Nunez Community College Student Testing and Career Counseling Center Honored with AIA Louisiana Award of Merit

Holly & Smith Architects is honored to announce that the Nunez Community College Student Testing and Career Counseling Center has been recognized with an Award of Merit at the 2025 AIA Louisiana Design Awards.

This student-centered facility was envisioned as a bold new identity for the campus, offering career counseling, testing services, flexible meeting and training rooms, and a welcoming café. The design preserved the live oak grove on site while incorporating brick, metal, and wood to reflect the college’s industrial training curriculum and create spaces that are both functional and inviting.

The jury recognized the project’s thoughtful design solutions, elegant massing, and restrained material use, noting: “This project shows how thoughtful choices can elevate a simple volume with a basic material palette to become refined and high-quality design.” They also commended the use of daylight in the central corridor, the varied openness to adjacent rooms, and the harmonious balance of durability and warmth throughout

Congratulations to our H/S team and partners for their dedication to this meaningful project supporting student success at Nunez Community College.