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The 2026 Design Awards Event

A view from above of a circular, multi-level courtyard with ornate railings, white columns, red tile floors, and a central fountain surrounded by greenery. Spiral staircases connect the different levels.We're celebrating 24 award winning projects, as well as the Trustee's Awards for Excellence and four President's Awards at the Mission Inn in downtown Riverside. This special celebration is followed by a ticketed reception with food and drinks. Purchase your tickets before they sell out!

Carson City Hall Historic Structure Report and Story Map

Project Lead:  Architectural Resources Group, Los Angeles
Client:  John Raymond, City of Carson, California, Carson
Principal-in-Charge: Katie Horak, Principal, Architectural Resources Group, Los Angeles
Project Historian: Elysha Paluszek, Architectural Resources Group, Los Angeles
Project Architect & Conservator: Sarah Devan, RA, PA/AIC, Architectural Resources Group, Los Angeles

Project Affiliates:

  • Structural Engineer: Structural Focus, Gardena
  • Mechanical/Electrical/Plumbing Engineer: MEP California Engineering Corp, Irvine
  • Building Enclosure Consultant: Wiss, Janney, Elstner Associates, Pasadena
  • Landscape Architect: MIG, Pasadena
  • Cost Consultant: KPJ Consulting Cost Planning, Los Angeles

Photo credits: Architectural Resources Group

Carson City Hall Historic Structure Report and Story Map

Carson City Hall Historic Structure Report and Story Map is a winner for the 2025 Preservation Design Award for Cultural Resource Studies, Reports. Award recipients are selected by a jury of top professionals in the fields of architecture, engineering, planning, and history, as well as renowned architecture critics and journalists. Tickets and sponsorship options are available at californiapreservation.org/programs/awards/.

About Carson City Hall Historic Structure Report and Story Map

Carson City Hall was designed by an ethnically diverse joint venture team led by African American architect Robert Kennard. The project team was chosen to design a building that would serve as the administrative heart of the city and symbolize its inclusive and forward-thinking values. Completed in 1976, the Late Modern building represents Carson’s first purpose-built city hall and reflects the city’s forward-thinking optimism and desire to create a better, more equitable future for its residents.

In 2024, an HSR was created to provide historical context about the building’s history, design, and original design team. It also established a framework to guide the future rehabilitation, restoration, and maintenance of Carson City Hall. Along with the HSR, the project team developed an interactive story map which serves as an easily accessible, public-facing educational tool. The project was made possible through funding provided by the National Trust’s Conserving Black Modernism Grant program.

Read more about the Preservation Design Awards
Curved architectural ceiling with textured white surfaces, circular skylights, and a large glass window revealing blue sky; modern, abstract design with intersecting lines and light.
A beige, modern-style building with Carson City Hall on the upper left, featuring large curved archways at the entrance, tall windows, and potted plants by the doorway. The sky above is clear and blue.
A wide, carpeted spiral staircase with textured white walls curves upward inside a building, with recessed ceiling lights and framed portraits visible in the background.
The entrance to Carson City Hall with glass doors, a sign above reading CARSON CITY HALL, a tree and planter in the foreground, and a brick walkway leading to the building.
A white, modern-style building labeled Carson City Hall stands under a clear blue sky, surrounded by palm trees, benches, and planters. A Plato quote is inscribed on the pavement near the entrance.
A large, modern building with a sloped roof and many windows sits behind a landscaped area with trees, shrubs, and various desert plants under a clear blue sky.
A courtyard with green grass, a small stone monument in the center, brick walkways, trees providing shade, and a white building with round windows along the right side. The scene is sunlit and peaceful.

Community Importance

In an effort to have City Hall’s design team reflect the multi-ethnic population of Carson, the City hired a diverse joint venture group, including African American architect Robert Kennard, Japanese American architect Frank Sata, Robert E. Alexander, Japanese American landscape architect Yoshito Kuromiya, and Latino interior and graphic designer Michael Sanchez, to design the building. The City Hall design team employed the popular Late Modern style, while also aiming to reflect the Spanish heritage of the Dominguez Hills area.

Completed in 1976, City Hall symbolized the transformation of Carson’s existing landscape into a new vision for the future. It marked a significant shift from industrial sprawl to thoughtful urban development in the two decades following incorporation, embodying the city’s motto: “Future Unlimited.”

The HSR and story map are intended to educate the community about the importance of City Hall to the city’s development history, to highlight the significance of its ethnically diverse design team led by African American architect Robert Kennard, and to provide an overview of Modernism in Carson more broadly. The HSR and interactive story map serve as useful tools to engage the public according to the city’s educational programming goals.

About CPF and the Awards

Held in conjunction with CPF’s 2026 Annual Conference in Riverside, the 2026 Mission Inn Preservation Design Awards Ceremony and Reception will spotlight excellence in historic preservation in a setting that reflects the very spirit of the work being honored. This special evening brings together award recipients, conference participants, preservation leaders, and supporters from across California to celebrate outstanding preservation projects and leadership through the Preservation Design Awards and President’s Awards.

Founded in 1978, the California Preservation Foundation (CPF) is California’s statewide nonprofit organization dedicated to the protection of historic places and cultural heritage. Through education, advocacy, and community-centered programs, CPF supports the people, projects, and policies that keep California’s historic resources vital and valued. We now support a national network of more than 36,000 members and supporters. Click here to learn how you can become a member.