A Seattle studio that specialises in creating culture and leisure buildings has won the 2016 AIA Architecture Firm Award; the highest honour bestowed by The American Institute of Architects.

LMN Architects – founded in 1979 – have designed more than 50 modern, accessible and sustainable arts centres, concert halls, community theatres and music schools across the US. Their recent projects include The Tobin Center for the Performing Arts in San Antonio, which was completed in 2014, and the forthcoming Voxman Music Building at the University of Iowa and the Vashon Center for the Arts in Washington.

The AIA said the studio’s cultural buildings have “opened the arts to communities in vibrant gestures that embrace the city itself as a participant in the drama of the performance event.”

The 2015 AIA president Elizabeth Chu Richter, said: “LMN Architects exemplify the best in architecture firm culture. Not only is their work proof of this, but the amazing talent they are cultivating will have a reverberating impact on the profession for years to come.”

In a statement, the studio said they were “honoured and thrilled” to win the AIA award. Speaking about their work, they said: “Performing arts projects present unique opportunities to embellish the substance of the arts and experience of the performance within the life of the community. We will continue to build on this focus.”

In addition to its cultural work, the firm also designs civic buildings, areas of public space and educational facilities. In 2009 they oversaw the expansion of the world’s first LEED Platinum convention centre in Vancouver, which sits within a new urban district and public park.

The AIA was founded in 1857. LMN is the 52nd recipient of an AIA Architecture Firm Award, which recognises studios who have produced consistently excellent work for more than a decade.