Germantown Friends School’s All School Commons has been recognized by the American Institute of Architects Philadelphia with a 2025 gold medal in design. The complex also received two commendations: the Reimagined Masonry Award and Committee on the Environment Award.

In bestowing its highest honor on the new 40,000-square-foot facility, the AIA Philadelphia jury noted: “This design reimagines a new Commons that links and reuses two historic buildings with elegance, restraint, and stewardship. Situated at the heart of a dense campus, the multi–use project stood out as an exceptional project to the jury.”

The All School Commons was selected out of approximately 125 submissions, school officials said in a news release.

Designed by DIGSAU, a Philadelphia firm, and Leslie Gill Architect, of New York, the intent of the facility is to fit into the sustainable campus plan of the school, at 31 W. Coulter St., and promote environmental responsibility. Completed in fall 2024, the three-level complex is designed to enhance collaboration across the arts, engineering, film and theater. It also includes a new dining hall and an additional gateway to and from campus.

GFS said the structure is among the most ambitious projects in the school’s 180-year history, and the impact of its flexible spaces is already reverberating across campus. The robotics club built a field to prepare for competition in the Johnson Digital Media Lab on the lower level; sound sculptures created from junk and recycled materials take shape in the fabrication lab; artworks created by students of all ages adorn the walls on rotating display; and students experiment with film in the 20-bay darkroom, as well as digital media in several labs.