Designing Equity: NOMA’s Phil Freelon Awards Showcase the Power and Reach of Inclusive Architecture

Brave Architecture Library

BRAVE/Architecture’s Fernando Brave, NOMA, FAIA, received the Honor Award for the Dr. Shannon Walker Neighborhood Library in Houston, TX.

By Paul Makovsky

November 10, 2025

From adaptive reuse in the Bronx to visionary towers in New York and community hubs in Houston, the 2025 NOMA Phil Freelon Awards reveal how design excellence and social impact are becoming inseparable.

At the 2025 National Organization of Minority Architects (NOMA) Conference in Kansas City, the Phil Freelon Professional Design Awards reaffirmed the legacy of their namesake — a designer who saw architecture as a means of empowerment. Before an audience of more than 1,200 attendees, NOMA celebrated the best in built and unbuilt work across categories including Vision, Built Work, Unbuilt Work, Historic Preservation, Restoration, and Small Projects.

Jurors Deep Chaniara, NOMA, AIA (Corgan); Dayton Schroeter, NOMA, AIA (SmithGroup); and Eman Siddiqui, NOMA, AIA (GSBS Architects) praised this year’s submissions for “elevating architecture as a cultural force for equity.”

With 46 professional chapters, two international chapters, and more than 4,000 members, NOMA’s community continues to expand. The 2025 conference attracted over 60 sponsors and 70 participating firms and universities—evidence of a deepening pipeline of diverse talent transforming the built environment.