Three Golds for Gates: Celebrating Our 2025 PCBC Gold Nugget Award-Winning Projects
Gates Studio is proud to have served as part of the visionary design team for three projects recently honored at the 2025 PCBC Gold Nugget Awards. Presented by the California Building Industry Association and the Pacific Coast Builders Conference, the Gold Nugget Awards are the industry’s oldest and most prestigious recognition of excellence in residential design, planning, and development.
This year, a panel of top design professionals reviewed nearly 700 entries across 63 categories, recognizing projects that combine exceptional aesthetics with meaningful solutions to local challenges. Among this year’s standout winners were three projects featuring Gates Studio’s landscape design: ENSO VILLAGE in Healdsburg, which received the Grand Award for Best Age-Qualified Senior Living Community; BELMONT VILLAGE SAN RAMON, honored with a Merit Award for Best Service-Enriched 55+ Community; and the JEFFERSON HIGH SCHOOL ADULT EDUCATION & DISTRICT BUILDING in Daly City, which earned a Merit Award for Best Educational Project.
Read on to explore the award-winning projects and our role in bringing them to life.
Enso Village – Healdsburg, CA
Grand Award Winner: Best Age-Qualified Senior Living Community
Rooted in the principles of Zen Buddhism and Quakerism, Enso Village is a senior living community designed to foster mindfulness, connection, and environmental harmony. Spanning 16 acres in the heart of Sonoma County wine country, the project integrates architecture and landscape in service of whole-person wellness. Gates Studio’s landscape design plays a central role in cultivating indoor-outdoor experiences that support active and contemplative aging. A series of intention-specific courtyards, tea gardens, walking trails, and native plantings encourages both quiet reflection and vibrant community life. From the Zendo to memory care to shared meadows, every outdoor space is thoughtfully shaped to promote healing, engagement, and ecological stewardship.
Project Team: The Weitz Company (builder), Kendal Corporation (developer), Mithun (design architect), HKIT Architects (architect of record), Gates Studio (landscape architect), Carlile Macy (civil engineer), Perkins Eastman (interior design)
Photography: Bruce Damonte & Sasha Moravec
Belmont Village San Ramon – San Ramon, CA
Merit Award Winner: Best Service-Enriched 55+ Community (IL/AL/Memory Care)
Tucked into San Ramon’s Bishop Ranch and framed by views of Mount Diablo, Belmont Village San Ramon redefines senior living through a blend of hospitality, healthcare, and beautifully integrated landscape design. Gates Studio’s contributions bring warmth and vitality to the community, with lush gardens, bocce courts, yoga lawns, and a dog park offering opportunities for movement, rest, and connection. Rooftop terraces and a saltwater pool extend the indoor-outdoor living experience, while walking paths link residents to nearby shops, restaurants, and cultural destinations. Together, architecture and landscape create a holistic environment where older adults can thrive physically, socially, and emotionally.
Project Team: W.E. O’Neil (builder), Belmont Village Senior Living (developer), HKIT Architects (architect/designer), Gates Studio (landscape architect), BKF Engineers (civil engineer)
Photography: Zack Benson
Jefferson Union High School Adult Education & District Office – Daly City, CA
Merit Award Winner: Best Educational Project
In Daly City, the Jefferson Union High School District’s new Adult Education and District Office campus represents a model of sustainable, community-oriented design. Gates Studio’s landscape vision helps unify the two all-electric buildings through outdoor spaces that are welcoming, efficient, and ecologically resilient. Secure recreation yards, walking paths, patios, and a synthetic turf field support a broad range of users—students in Adult and Adult Transition programs, district staff, and the public. The planting palette features drought-tolerant species and bioretention zones, while the site’s 72 new trees enhance comfort, beauty, and climate resilience. Designed for Zero Net Energy and targeting LEED Gold, the campus is a powerful example of how design can serve both people and the planet.
Project Team: Landmark Construction (builder), HKIT Architects (architect/designer), Gates Studio (landscape architect), Sanbell (civil engineer)
Photography: Garry Belinsky
