The COTE® Top Ten remains the profession's benchmark for design and performance. In this interactive session, COTE leadership and jurors will unpack the 2026 winners, revealing replicable strategies behind diverse project types, geographies, and clients.
Through case studies, the panelists will translate the AIA Framework for Design Excellence into actionable tools, linking design intent to measurable outcomes in carbon, water, health, equity, and resilience. You'll leave with checklists, metrics, and practice-ready tactics for client alignment, interdisciplinary delivery, and post-occupancy feedback.
Join us for bold, practice-rooted ideas and clear pathways to elevate design quality and impact in your practice.
Learning Objectives
- Learn how to map proven strategies from 2026 COTE winners to early visioning, design development, and delivery.
- Review five evidence types (measured outcomes, POE data, carbon accounting, resilience modeling, community impact) that consistently distinguished winners.
- Select and adapt three tactics across energy, water, materials, and health, and build a 90-day implementation plan with milestones, owners, and a one-page Framework scorecard template.
- Discover how to link code and hazard analyses to community benefits and calculate a simple ROI for two strategies: passive survivability and reuse.
- Ellen Mitchell, AIA, LEED AP BD+C, WELL AP
Director of Sustainability and Applied Research - LPA, Inc. - Ellen Mitchell, AIA, LEED AP BD+C, WELL AP
Director of Sustainability and Applied Research - LPA, Inc. - Rand Ekman
Chief Sustainability Officer - HKS Inc. - Ellen Mitchell, AIA, LEED AP BD+C, WELL AP
Director of Sustainability and Applied Research - LPA, Inc.