Lollini Wins Jefferson Award for Public Architecture

Campus Architect Thomas Lollini, whose vision has contributed much to UC Merced’s growing legacy of sustainable design and construction, is one of only two winners of the 2015 Thomas Jefferson Awards for Public Architecture from the American Institute of Architects (AIA).

“UC Merced is a place of significant architectural beauty and coherence, shaped by the integration of natural and built environments,” Edward Mazria, founder of Architecture 2030 wrote in a recommendation letter. “The innovative work Tom has been doing [there] is producing a learning laboratory for the profession, students and faculty.”

Before joining UC Merced in 2005, Lollini was a campus planner at UC Berkeley, where he was responsible for $2.5 billion in capital investments, including a series of seismic upgrades that reshaped the campus. His New Century Plan, UC Berkeley’s first comprehensive planning exercise in 100 years, paved the way for enrollment to expand by 10 percent.

Lollini will also help guide UC Merced to its next phase of expansion — to 10,000 students by 2020.

The group praised Lollini’s “singular role” in growing a new university, called his work an example of contemporary design values that should permeate the nation’s culture, and said his consistent vision and leadership created architecture that binds the story of the region’s ecology to students’ and faculty members’ everyday life.

“I am both honored and humbled by this recognition,” Lollini said. “UC Merced has been a collective effort of many talented and dedicated professionals, including those who came before us and continue to inspire and support us in this endeavor.”