2026 Jeff Harnar Award Winners Announced
April 30, 2026
The University of New Mexico School of Architecture + Planning and the Thornburg Foundation have announced the winners of the 2026 Jeff Harnar Awards. These awards, created by Garrett Thornburg in 2007, honor the legacy of the late local architect Jeff Harnar and his groundbreaking work in contemporary design.
The awards ceremony took place at the School of Architecture + Planning’s George Pearl Hall April 17 and included a lecture by Lawrence Scarpa, FAIA, of Brooks Scarpa Huber Architects.
SA+P Dean Robert Alexander González stated, “Now in their 20th year, the Jeff Harnar Awards continue to showcase the profound creativity and social commitment of designers across the Southwest and interested in our region. This year's winners once again exemplify design excellence. We saw impactful work grounded in place, community and innovative materiality.”
The top prize, Contemporary Architecture in the Southwest, was awarded to HK Associates (Kathy Hancox & Michael Kothke), for their residential project, Casa Luce, in Tucson, Arizona. Casa Luce reframes contemporary architecture in the Southwest via preservation as an active, creative practice: one that saves embodied energy, honors cultural lineage, and redefines architectural essence through transformation rather than replacement.
$10,000 Contemporary Architecture in the Southwest – HK Associates
Casa Luce, Tucson, Arizona
The prize for Unbuilt Architecture was awarded to Shenglu Qiu, for the speculative project Inhabited Mud: Generative Earthen Housing, in Antonito, Colorado.
$3,000 Professional Unbuilt Architecture – Shenglu Qiu
The Jury’s Selection for Innovative Regional Design was awarded to Nathaniel Dansie of the University of Virginia for Spirit of Water, Empire of Sun: Designing for Desert Living.
$3,000 Innovative Regional Design – Nathaniel Dansie, University of Virginia
The First Prize Student Award in Architecture was awarded to Aarif Ahmad & Thanh Le from the Harvard Graduate School of Design for Circular Library.
$2,000 First Prize in Student Architecture – Aarif Ahmad & Thanh Le, Harvard Graduate School of Design
The Second Prize Student Award in Architecture was awarded to Nicoya Dant of The University of New Mexico.
$1,000 Second Prize in Student Architecture – Nicoya Dant, The University of New Mexico
The First Prize Student Award in Landscape Architecture was awarded to Jichu Zhang from University of Pennsylvania
$2,000 First Prize in Student Landscape Architecture – Jichu Zhang, University of Pennsylvania
The Second Prize Student Award in Landscape Architecture was awarded to Brenton Cai from the University of Pennsylvania.
$1,000 Second Prize in Student Landscape Architecture – Brenton Cai, University of Pennsylvania
Congratulations to all this year’s Jeff Harnar Awards winners! Applications for the 2027 awards cycle will open in Spring 2027.
2026 Jeff Harnar Awards
The Jeff Harnar Awards for Architecture are now accepting submissions for 2026. The Jeff Harnar Awards program was created by Garrett Thornburg in 2007 to honor the memory of architect Jeff Harnar, known for his groundbreaking design in contemporary architecture in New Mexico. The deadline to apply is Friday, March 27, 2026. For 2026 the program includes the following six categories:
- Contemporary Architecture in the Southwest ($10,000 Prize)
- Unbuilt Architecture ($3,000 Prize)
- Unbuilt Landscape Architecture ($3,000 Prize)
- Innovative Regional Design ($3,000 Prize – Jury's selection from all submissions)
- Student Architecture (First Place $2,000 & Second Place $1,000)
- Student Landscape Architecture (First Place $2,000 & Second Place $1,000)
