The PCBC Gold Nugget Grand Award winners were announced last night in San Francisco at a sold-out gala event at the Moscone Center. Among the honorees (and taking home four Grand Awards) was AO, a leading full-service architecture firm with design expertise spanning the entire commercial real estate spectrum. The Gold Nugget fete, now in its 59^th year, coincides with PCBC’s annual conference and trade show for real estate development, and is the oldest design competition in the nation awarding national and international projects for innovative architecture, planning, and construction.
Facing a rigorous evaluation process, a panel of top industry experts selected nine AO projects as merit award recipients in 11 categories, four of which received top honors as grand award winners, showcasing the most innovative design, planning, and building trends out of hundreds of U.S. and International entries. AO projects were recognized for stellar design in diverse categories including multifamily, mixed-use, affordable housing, modular housing, recreation centers, community amenities, senior living, and sustainability
“The Gold Nugget Awards is where the top developers, architects, and interior designers showcase their best work,” says RC Alley, managing partner at AO. “We spend years collaborating with our clients and team to design and construct these projects, and months preparing our awards submittals, so taking home a merit or grand award is a very special honor.
AO’s Grand winning projects for the best in multifamily design are; Iowa Apartments in Riverside, CA for Best On-the-Boards Mixed-Use; Warner Red Hill in Santa Ana, CA for Best On-the-Boards Site Plan; and Confluence Park in Valencia, CA for Best Community Amenity and Best Design for Energy.
The Grand and Merit Award Winning projects by category are:
Best Recreational Use Facility:

• Confluence Park, in Valencia, CA developed by FivePoint (MERIT)

 
Best Mixed-Use Project:

• Prado West, in Dana Point, CA developed by Raintree Partners (MERIT)

 
Best On-the Boards Mixed-Use Project:

• Dupont Village, in San Jose, CA developed by Miramar Capital and TPC (MERIT)
• Iowa Apartments in Riverside, CA developed by UDR and Seritage (GRAND)

 
Best On-the Boards Site Plan:

• Warner Red Hill, Santa Ana, CA developed by Greystar (GRAND)

 
Best On-the-Boards Affordable Housing Community

• Modus, in San Leandro, CA developed by TPC and AMG & Associates (MERIT)

 
Best Multifamily Housing Community 60 to 100 du/acre:

• REVO at Jefferson Stadium in Anaheim, CA developed by JPI (MERIT)

 
Best Multifamily Housing Community – 100 du/acre or more:

• Anton Aspire and Ascend in Milpitas, CA developed by Anton DevCo (MERIT)

 
Best Age Qualified Senior Living Community – For Sale/Rent:

• Revel Palm Desert in Palm Desert, CA developed by The Wolff Company (MERIT)

 
Best Community Amenity:

• Confluence Park, in Valencia, CA developed by FivePoint (GRAND)

 
Best Design for Energy

• Confluence Park, in Valencia, CA developed by FivePoint (GRAND)

 
Innovative Housing Concepts

• Dupont Village, in San Jose, CA developed by Miramar Capital and TPC (MERIT)

About AO 
AO is a relationship-focused, design-driven architectural, interior, and planning services firm helping clients create places where people and businesses flourish. In its 48th year, the firm boasts wide-ranging expertise across multifamily, retail, hospitality, mixed-use, science and technology, data centers, restaurant, healthcare, office, industrial, parking, landscape, interiors, and global design, modular, transit-oriented development, and public utilities. AO is known for its ardent collaboration with developers and owners and deep expertise across various building types. AO operates from studios in Orange, San Diego, Oakland, and Sunnyvale, CA, New York, NY, Atlanta, GA, and Orlando, FL, where it serves clients across the Americas, Asia, and beyond. Visit aoarchitects.com to learn more.