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The renovation of Crosby Hall and the new Brittany Murchie Mulla Sports Performance Center have won Excelsior Awards in design from the American Institute of Architects New York State (AIANYS).

The AIANYS Excelsior Awards program recognizes excellence in publicly funded buildings, outdoor spaces and public art across New York, as well as the architects and design professionals who support and advocate for them.

The awards honor outstanding projects in categories such as Historic Preservation, Landscape Architecture, New Construction and Renovation/Addition, underscoring the importance of design integrity, functionality and community impact. Over the past 10 years, more than 100 projects statewide have received Excelsior Awards.

“We are grateful to the AIANYS Excelsior Awards jury and planning committee for acknowledging these two important projects,” says Kelly Hayes McAlonie, director of campus planning. “As we continue to improve our campus environments, we are fortunate to work with talented consultants and members of the university community who share our belief in the value of design on the student experience.”

Crosby Hall, designed by E.B. Green and completed in 1931, has housed the Department of Architecture’s studio-based experience for more than 40 years. 

The $28 million renovation project, begun in 2021 and completed in time for the fall 2023 semester, fully restored the exterior of the building to historic standards and reconfigured the interior as an airy, open, contemporary space for learning and creation. The building’s heating, cooling and ventilation systems were replaced with high-efficiency systems to make the building comfortable, energy-efficient and secure against the elements.

The awards jury called the project “an elegant solution of respecting historic context while enhancing current educational needs. The balance of warm, open public spaces and the simplicity of creative workspaces, almost as to provide a blank canvas to showcase studio work, offers a comforting juxtaposition.”

The Brittany Murchie Mulla Sports Performance Center, which opened last year, is a first-class facility that doubles the training space for UB’s student-athletes, creating a state-of-the art environment to enable them to compete at their peak. The 12,000-square-foot, multilevel facility features 18 free-weight-training racks; a 42-foot, 17-degree-turn training incline; a 1,000-square-foot cardio mezzanine; three offices; a conference room; and a supplemental nutrition area. It is connected to the west end of the Murchie Family Fieldhouse on the North Campus.

The sports performance center previously was recognized with a 2024 Architecture Design Merit Award in the category of Institutional/Educational by the Buffalo/WNY Chapter of AIA.

In selecting the sports performance center for an Excelsior Award, the AIANYS awards jury cited the “harmonious blend” between the new performance center and the existing fieldhouse “that maximizes daylighting and provides spaces that motivate personal development.”

The jury also praised the facility for its “commendable net-zero energy design, which is highly functional and also elevates the student experience.” It also provides “a spectacular new gateway to the campus’ athletics area.”

“The design team did a wonderful job of integrating social interests in the environment of a university for a facility that can serve multiple functions,” the jury noted. “The project was found to be flexible and also fits well into the fabric of the university.”

AIANYS, composed of 13 statewide chapters representing more than 9,500 architecture professionals, is dedicated to recognizing and celebrating excellence in architecture, advocating for the profession and fostering a community of architects committed to advancing the built environment.