CED recognizes four outstanding alums during 2026 commencement
Four alums will receive the Distinguished Alumni Award at CED’s 2026 Commencement ceremony on May 19 at the Greek Theatre. This year’s awardees are Alma Du Solier (MLA 1999), Rossana Hu, Hon. FAIA (BA Architecture 1990), Lyndon Neri, Hon. FAIA (BA Architecture 1987), and Greg W. Perloff (MCP 1976).
The award honors alums who have exhibited outstanding public service, in its broadest sense, throughout their career. Since its inception in 1998, this award has recognized both practitioners and academics from a variety of disciplines.
2026 AWARDEES
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Alma Du SolierMLA 1999, Studio Director and Partner, Hood Design StudioAlma Du Solier is studio director and partner at Hood Design Studio in Oakland. Trained as an architect at Tenológico de Monterrey in Mexico and as a landscape architect at UC Berkeley, she focuses on shaping places where culture, ecology, and community intersect. An early member of Hood Design Studio, she contributed to landmark projects such as the landscape for the de Young Museum in San Francisco. Today she leads complex, multidisciplinary projects and is known for bringing together designers, clients, and communities to realize thoughtful landscapes. Her work spans Latin America, China, and the United States. Du Solier has taught at UC Berkeley for more than 15 years and served as president of the Landscape Architecture Foundation.
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Rossana Hu, Hon. FAIABA Architecture 1990, Founding Partner, Neri&Hu Design and Research Office; Miller Professor and Chair, Department of Architecture, University of PennsylvaniaRossana Hu is co-founder of Neri&Hu Design and Research Office. She has received numerous honors, including Wallpaper* Designer of the Year, the American Academy of Arts and Letters Award in Architecture, and Architecture Studio of the Year from the Dezeen Awards. Hu is Miller Professor and chair of the Department of Architecture at the University of Pennsylvania and previously served as chair of the Department of Architecture at Tongji University. She received her Master of Architecture and Urban Planning from Princeton University.
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Lyndon Neri, Hon. FAIABA Architecture 1987, Founding Partner, Neri&Hu Design and Research OfficeLyndon Neri is co-founder of Neri&Hu Design and Research Office. He has received numerous prestigious honors, including the Wallpaper* Designer of the Year, the American Academy of Arts and Letters Award in Architecture, and Architecture Studio of the Year from the Dezeen Awards. Neri is deeply committed to architectural education and has taught at numerous universities, including Princeton, Harvard GSD, Yale, and UC Berkeley. He is a founder partner of Design Republic in Shanghai. Neri received his Master of Architecture from Harvard GSD.
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Gregg W. PerloffMCP 1976, Co-Founder and CEO, Another Planet EntertainmentGregg W. Perloff, a visionary leader in urban restoration and equitable access to arts and culture, is the co-founder and CEO of Another Planet Entertainment. Drawing on the foundation of his CED education, Perloff champions and leads the adaptive reuse of historic landmarks across California, including the Castro Theatre, Fox Theatre Oakland, The Bellwether, and the Greek Theatre Berkeley. By transforming these iconic spaces into inclusive community anchors, he ensures that high-caliber artistic programming is a shared public resource rather than a gated luxury. Perloff’s commitment to adaptive reuse demonstrates how strategic investment in the built environment can ensure that cultural expression remains the heartbeat of economic development and community stability.