Earlier this month, the American Institute of Architects (AIA) announced the 2023 Small Project Awards winners. In its 20th iteration, the Small Projects Awards has stayed true to its original purpose recognizing small projects practitioners and the high quality of their work, while highlighting the value and design excellence that architects bring to any project, regardless of its size or scope.
Typically the awards are organized into four categories: Category 1 recognizing small project construction, an architectural object, work of environmental art or an architectural design element that costs up to $250,000 in construction; Category 2 consisting of small projects costing up to $2,500,000 in construction; Category 3 awarding small project construction, an architectural object, work of environmental art or an architectural design under 5,000 square feet; or Category 4 acknowledging any unbuilt design that meets any of the categories above and will not be constructed in the future, such as a speculative, conceptual, competition, or student work.
This year’s awards only named nine winners, with recipients in only Categories 2 and 3. Many themes arise in the projects honored this year, including activation of public space exemplified in Daniel Toole Architecture’s Jade Alley and Clayton Korte’s Kingsbury Commons at Pease Park, and a focus on a home shown in Olson Kundig’s Costa Rica Treehouse and Bohlin Cywinski Jackson’s Henry Island Guesthouse.
Geographically speaking, most of the recognized projects came from the south or west of the United States, with three projects from Austin. Similar to last year’s competition, only one recipient came from outside the United States, hailing from Costa Rica.
The jury of the 2023 Small Projects Awards included: Chandra Robinson (LEVER Architecture), Madhubala Ayyamperumal (Gensler), Chris Baribeau (Modus Studio), David Corban (David Corban Architects), and Katherine Hogan (Katherine Hogan Architects).
Below are the winners of the 2023 Small Project Awards. More information on the awards can be found here.
Category 2:
Liberation Coffee House, Los Angeles | ORA
Jade Alley, Miami | Daniel Toole Architecture
Mini Mart City Park, Seattle | GO’C
Kingsbury Commons at Pease Park, Austin | Clayton Korte
Category 3:
The Perch, Austin| Nicole Blair
Pima Dynamite Trailhead, Scottsdale, Ariz. | WEDDLE GILMORE black rock studio
Costa Rica Treehouse, Santa Teresa, Costa Rica | Olson Kundig
Henry Island Guesthouse, Henry Island, Washington | Bohlin Cywinski Jackson
West Campus Residence, Austin | Alterstudio
