Howard University architecture assistant professor Nea Maloo, FAIA, NOMA, LEED AP, ICC recently received the 2025 Department of Energy (DOE) BuildingsNEXT Outstanding Faculty Award. The award recognizes exceptional faculty members who have demonstrated a sustained commitment to mentoring students in designing high-performance, energy-efficient buildings. Nominated by industry peers, recipients exemplify leadership in advancing building science, sustainability, and climate-responsive design education.

Maloo has successfully led Howard University architecture student teams in competing with collegiate teams from around the globe in the BuildingsNEXT (formerly the Solar Decathlon) Student Design Competition since 2022. The first year Howard University competed, Team Howard Gateway won the Director’s Award. The following year, Team Retro Booming won third place in the retrofit housing division, and Team Revive completed the finals. Howard teams also completed the finals in 2024 and 2025.

BuildingsNEXT is a collegiate competition that challenges students to design buildings that are energy efficient, resilient and affordable — to enhance our quality of life. According to the DOE, the winners are those teams that best blend architectural and engineering excellence with innovation. This DOE recognition is a clear indication of Howard University’s leadership in preparing students to confront the complex challenges of today’s built environment.

Appointed as a Maryland Real Estate Commissioner in 2022, Maloo is committed to shifting the market for affordable housing with sustainable and efficient building practices. 

Through the development of her course, Equitable High-Performance Buildings, Maloo initiated the awarding of the U.S. Department of Energy’s (DOE) Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy first-ever Zero Energy Design Designation (ZEDD) seal of recognition to Howard University for its master of architecture program with an equitable high-performance energy design concentration.

With a strong focus on environmental justice and sustainable architecture, Maloo was recipient of the 2022 Association of Collegiate Schools of Architecture Course Development Prize issued in collaboration with the Columbia University’s Temple Hoyne Buell Center for the Study of American Architecture for her winning course proposal, Environmental Justice (EJ) + Health + Decarbonization, a course now offered at Howard University, along with the Equitable High-Performance Buildings course she developed.

Maloo was also recently honored with the 2024 Fair Housing Award, an award that increases awareness and honors excellence in fair housing education programs to help protect the public. The prior year she was elevated to the College of Fellows of the American Institute of Architects, among the highest recognitions in the field.

Maloo’s research focus is in the areas of architectural resilience, biomimicry, structures, and building science. She has published several papers and has served as a panelist for seminars at the national level.

Maloo is the founder and principal architect of Showcase Architects, an award-winning practice focused on biophilic design. She is an active member of the AIA, NCARB, and NOMA and serves as a president of the Building Technology Educators' Society. 

Watch the CBS special on how the Howard University architecture program is helping to reduce buildings’ carbon footprint.