Jun 1, 2026 – 4.00pmA pair of Australian architects based in California have taken out the Australian Institute of Architects’ top award for a 187-unit public housing development that transformed a desolate corner outside a train station in a poor corner of Los Angeles into a thriving community hub.Firm KoningEizenberg, founded by married couple Julie Eizenberg and Hank Koning, who moved to Los Angeles in 1979 after studying architecture at Melbourne University, won the institute’s International Medal over the weekend for the Santa Monica Vermont Apartments project.Subscribe to gift this articleGift 5 articles to anyone you choose each month when you subscribe.Subscribe nowAlready a subscriber? Fetching latest articles
Australian architects build affordable housing in Trump’s America
Public housing in the US is not for the faint-hearted. The formal opening of these 187 units had to be cancelled because of ICE raids sweeping through the area.











