[caption id="attachment_208823" align="aligncenter" width="1024"] Becker Morgan's AIA award for Somerset County Technical High School | PHOTO COURTESY OF BECKER MORGAN[/caption] Becker Morgan Group was recently awarded two American Institute of Architects (AIA) awards for the design of Somerset County Technical High School. Since its grand opening in 2019, the facility has made a name for itself as one of the premier technical high schools in the region, having been named the 2020 ENR Mid-Atlantic K-12 Educational project of the year. The state-of-the-art technical school was recently awarded the AIA Maryland Merit Award for Institutional Architecture and the AIA Chesapeake Bay Merit award for Non-Residential New Construction. Becker Morgan Group worked in conjunction with Somerset County Public Schools and Somerset County Economic Development Commission to design a facility that would provide students with expanded opportunities and accommodate the current and future local job market in Somerset County. Somerset County Director of Economic Development, Daniel Thompson, comments on the facility's impact, "Somerset County Technical High School prepares our students with trade skillsets and hands-on training to use immediately upon graduation with a state-of-the-art-facility and enhanced curriculums. The Somerset County Technical High School was designed to allow students to enter the workforce with above-average wages in the immediate area (Somerset County) and be better prepared for future opportunities." Becker Morgan Group's architectural team, lead by firm Principal Brad Hastings, AIA, incorporated the stakeholders' objectives into the facility's design. The thoughtful alignment between mission and function caught the attention of the AIA Maryland Design Awards Jury "(We are) Very excited to see a trade school executed with this level of design and engineering. This project is the perfect execution of elegant practicality. It is simple, clean, beautiful, and every component provides opportunities for connecting and learning – whether you are watching the construction class build their prototypes through the hallway windows, growing the food you are learning to cook, or catching a glimpse of the colorful data wires, ductwork, and trusses exposed above. It is refreshing to see practical skills honored with craft and thoughtfulness." Somerset County Technical High School was designed with the future of education, student development, and economic stability for Somerset County in mind. Becker Morgan Group is proud to have partnered with Somerset County Public Schools to bring this award-winning facility to the Somerset County Community and the State of Maryland.