The floor-to-ceiling mosaic inside a pedestrian underpass near the Wishbone Bridge received the 2026 IAP2 USA Core Values Award: Project of the Year for Creativity and Innovation, the city announced in a Monday news release.
The Unity Tunnel spans a 160-foot underpass beneath Pleasant Valley Road at Lady Bird Lake. It connects the Roy G. Guerrero Colorado River Metropolitan Park to the Ann and Roy Butler Hike-and-Bike Trail.
The artwork, created by Texas artist Reginald C. Adams, features more than 689,000 hand-laid tiles in a mosaic mural with custom flagstones and a 3,000-square-foot painted mural on the tunnel ceiling.
The IAP2 award recognizes projects that use innovative techniques to engage communities. According to the release, more than 250 Austin residents helped shape the Unity Tunnel over a year and a half of “collaborative design and artmaking,” with participants ranging from ages five to over 65. About 68% of the participants lived in the immediate neighborhood.
Judges praised the project’s use of sound baths, quiet reflection and guided meditation. They added that the community “went above and beyond decision-making and led to their investment into the artmaking,” with physical contributions in the final art piece.
“Unity Tunnel exemplifies what is possible when public participation is treated as a creative, collaborative, culturally responsive practice,” said Angela Means, director of the city’s Arts, Culture, Music and Entertainment department. “Austin residents shaped this artwork’s stories, symbols, materials, and even helped fabricate it.
The city’s Art in Public Places Program and Adams were recognized at the IAP2 North American Conference in Vancouver, British Columbia, on Oct. 1.
In addition to the IAP2 award, the Unity Tunnel was also recently selected as a 2026 CODAworx Winner for Best Collaboration, city officials said.