Marywood University’s School of Architecture recently received the 2025 Social Impact Award from the American Institute of Architects Pennsylvania (AIA Pennsylvania).
The honor is part of the AIA Pennsylvania Architectural Excellence Special Awards program, which recognizes outstanding contributions by individuals, organizations and institutions that advance the built environment and the architectural profession across the state.
The Social Impact Award celebrates design work that advances positive social, environmental and economic change. The recognition highlights efforts that are innovative, scalable and measurable, underscoring the belief that design is a powerful tool for improving lives, strengthening communities and shaping a betterworld.
“The School of Architecture at Marywood University has a deeply rooted commitment to teaching the value of impacting community through design,” Catherine Broh, AIA, secretary, executive committee, AIA Pennsylvania board of directors, said in a news release. Broh presented the award. “For years, their faculty, staff and students have actively partnered with local and regional communities to provide meaningful design assistance that addresses real world challenges in the northeast region of the state,” she said.
Broh cited projects that encompass designing and constructing a range of community-focused solutions, including much-needed bus stops for a nearby town, community gardens that demonstrate how design can be both pragmatic and beautiful, and teaching local elementary students how design impacts their lives.
The Marywood University School of Architecture’s recent initiatives include:
Observe Scranton festivals in partnership with the Center for the Living City (2021, 2023, 2025).
Garden Structures for Camp Create (2025).
Virtual reconstruction of a railcar at Steamtown National Historic Site (2025).
LightUP Everhart for the Everhart Museum (2024).
Architecture in Schools K–12 Education Initiative (2021–2024).
Hosting the International & Northeast Pennsylvania Regional Bridge Building Competitions (2022, 2025).
Glacier Jane: Zero-energy renovation of the Mariner’s Unit at Girl Scouts’ Camp Archbald (2022–2024), awarded second prize in the Retrofit Housing Division of the 2023 U.S. Department of Energy Solar Decathlon Design Challenge.
Adaptive reuse of the Gravity Slope Colliery for Archbald Borough (2021–2024).
Barn renovation for Arthur’s Acres Animal Sanctuary (2023).
Public space design for the Garden of Cedar (2021–2025).
Recreational infrastructure for the Lackawanna River Conservation Association (2022).
Adaptive reuse of the former PNC Bank for the Black Scranton Project Center for Arts & Culture (2021).
Bus shelters for Valley in Motion (2021).
Electric Jane: Net-zero townhouses for Endless Mountains Habitat for Humanity (2020–2021), awarded first prize in the Attached Housing Division of the 2021 U.S. Department of Energy Solar Decathlon Design Challenge.
Through hands-on partnerships and community-driven design, the university’s School of Architecture empowers students to engage with people of all social and economic backgrounds and encourages the next generation of designers to positively impact their communities as they develop into architects.