AIA New England Architecture Awards
In October of 2025, the American Institute of Architects New England awards program celebrated a range of project types and participating firms, with Annum Architects and Ann Beha (lead architect for the project) securing the “Honor Award for Excellence in Architecture” for the Wallace Center.

Architectural Record Awards
Just a week later, the editors of Architectural Record magazine selected recipients for their first annual awards program. The Annum team and representatives from Emma Willard School attended the ceremony in New York City, where they received recognition for winning the “Performance Spaces” category. 

Engineering News-Record (ENR) East
In November of 2025, the Wallace Center received the “Best Project” award in the K-12 Education category for the annual ENR East awards. Projects were selected based on design quality, ability to overcome construction challenges, and contributions to the local community.

AIA New York State Design Awards
In December of 2025, the Wallace Center was again recognized with an award, this time from the AIA New York State for the “Adaptive Reuse | Historic Preservation” Category. The award highlighted the unique nature of the Emma Willard project that married the painstaking historic restoration of the school’s chapel with the innovative construction of the below-grade Wallace understory.

ENR East Best of the Best
Following the win in the fall, the Wallace Center was included in the line-up of “Best of the Best” projects by the ENR East at their Award of Excellence Gala in New York City on March 26, 2026. The ENR Gala is considered one of the most prestigious annual award ceremonies in the architecture, engineering, and construction industry in the Eastern United States.

Architecture+ Awards
In May of 2026, the school learned that it would again be honored with a “Special Mention” for the Wallace Center at the “A+ Awards,” which receives submissions from more than 70 countries worldwide. The project is displayed along with other 2026 winners in the A+ Awards gallery.

CBS: America “ByDESIGN”
Last but certainly not least, Emma Willard learned this spring that the school was selected by the producers of CBS’s popular online series “America By DESIGN” for a feature episode on the Wallace Center. Principal photography and filming were completed in June, with the episode's air date still to come.

Emma Willard School is grateful to its partners at Annum Architects and Consigli Construction, as well as the entire project team that helped bring the Wallace Center for the Performing Arts to life: Ann Beha FAIA, TyLin, Kohler Ronan, Nextstage Design, IQ Landscape Architects, C.T. Male Associates, Acentech, Available Light, Acoustic Distinctions, Chuck Choi Architectural Photography, and Recover Green Roofs.

To learn more about the Wallace Center and the inspirational generosity of its benefactor, Alice Dodge Wallace '38, visit the Infinite Horizon campaign site.