AIA New York’s annual Design Awards Program recognizes outstanding architectural design by AIA New York chapter members, New York City-based architects in any location, and work in New York City by architects around the globe. The purpose of the awards program is to honor the architects, clients, and consultants who work together to achieve design excellence.

2017 Schedule

January 27, 6:00 pm
Submission Deadline

March 6, 6:00 pm
Winners announced at Design Awards Jury Symposium

April 21, 11:30 am 
Honors and Awards Luncheon at Cipriani Wall Street

April 21, 6:00 pm 
Design Awards Exhibition Opening

All events take place at the Center for Architecture unless otherwise noted.

Categories
Awards will be granted in four categories:

1. Architecture: The Architecture category recognizes design excellence in completed buildings.
2. Interiors: The Interiors category recognizes design excellence in building interiors and related architectural work, as well as new and improved approaches to building components and architectural products.
3. Urban Design: The Urban Design category seeks the most compelling work and ideas, both built and unbuilt, that confront and resolve environmental and urban challenges at a scale larger than that of an individual building.
4. Projects: The Projects category recognizes conceptual work, including but not limited to research, innovation, land art, pavilions, architectural objects, and installations. Work in this category does not need to be intended for construction. Projects undertaken for academic credit are not eligible. Entries to competitions will be considered.

Award levels for all categories:

• Honor Award: Represents the highest level of achievement
• Merit Award: Represents distinguished achievement
• Best in Competition: Jurors will select one entry among the Honor Award winners to receive this unique recognition

Judging Criteria

• We strongly encourage submissions that reflect a broad and inclusive definition of design excellence. As submissions are subject to varying degrees of opportunity, constraint, and budget, each entry is judged for the success with which it has met its individual requirements.
• Submissions must exhibit design achievement that demonstrates exemplary skill and creativity in the resolution and integration of formal, functional, and technical requirements, including ecological stewardship and social responsibility.
• Submissions should also reflect a strong sense of place, history, or purpose as an integral part of its demonstrated design excellence.

Submissions may be exemplary in the following areas (including, but not limited to):

• Best of Typology, including outstanding achievement in building type (i.e. education, affordable housing, justice, healthcare, community facility, historic preservation, etc.)
• Technical Advancement, including engineering achievements (i.e. structural, mechanical, transportation, computer, etc.) as well as innovative use of materials and urban systems
• Innovation and Research, including projects investigating design advocacy, cross-disciplinary research, pilot projects, public service, and theoretical propositions
• Preservation/Restoration, including the demonstration of exemplary skill, sensitivity, and thoroughness in preservation, restoration, or adaptive reuse and/or sensitive reinforcement of successful historical development patterns
• Sustainability, including demonstrated achievements in high performance and/or energy reduction goals set forth by the AIA Sustainable Architectural Practice Position Statement and 2030 Challenge (see aia.org/sustainability and architecture2030.org); exploration of new approaches to ecological planning; collection, storage, and distribution of renewable resources and energies; and improvement to quality of life and the environment

Eligibility

• AIA New York members who are registered architects are eligible regardless of project location or architect’s residence.
• Registered architects practicing in New York City are eligible regardless of the project’s location
• Work located in New York City designed by any registered architect is eligible regardless of the architect’s residence or location of primary office. If the design architect is not registered in New York State, the New York State licensed architect of record must be credited
• Associate and International Associate AIA New York members may submit projects in the Urban Design and Projects categories only. Associate and International Associate AIA New York members who wish to submit work in the Architecture or Interiors categories must have the work submitted by the architect of record
• Architecture and Interiors must have been completed, and Urban Desing and Projects must have been initiated after January 1, 2012

> Start your submission now

Registration and Submission Guidelines

The Design Awards submissions process is completely digital.

Go here to create an account or log in to your already existing account. For each project you submit, you must complete the below steps:

1. Submit firm information
2. Submit collaborators list
3. Submit the publication release form
4. Acknowledge the eligibility requirements.
5.   Complete unpaid Labor Decleration
6. Provide details about your project.
7. Upload 1 PDF containing supporting images. PDF should be 11 x 17 landscape, a maximum of 20 pages, and 6MB or less. The submission ID should appear at the bottom right hand corner of each page.
8. Submit 1 press ready RGB .jpg
9. Submit payment

Steps 6, 7, and 8 must be anonymous. Please be sure to remove all identifying information from your images and your project details.

If the individual submitting the team’s project is not an AIA member, enter a teammate’s AIA member information in the “Submitting Firms” section, which can be edited after you have started a submission, to receive the AIA discount.

Online submissions will close at 6:00 pm on Friday, January 27, 2017. Any submission that includes the name(s) of the entrant or design team on the materials to be judged (5 & 6), or those that otherwise do not meet the stated requirements, will be disqualified without reconsideration.

Entry Fees 
$200 AIA New York members
$500 other registered architects
$100 Associate and International Associate AIA New York members

Category Eligibility

• Architecture: Registered architects only
• Interiors: Registered architects only
• Urban Design: Registered architects, International Associates, and Assoc. AIA
• Projects: Registered architects, International Associates, and Assoc. AIA 

Guidelines for Credits 
The architect or firm of record, associate architects, project team, consultants, client, and general contractor must be credited. Client names will be withheld from publication upon request.

For restoration, renovation, and adaptive reuse of existing buildings, the original architect must be identified.

Submissions done as an employee or consultant must include a release from a principal of the firm acknowledging that the submitting architect had primary design responsibility and that the credits are correct.

Publicity 
AIA New York will publicly announce the winners of the Design Awards at the March 6th Jury Symposium. All winners will be recognized for their achievements at the Honors and Awards Luncheon on April 21 at Cipriani Wall Street. Winning projects will be presented at a Design Awards exhibition at the Center for Architecture and will be published in a special summer awards issue of Oculus magazine.

Exhibition 
Award recipients shall be notified regarding exhibition materials following the March 6th Jury Symposium. The 2017 Design Awards exhibition will open on April 21st and will remain on view through early summer.

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