Over the past 25 years, Speck’s work has earned more than 120 design awards, including 30+ from the American Institute of Architects. As an educator, he has received more than 40 teaching and service honors, including the AIA/ACSA Topaz Medallion, the highest recognition in North America for excellence in architectural education. He has taught at M.I.T., the University of Western Australia and the University of Texas at Austin, where helped found the Center for American Architecture and Design, before serving as Dean for the School of Architecture from 1992 – 2001. Speck is also an AIA Fellow and served as chair of the jury to select fellows in 2005.��

“LPA is the right culture fit for me — the sincerity, the attitude, the authenticity,” said Speck. “I love the interdisciplinary approach of everybody working together, the commitment to sustainability. It is just an ideal fit.”

“Bringing Lawrence Speck into the LPA fold is a rare moment of the stars aligning — one that strengthens our impact in Austin and deepens our contribution to the city’s design legacy,” added LPA President and Chief Design Officer Keith Hempel, FAIA. “Larry’s storied connection to Austin and passion for design excellence, community‑driven placemaking and meaningful carbon‑reduction strategies resonate deeply with the principles that guide LPA.”��

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What You Need to Know

• Texas State Technical College opened its new Construction Technologies Center to students Feb. 2 at its Waco campus.��

• The facility��consolidates��multiple construction-trades programs that previously��operated��in separate campus buildings.��

• TSTC and contractor materials describe labs and hands-on training space for building construction, electrical, HVAC, plumbing/pipefitting and solar.��

• A ribbon-cutting ceremony is scheduled for Thursday, March 26, according to TSTC.��

Learn More��

WACO, Texas��—�� On��Feb. 2, Texas State Technical College (TSTC) opened a new Construction Technologies Center to students at its Waco campus, bringing several construction-trades programs under one roof.��

The opening marks a milestone for the campus’ multi-trade expansion project, which TSTC leaders and students say is designed to support hands-on learning and collaboration across disciplines.��

The��120,000-square-foot, two-floor structure housing Building Construction, Electrical Construction, HVAC, Plumbing and Pipefitting and Solar Energy programs.��

“It feels good,” TSTC senior construction project manager Michael Schumacher said, in��. “It is nice to see students here, sitting on the furniture and hanging out in the labs.”��

Students interviewed by TSTC pointed to larger labs and upgraded learning spaces. “I love everything about it,” Plumbing and Pipefitting student Zachary Miller said, according to��. “Everything is bigger, better and there is more of it.”��

TSTC’s earlier project update said the center was planned to open in time for spring 2026 semester classes and would support program growth. The May 2025 report also highlighted features such as backlighting, glassed-in labs and a shaded outdoor work area, plus student lounge areas,��offices��and meeting space.��

“My favorite thing about the building is that its design, while serving as a beautiful showcase for TSTC, also allows our students in the construction trades to see how it is put together,” Schumacher��added in��.��

Built by��Rogers-O’Brien Construction, the new building includes��tiltwall��panels, structural��steel��and glazing systems.��Inside��students can take advantage of new��gathering spaces,��offices��and labs,��while outside the project added��surface parking and pedestrian pathways, according to��.��

This article is based on reporting originally published by Texas State Technical College on Feb. 2, 2026, and May 30, 2025, and project information published by Rogers-O’Brien Construction Company.��

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What You Need to Know:��

• The new 46,500-square-foot Early College High School facility is complete in Round Rock, Texas, expanding the program’s permanent capacity to 500 students.��

• The $31 million project replaces portable classrooms with a��consolidated��campus featuring 14 classrooms, labs, collaboration areas and indoor and outdoor athletics and dining space.��

• HPM��provided preconstruction, project��management��and quality control across the project lifecycle, from design through closeout.��

• The campus is tied to Round Rock ISD’s 2018 bond program, and HPM says it is supporting��additional��work tied to the district’s 2024 bond program.��

Learn More��

ROUND ROCK, Texas — Construction was recently��completed a $31 million Early College High School facility for Round Rock Independent School District in Round Rock, Texas, outside Austin, moving the program from portable buildings into a new permanent campus for the Spring 2026 semester. The community celebrated the ribbon-cutting ceremony on Jan. 13.

The 46,500-square-foot building is designed to support the district’s early college model, which combines high school instruction with college-level coursework and allows participating students to graduate with both a high school diploma and an associate’s degree.��

The project increases enrollment capacity to 500 students and��consolidates��instructional and��student-support��spaces under one roof.��The facility is��located on Austin Community College’s Round Rock campus, providing��students��access to nearby higher-education resources.��

Program elements include 14 classrooms, eight study rooms and three labs, along with a large��common area��and an administration suite, HPM said. Student amenities include a cafeteria with a 12-by-8-foot��video wall, an indoor gym, an outdoor basketball court, and outdoor dining and study areas.��

HPM��provided preconstruction services, project management and quality control for the build and managed the effort from design through closeout. Bartlett Cocke served as general contractor,��with��O’Connell Robertson��serving��as��architect.��Rabaa Kistner��provided��geotechnical and construction materials testing services.��

“This facility��represents��more than just classrooms and labs.��It’s��a space where students can explore,��grow��and prepare for their futures. Collaborating with the Round Rock ISD to bring this vision to life reinforces our shared commitment to strengthening learning environments that serve students and the community for years to come,” said Denish��Sonani, senior manager of design and construction at HPM.��

The project is part of Round Rock ISD’s 2018 bond program, which the district’s voters approved to fund new facilities,��renovations��and infrastructure improvements. HPM��will continue��to support the��district through its 2024 bond program and is in the design phase for more than 15 projects that will address upcoming campus enhancements and infrastructure needs.��

Attribution: This article is based on information provided by HPM in a Jan. 16,��2026��project completion announcement and an HPM project update dated May 16, 2024.��

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What You Need to Know:

• University of Texas (UT) San Antonio is advancing five facility projects across its main campus and downtown footprint in 2026.��

• The investments include new student housing, a refreshed museum space, expanded downtown academic and business-support locations, and a major new academic building.��

• The largest project highlighted is San Pedro II, a $130 million, 180,000-square-foot building tentatively scheduled to open in spring 2026.��

• A new $35 million athletics training center is also expected to be completed this fall, with $5 million contributions from both Bexar County and the City of San Antonio.��

Read More:

SAN ANTONIO — UT San Antonio is heading into 2026 with a wave of facility investment that adds housing, expands downtown academic and business-support space, and upgrades athletics infrastructure. Five projects — some already in use, others nearing completion — highlight where the university is putting construction dollars to work.��

Blanco Hall (Main Campus residence hall)��

Blanco Hall��is welcoming��its first students and��expanding��on-campus housing for first-year students and sophomores. The 155,000-square-foot residence hall at Barshop Boulevard and Tobin Avenue adds capacity for��nearly 600��students and includes communal areas for study and collaborative learning. A dedicated kitchen space is also planned to support dietetics instruction as a shared nutrition research and practice lab.��

Institute of Texan Cultures (Frost Tower relocation and refresh)��

The Institute of Texan Cultures will reopen in its new home at Frost Tower, 111 W. Houston St., on Thursday, Jan. 29. UT San Antonio staff worked with design and museum partners to “reimagine,” according to��, the museum for a more modern, interactive experience in its new setting.��

The reopening will feature the main gallery exhibition, “Common Threads,” organized around four themes: home and family life; heritage and traditions; arts and culture; and community.��

One Riverwalk Place (downtown footprint expansion)��

One Riverwalk Place is becoming a larger hub for UT San Antonio in the city’s urban core. After Spring Break, the Valdez Institute for Economic Development plans to move its��operations there, shifting business advising and training services closer to the downtown business community.��

In fall 2025, the building also became home to the��Klesse��College of Engineering and Integrated Design’s School of Architecture and Planning.��

San Pedro II (new $130 million academic building)��

San Pedro II is tentatively scheduled to open in spring 2026,��nearly two-and-a-half��years after its groundbreaking. The $130 million, 180,000-square-foot building on Dolorosa Street sits across from San Pedro I along the San Pedro Creek Culture Park and is planned as a business- and innovation-oriented facility.��

UT San Antonio says the building will expand immersive experiential learning and professional development opportunities and support training for careers in fields such as cybersecurity, AI, computing and data sciences. Alongside San Pedro I — home to the College of AI, Cyber and Computing and the National Security Collaboration Center — the new facility is intended to strengthen the university’s role in the city’s high-tech corridor and contribute to broader investment in the San Pedro Creek area.��

Training Center (new $35 million athletics facility)��

On the main campus, a new two-story, $35 million training center is expected to be completed this fall next to the Roadrunner Athletics Center of Excellence. The 53,000-square-foot facility will support daily operations for men’s and women’s basketball and volleyball, while games continue at the Convocation Center.��

Plans include two full-sized NCAA practice courts and program-dedicated support areas such as locker rooms, lounges, training and hydrotherapy space, meeting��rooms��and coaches’ offices. The project is backed by Bexar County and the City of San Antonio, which each invested $5 million.��

This article is based on reporting originally published by UT San Antonio Today on Jan. 5, 2026.����

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By Lindsey Coulter��

AUSTIN, Texas��— Construction is now underway on Oak Springs Elementary School in Austin, Texas. The project was part of an ongoing bond program for Austin Independent School District (AISD), which was approved in 2022 and includes more than $2 billion in capital projects for local schools. ��

Huckabee, a Fort Worth-based education design firm and the founding brand of MOREgroup, is the architect on the new 83,000-square-foot, two-story building, which will include a new gym with a basketball court, full cafeteria, theater, music studio and exterior rain garden. Designed to foster collaboration, the learning spaces, referred to as studios, will have walls that open toward the hallways, enabling them to merge with adjacent spaces to encourage interactive learning among students and teachers. The school will also include mental health and wellness areas, new presentation and display systems, technology security improvements and network infrastructure upgrades.��

“This new building will provide a safe, innovative and collaborative space that greatly enhances the school’s educational offerings,” said George Zakar, project executive at Hoar Construction, the project’s builder, in a statement.��“At Hoar, we look forward to drawing on our extensive experience of working on active campuses across Texas to minimize disruption to student learning and maintain the highest safety standards throughout the construction process.”��

The design will also include high-grade concrete floors and a cool, pastel color palette to complement the school’s mascot, the dolphin. In addition to dedicated outdoor learning spaces, a new playground will be built on campus and shared with the Austin Parks and Recreation Department, with a community center attached to the facility for public events. To ensure student safety, the community center will have a separate entrance from the school. The school itself will also benefit from a variety of enhanced security features.��

Students and administrators will continue to use the existing building until the $47 million replacement facility is complete in spring 2027. The former school, which was built in 1958, will then be demolished and converted into parking spaces.��

The 2022 bond program also includes projects across the district, including the installation of secure entry vestibules on all campuses as well as upgraded doors, locks and security fencing. The funding will also address deferred maintenance and upgrades to plumbing, HVAC and roofing, focusing on schools with critical deficiencies. Additionally, 26 aging facilities—including eight high schools, five middle schools and 13 elementary schools—will receive full or phased modernizations. Improvements to athletic facilities will bring new turf fields, lighting and seating to the district’s athletic facilities, while career and technical education programs will receive a boost through new permanent facilities to replace portable buildings at two early college high schools.��

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HOUSTON — Rice University, a private, non-profit university in Houston, will soon break ground on the new Moody Center Complex for Student Life (MCCSL), a 75,000-square-foot multi-use hub.����

Serving as a centralized location for essential services, from food services to study spaces to entertainment, the center aims to support connection and interaction between Rice University students and the surrounding community. The project was formally announced earlier this month and is slated for completion in fall 2027. Construction will officially begin with a May 8 groundbreaking.������

“Rice University is dedicated to empowering our students to become leaders who make meaningful impacts around the world,” Reginald DesRoches, Rice president, said in a statement. “The Moody Center Complex for Student Life will be a centerpiece for community, creativity and collaboration, providing our students with the resources and spaces they need to thrive.”��

91��Ƶ in the new facility include an extended-hours cafe and coffee shop to facilitate gathering and connection, alongside numerous meeting and collaboration rooms. A large, programming pavilion will open to the central quad to offer dynamic outdoor and indoor events such as lectures, performances and multicultural celebrations. A first-of-its-kind study, tutoring and testing space will be launched inside the facility to promote academic success, and a space devoted to career advancement services will assist students in planning for their futures.����

The MCCSL, designed by Seattle-based architecture firm Olson Kundig alongside Washington-based architecture and planning firm Page, aims to expand student services as the university population steadily rises. This will include the addition of a new space for the dean of undergraduates to support the growing student body. Over the past 10 years, Rice’s enrollment has risen 34%, with almost 9,000 undergraduate and graduate students enrolled, according to a university statement.��

“The Moody Center Complex for Student Life is set to become a vibrant cornerstone of student activity at Rice—an open, inclusive and outward-looking space that amplifies the university’s mission to support students in their academic, personal and professional journeys,” said Kelly Fox, executive vice president for operations, finance and support, in a statement.��

To enhance the complex, the neighboring Rice Memorial Center and Ley Student Center will also undergo renovation upon completion of the MCCSL. Students at Rice University will provide input on the redesigns to ensure educational needs are met and reflected.����

A $15 million donation from the Texas-based grantmakers The Brown Foundation will go towards supporting the MCCSL, alongside a $100 million commitment from the Moody Foundation, a group focused on enhancing education in Texas. Aside from the MCCSL, the $100 million will also support 12 campus endowments focused on enriching student opportunity and success.��

“This new state-of-the-art facility will be much more than just a building; it is an investment in the future of every student, supporting them in pursuit of their passions,” said Elle Moody, a 2014 trustee of both the Moody Foundation and Rice, in a statement. “My hope is that it will provide opportunities for our students to form meaningful connections, not only with one another, but also with a vast network of scholars and leaders from local to global communities.”��

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BRYAN-COLLEGE STATION, Texas — The Texas A&M University System Board of Regents has approved multiple campus construction and improvement projects that total over half-a-billion dollars. The record-setting vote reflects the A&M System’s legislative success in 2023 when a record $1.19 billion in new spending, including $775 million in new initiatives, was approved by the state, according to a statement by the university system.��

Among the approved projects is a $200 million, four-story research center that will focus on space exploration, specifically assisting in missions to the moon and to Mars. The new building, the Texas A&M University Space Institute, will sit on a 32-acre site and will house classrooms and research laboratories devoted to robots and vehicles as well as offices, classrooms and auditoriums. Construction is slated to begin in January. ��

Additionally, the regents approved the construction of a $10 million Hypersonic Wind Tunnel that is poised to become the largest academic facility of its kind in the nation. Large-scale aerodynamic testing, ranging from Mach 5 to 9, will be conducted at the new facility and will go hand in hand with research at the Ballistics Aero-optics and Materials (BAM) Range and the Detonation Research Test Facility. Construction on the wind tunnel will begin in December. ��

Construction will also begin in December on a $21.69 million, state-of-the-art Educare San Antonio facility, which will serve children ages six weeks old through kindergarten. The project will mark Texas’s first Educare school, and the facility will join a national network of 25 schools dedicated to early childhood education. The lab-school will also provide hands-on experience for students at Texas A&M-San Antonio.��

An additional $25.3 million in approved funds will go towards an 86-acre site purposed for a Texas A&M Engineering Extension Service facility and will eventually serve the program’s headquarters. The facility will offer training and technical assistance in fire and rescue, infrastructure and safety, law enforcement, economic and workforce development, cybersecurity and homeland security. The site will also include a driving track, an urban simulation grid, skills pad and classrooms.��

“This agenda not only underscores the great needs of the state and nation,” said Chancellor John Sharp in a statement. “It is only possible thanks to the foresight and commitment of our state leaders.”��

Other funding approved will go towards private and public athletic renovations, a new veterinary research complex, a $7.4 million student dining hall and $74.9 million in utility and HVAC upgrades on College Station campus.��

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BUFFALO, N.Y.— The School of Dental Medicine at the University of Buffalo (UB) has received a $7.3 million grant from the Office of Research Infrastructure Programs of the National Institute of Health for development of the new 4,000-square-foot Microbiome Center Gnotobiotic Animal Research Facility, supporting research that may provide insights into diseases such as inflammatory bowel disease, colon cancer, osteoporosis and heart disease.��

The prestigious research grant will support oral microbiome research to gain insights into systemic diseases, bacterial pathogenesis and more. The new research center is poised to make a significant impact on the community as the only oral microbiome research facility of its kind in the region, with the nearest similar center located over 300 miles away in Cleveland.��

“Receiving an NIH grant of this magnitude speaks to UB’s reputation as one of the top research universities in the country and also to the dental school’s commitment to cutting-edge research,” said Marcelo Araujo, dean of the School of Dental Medicine, in a statement. “It will enable us to work closely with other disciplines across the university, as well as our community partners and other universities.”��

Animal subjects within the research facility, like mice, will be raised in a controlled, gnotobiotic environment where microbial exposure is managed for more reliable research into bacterial issues and health. UB is planning the facility in consultation with architectural and engineering firms with extensive experience in biomedical laboratory design and green design principles, according to a statement by the University.��

The campus’ original Microbiome Center, originally built in 2012, has been home to various clinical trials and has celebrated numerous in-lab findings regarding periodontal infections. The new facility will build upon past efforts and allow students and researchers to continue collaborating with on- and off-campus medicinal research teams to help place UB in the top 25 of public research universities in the nation, according to Keith Kirkwood, senior associate dean for research and UB professor.��

Construction on the project is expected to begin in 2025.��

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ALLEN, Texas—VLK Architects was recently awarded the Caudill Award for the design of the Allen ISD STEAM Center in Allen, Texas, a city of approximately 85,000,��located 23 miles north of Dallas.

The jury noted the design of the Allen STEAM Center stood out due to its “innovation that solved community needs and enrollment growth while looking to the horizon for determining future student interests and skills” and how the “total shift in culture occurred with an explosion of STEAM interest across the district.”

The two-story arc-shaped building was designed with separate high school STEAM and elementary/middle school experience designated entrances with the intention to provide a foundational system promoting curiosity, cultivating future-ready skills, and preparing Allen ISD students for success in STEAM-related areas.

The Caudill Award is the highest honor in the TASA/TASB Exhibit of School Architecture (EoSA) competition. Allen STEAM was also the only project in the EoSA Competition that received all six Stars of Distinction awards.

The STEAM Center offers specialized spaces such as engineering and robotics labs, computer labs, computer maintenance instructional programs, science and physics labs, math classrooms, and studios for the architecture and interior design programs.

Collaboration spaces, common areas, and huddle rooms are situated throughout the facility to provide a range of places for groups to collaborate on projects. Throughout the center, visibility and transparency across disciplines creates an open co-creative atmosphere that provides younger students a window to the advanced upper classes. The design integrates a rich outdoor setting, providing learning trails and ecological zones for exploration.

“The Allen ISD STEAM Center is a unique facility that empowers our students to engage in experiential learning,” said Robyn Bullock, Allen ISD Superintendent, in a statement.

“From the tranquil outdoor trails and pond, the hands-on makerspace labs, and the carefully planned science labs and classrooms, the STEAM Center provides our students the opportunity to engage in future-focused STEAM lessons and activities. We are proud to have partnered with VLK throughout the design process to create our one-of-a-kind facility that is helping build innovative and collaborative skillsets for all students.”

The new STEAM Center supports innovative instruction across the district, offering Kindergarteners to 12^th-grade students more than 100,000 square feet of increased exposure to science, technology, engineering, art and math-integrated experiences.

“We are so proud to have received the Caudill Award in recognition of this incredible project,” said��Sloan Harris, CEO | Partner of VLK Architects, in a statement.

“Our team’s exploration and research in what this facility could be founded the design that became real innovation in a learning environment, centered around Allen ISD’s bold vision for this one-of-a-kind school. We are grateful for the partnership with Allen ISD and to be a part of this project.”

The Allen STEAM Center also recently received a Merit Award at the 2020 AIAFW Excellence in Architecture.

Cadence McShane Construction of Addison, Texas, was the general contractor on this impressive project.

Student enrollment has more than doubled since 1989 in the Allen Independent School District, which serves than 20,780 in grades K-12. Students attend one of 18 elementary schools, three middle schools, one freshman center, and one high school staffed by 2,660 Allen ISD employees.

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