LPA Design Studios gets top billing on this week’s list of OC’s largest architectural firms, with 20% growth in local billings and companywide billings of $156 million for the 12 months ended June 30.
The firm, founded in an Irvine garage about 60 years ago and having since grown to over 500 architects, engineers, designers and researchers companywide, has also garnered national attention of late.
The American Institute of Architects recently presented LPA with the 2025 AIA Architecture Firm Award, described as “the highest honor the AIA bestows on an architecture practice.”
Other notable winners of the award over the years include I.M. Pei & Partners, César Pelli & Associates and Gensler.
LPA was honored by the institute as “a trailblazer in sustainable, high-performance architecture, blending a mission-driven ethos with innovative, interdisciplinary design practices.”
The firm reported that over the past five years, it reduced predicted energy use in its education, civic, healthcare and commercial projects by an average of 75%. It says it also “helped lead nationwide efforts to develop more efficient facilities that measure performance around energy, wellness, community and experience.”
“Our story demonstrates what a firm of any size can accomplish when we stop making excuses and focus on performance to deliver design excellence,” LPA CEO Wendy Rogers said.
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One of LPA’s most notable local projects is the 310K-sq.-ft. HQ initially designed for Ford’s high-end Premier Automotive Group division in Irvine; built in 2001, it was the first LEED NC-certified building in the U.S.
Ford subsequently slimmed back its Irvine operations in a series of corporate moves over the years; most of the office complex is now used by Taco Bell for its HQ.
The automaker last month announced it would be shutting down its last big Irvine division at the site, the Ford Design Studio, and shift those operations to Long Beach.
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Next-gen robots have made FieldAI Orange County’s next tech unicorn; see Kevin Costelloe’s front-page story next week for more on the two-year-old Irvine-based startup, now valued at $2 billion, and its deep-pocketed backers, which include NVentures, Nvidia’s venture capital arm.
The city of Irvine, meanwhile, is using another firm’s robots to help ensure streets and public areas are accessible to people with disabilities.
The city this month announced it would be partnering with Philomath, Oregon-based Daxbot “to deploy its urban service robots equipped with GPS and sensors to efficiently and precisely assess and inspect curb ramps and sidewalks in public streets.”
Irvine says it maintains more than 9,000 curb ramps, 950 miles of sidewalk, 400 transit stops, 64 public buildings and 68 public parks. Data from the robot assessment will be used to prioritize future improvements.
The robots are being deployed in the southern section of the city this month and will work their way north. A field technician will be on standby if any issues arise, the city said. The program’s being funded via a nearly $1 million contract the city inked with contractor Bureau Veritas a few months ago
The city has seen its share of robots in the wild. About six years ago, Amazon used Irvine as a testing ground for its Amazon Scout, a self-driving robot designed to deliver packages.
