The American Institute of Architects (AIA) and its Committee on the Environment (COTE) have selected the top ten sustainable architecture and ecological design projects for 2016.

Now in its 20th year, the COTE Top Ten Awards program honors projects that protect and enhance the environment through an integrated approach to architecture, natural systems, and technology.

A recently released study, entitled Lessons from the Leading Edge, reports that design projects recognized through this program are “outpacing the industry by virtually every standard of performance.”

The 2016 COTE Top Ten Green Projects are:

Religious buildings make up many of the highlights of architectural history, and the Religious Architecture Awards from Faith & Form magazine and the Interfaith Forum for Religion, Art, and Architecture celebrate the latest entries in this category. As trends in religious practices and the buildings that house them have changed, this year’s awards celebrate a wide variety of structures, including a growing number of renovation and restoration projects, as well as the first-ever award for a building in the “megachurch” category. From a total of 44 entries, 16 projects received awards in one of five categories: New Facilities, Renovation, Restoration, Adaptive Reuse/Repurpose, and Liturgical/Interior Design.

Read on to see all the winners of the Religious Architecture Awards.

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The American Institute of Architects (AIA)'s Committee on Architecture for Education (CAE) has announced the winners of its CAE Education Facility Design Awards, which honor educational facilities that “serve as an example of a superb place in which to learn, furthering the client’s mission, goals, and educational program, while demonstrating excellence in architectural design.”

A variety of project designs, such as public elementary and high schools, charter schools, and higher education facilities, were submitted to the Committee, many of which incorporated “informal and flexible spaces for collaboration and social interaction adjacent to teaching spaces,” as well as staircases with amphitheater or forum designs.

Find out which projects received awards, after the break.

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