A historic furniture showroom is now an award-winning satellite campus for Auburn University. In 2018, the school decided to expand select academic programs to Birmingham, its nearest major city. The university acquired the landmark 1914 Hood-McPherson Building and commissioned Williams Blackstock Architects to convert the abandoned structure into the Auburn in Birmingham urban campus.
The architecture team repurposed the six-story, 44,000-square-foot building, which had housed furniture for nearly 80 years, into classrooms for Auburn’s College of Architecture, Design, and Construction (CADC) and Raymond J. Harbert College of Business. Auburn in Birmingham also serves as a home base for Auburn’s Birmingham alumni network and engages local leaders as mentors for students. More broadly, the project has contributed to the revitalization of a previously dormant section of the central business district.
Thus far, the project has won five prestigious awards from the Alabama design community. The International Interior Design Association (IIDA) Alabama Chapter’s 2025 IDIE Awards, recognizing inspiring spaces that advance the design industry, named Auburn in Birmingham Best in Show, the organization’s highest annual honor across all categories. The project also received Best Higher Education Project. The IIDA jury praised Williams Blackstock Architects’ decision to leave structural, mechanical, and electrical systems intentionally visible, describing the result as a “living classroom” that pays homage to the building’s heritage.
The Alabama chapter of the American Institute of Architects (AIA) honored Auburn in Birmingham with two awards. The project received an Honor Award for overall design excellence, as well as a Divine Detail Award for retention of the building’s industrial character and the meticulous restoration of building elements, including the terra-cotta façade and exposed brick walls. The jury praised the project’s underlying design philosophy and its relationship with the surrounding city, lauding its “quiet, authentic architecture that values continuity and craft over novelty.” Additionally, AIA Alabama appreciated how the design “preserves the building’s DNA.”
The AIA Birmingham chapter also recognized Auburn in Birmingham with an Honor Award, citing a restoration that blends old and new while creating inspiring interior environments. The jury commented on the “thoughtful interventions and exceptional space planning” that maximize daylight from both sides of the structure. Further, the judges described the project’s interior as “vibrant, connected environments that foster collaboration and community.”
“Several members of Williams Blackstock Architects, including me, graduated from programs that are now based at Auburn in Birmingham,” says Matt Foley, AIA, the firm principal who led the adaptive-reuse process. “This project presented a rare opportunity to create learning spaces for people who will follow in our footsteps.”
In addition to Foley, the Williams Blackstock Architects team included project manager Suchithra Prabhu, project architect Celia Gannaway, AIA, and interior designer Hannah Eifert. The building team comprised general contractor Stone Building Company, structural engineer Tucker-Jones Engineers Associated, civil engineer Dynamic Civil Solutions, MEP engineer ENFRA (formerly Bernhard), electrical engineer Eldeco, metal fabricator Bradford Custom Metal (formerly Bradford & Hines) and environmental graphic designer Alabama Graphics.
