Photo courtesy of LABC
By SARAH SHMERLING | Editor-in-Chief
Several Palisades community organizations that are “guiding wildfire recovery and rebuilding efforts” and Palisades Charter High School received Los Angeles Business Council awards, which were announced on Friday, November 21.
Pali High was honored in the Adaptive Reuse category of LABC’s 55th Architectural Awards for its “rapid conversion of the vacant Sears building in Santa Monica after the Palisades fire.”
“It took just four weeks to turn the space into a 100-000-square-foot temporary campus, featuring classrooms, offices and labs,” read a statement, “demonstrating how adaptive reuse can deliver safe, functional learning spaces under urgent conditions.”
Gensler served as the architect of the project, with CW Driver as the general contractor.
“The LABC Architectural Awards recognize innovative projects that exemplify excellence in architecture, design and community building throughout the LA region,” read a statement. “Winners were selected by a jury panel of industry experts, including architects, construction firms, owners and developers from a pool of hundreds of submissions.”
The Pali High campus, which was damaged in the fire, remains closed, with plans to reopen in January 2026 in temporary buildings while permanent rebuilding is underway. Students have been at Pali South, the Sears building, since April 2025.
“This is an important first step for our Palisades Charter High community, and gives us the necessary space for all of our students and faculty to come back together for in-person learning, support and connection,” Executive Director and Principal Dr. Pam Magee said at the time. “We are grateful to secure a space that can accommodate our 2,400 Pali students along with our faculty and staff.”
Palisades organizations that were part of 19 groups that received Community Impact Awards were Palisades Recovery Coalition, Team Palisades, Pacific Palisades Community Council and Resilient Palisades.
“Recognizing that the greatest local architecture and planning challenge is recovering from the Eaton and Palisades fires, the LABC jury made an unprecedented decision to recognize 19 local organizations with the Community Impact Award,” read the statement. “These grassroots groups and charitable organizations are taking the lead in helping rebuild communities, lives, homes, schools and businesses devastated by the January fires.”
The award was accepted by LA County Board of Supervisors Chair Kathryn Barger, whose district includes Altadena, Councilmember Traci Park and California Community Foundation CEO Miguel Santana.
“It has been inspiring to work alongside so many committed Angelenos who are proving that no matter how difficult this recovery may be, it will be community-led and government supported and achieved through broad collaboration,” Park said.
Additional groups that were honored include Steadfast LA, California Community Foundation, Altagether, Clergy Community Coalition, Eaton Fire Collaborative Leadership Council, Eaton Fire Survivors Network, PostFire, UCLA Ziman Center for Real Estate, LA Unified School District, Department of Angels, Altadena Rising, Community Women Vital Voices, Eaton Fire Residents United, Project Passion, and Legacy Land Project.
This year’s Architectural Award Grand Prize went to Los Angeles County Museum of Art for its David Geffen Galleries, with the Chairman’s Award going to LAX/Metro Transit Center and Intuit Dome.
“Keynote speaker Andy Cohen, global co-chair and former co-CEO of Gensler, was honored with the Legacy Award,” the statement read. “Over his remarkable 45-year career, Cohen has led award-winning projects that have reshaped skylines and strengthened communities from Los Angeles to Shanghai.”
More than 500 architects, designers, building owners, developers, and city and state officials attended the awards ceremony on November 21 at Beverly Wilshire.
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