The American Institute of Architect’s Committee on the Environment has named the Dick and Joan Whitcomb Art Center a recipient of the 2022 COTE Top Ten Awards, which recognizes the “Top Ten Green New Buildings of 2022” for outstanding achievements in the fight against the climate crisis through building design. Each year, 10 projects earn the prize for setting the standard in design and sustainability.

Designed by Lake|Flato Architects, the proposal for the art center stated there was a “strong collective desire for a deeply efficient, high-performing, and aspirational building that would be a showcase for the department’s pedagogy and, by extension, a showcase of environmental and resource stewardship.”

The building features solar shading, materials reused from campus, storm water management, and native plantings. It also incorporates a southern light exposure to decrease the need for artificial lighting and allowing for winter heat gain. 

In 2014, Dick and Joan Whitcomb donated $5 million for the academic building for studio art and art history. This gift remains the largest gift from living donors in Knox’s history.