, prefabricated modular housing, mixed-use development,
office-to-residential conversions, boutique hotels, and single-family homes. With a deep commitment to people-centered design and environmental performance, Brad has guided design, documentation, and construction of thousands of homes in New York City as well as the West Coast. He is a member of the AIA New York Housing Committee and serves on the Land Use and Housing Committee for Queens Community Board District 2. Brad has taught architectural design studios at Pratt Institute and California College of the Arts.
Jenny Peysin is the founder and principal of Jenny Peysin Architecture, a Brooklyn- and NYC-focused practice specializing in sustainable residential design and high-performance historic retrofits. A Cornell University B.Arch graduate, Registered Architect, and Certified Passive House Designer, Jenny champions work that merges rigorous environmental performance, honest natural materiality, and a nuanced dialogue with New York’s historic urban fabric.
Ben Shepherd is a LEED Fellow and Director of Atelier Ten's largest US office, based in New York City. Since joining the firm in 2006, he has extensive experience in sustainability consulting, master planning, urban ecology, and renewable energy across a variety of green development project types. In addition to leading the firm's US Benchmarking practice. Ben is also a member of Urban Land Institute (ULI) since 2016, and is a previous co-chair of ULI New York’s Infrastructure Council. He has also served as adjunct faculty at Cornell’s Art Architecture & Planning (AAP), and at Pratt Institute’s Graduate Architecture & Urban Design (GAUD) program.
– – –
The Brooklyn Chapter of the American Institute of Architects (AIA Brooklyn) is an organization founded in 1894. With over 1000 members, the Chapter is the second largest chapter in New York State and has represented the professional interests of architects for over a century. AIA Brooklyn is dedicated to the advancement of the architectural profession through education, outreach, and mutual support.