The Center for BrainHealth at UT Dallas recently won a 2010 Design Award from the Dallas chapter of The American Institute of Architects (AIA), one of only 16 honors meted out citywide.

The center received the top award in the category for pre-existing large structures.

The HKS architectural firm created the modern facility in 2007 from a concrete-heavy, nearly 4-decade-old structure on West Mockingbird Lane in Dallas.

The building houses 63,000 square feet of state-of-the-art research space and leading-edge technologies dedicated to studying the brain and strengthening its function.

Among the building’s features are: a virtual laboratory to create online worlds to facilitate and expand research and therapeutic interventions; repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation and electroencephalography systems; and highly immersive multisensory brain-training programs integrating haptic (touch-based) technologies. Sophisticated research labs are strategically located throughout BrainHealth.

Dr. Sandra Chapman, founder and chief director of the Center for BrainHealth, said the AIA award underscores the brilliance of the building’s design, “a perfect venue for the innovative, world-class brain science taking place inside.”

The AIA, founded in 1857, seeks to recognize and encourage great design throughout the world. The mission of its Dallas chapter is to foster public understanding of the power of architecture to enrich the city and the lives of its residents.