DESIGN AWARDS
DEADLINES / COSTS
EARLY ENTRY REGISTRATION
$225 PER ENTRY | February 3 – February 14, 2025
ENTRY REGISTRATION GENERAL PRICING
$275 PER ENTRY | February 15 – February 28, 2025
ENTRY SUBMISSION DEADLINE
February 28, 2025 at 5:30 PM (EST)
There will be no deadline extensions – please plan accordingly.
Award Submission
2025 Award Submission registration opens on February 3, 2025.
Deadline to submit is February 28, 2025 at 5:30 PM (ET)
THE DESIGN AWARDS
PURPOSE
The 2025 Architecture program celebrates the best contemporary architecture regardless of budget, size, style or type. These projects show the range of outstanding work architects create and highlight the many ways buildings and spaces can improve our lives.
In 2019, the AIA adopted the Framework for Design Excellence as the set of guidelines and requirements to assess project performance. Climate action requires a holistic approach addressing the interdependence among people, buildings, infrastructure and the environment. The Framework for Design Excellence provides the elements that support this vision during project evaluation. While projects submitted do not need to address all the measures included in the framework, they do need to describe how they perform in this context and highlight relevant narratives and metrics when applicable.
2025 DESIGN AWARDS
SUBMISSION CRITERIA & CHECKLIST
AIA Triangle Design Awards Submissions will be accepted in an entirely digital format, via an online form, accompanied by a digital upload of your images.
Please follow the directions for submission outlined in this document. If you have questions regarding the online submission process, contact Keri Dixon, Director of Communications, at the AIANC office: (919) 833-6656; or by email: kdixon@aianc.org.
Design Awards Entry Checklist
Your entry should include:
ONE Online Form, including the following:
◊ Concealed Identification Data
◊ Photo release form
◊ Design Awards Descriptive Data.
TWO Digital Uploads, including the following:
◊ 1 PDF no larger than 20 MB containing up to 12 high-resolution project slides (16:9 format, 300dpi) – photographs, drawings, or diagrams you wish to present. Images will be labeled with your entry number and order number. Each PDF must begin with a cover page containing only your entry number. No PDF may exceed 13 pages in length.
◊ 1 high-resolution (16:9, 300dpi) JPEG “Public Display Image”.
*Please note that all submissions must be in 16:9 format.
*Please note that all slides must be uploaded as a single PDF with a total file size limit of 15 MB. All submissions are limited to 12 project slides plus one cover page, containing only your entry number, for a total limit of 13 pages per entry.
Entry Fee:
$225 for entries purchased on or before February 14, 2025
$275 for entries purchased from February 15 through February 28, 2025.
Submission Deadline: February 28, 2025, 6:00 pm
*Please note there will not be a deadline extension this year. Please plan accordingly.
DESIGN AWARDS SUBMISSION CRITERIA AND CHECKLIST
Detailed Entry Instructions
2025 Design Awards Eligibility
Design Awards will be classified into four categories for publicity and organization purposes. Jury retains the right to reclassify projects. The categories will be Commercial Design, Residential Design, Small Projects, and Unbuilt. Information on each category is provided below.
Eligible entries must be authored by a member or associate member of AlA Triangle. Entries can have any location, but the design team must include meaningful impact by a member of AIA Triangle. An entrant may enter more than one submission.
Renovations and additions are eligible for submission in all Design Awards categories, but project scope must be clearly and accurately represented through graphics and written descriptions
BUILT
Projects must have been constructed on or after January 1, 2020. Projects in the Built categories are eligible for Honor and Merit Awards.
Note: Projects that have received recognition in previous AIA Triangle Design Awards programs are not eligible.
- Commercial Design – projects submitted in this category will include a broad range of project types including, but not limited to, civic, educational, institutional, faith-based, office, retail, hospitality, and manufacturing. Mixed-use residential projects will be categorized under Commercial Design.
- Residential Design – projects submitted in this category will include single family or multi-family projects of any size. Mixed-use residential projects will be categorized under Commercial Design.
- Small Projects – projects submitted in this category will include public installations, objects, works of environmental art, or architectural design under 1,500 square feet. Renovations, additions, and projects that are within the scope of a larger project are eligible, but project scope must be clearly and accurately represented through graphics and written descriptions.
UNBUILT
Projects submitted in this category include commercial design, residential design, competitions, master planning, urban planning, and conceptual design. Submissions may be in any stage of design as long as they are as-yet unrealized. Submissions do not need to be tied to a client or a commission. Unbuilt projects are eligible to receive Merit Awards only.
Digital Entry Submission
I. Online Submission Requirements:
Submit these steps for each entry:
- Fill out one online form: If you did not do so last year, you will register your firm in the Design Awards System. (If you submitted for awards last year with AIA NC or AIA Triangle, you can log in and resubmit any eligible project for an AIA NC award. You will have the option to update any of the information you previously submitted.) After you have registered your firm, you may submit your project’s information into the “Registration Round.” You will then have until February 28, 2025 to submit your information into the “Submission Round.” In the submission round you will submit your Concealed ID, Descript ive Data, Digital Images and Photo Release Form.
- A Digital Upload: During the submission process, you will upload one PDF with up to 12 project slides plus one cover page containing only your entry number. Each project slide must also contain your entry number and slide order. PDFs are limited to a total of 13 pages and a file size limit of 20 MB. You will also upload one “Public Display Image” in JPEG format.
– Image Size: 16:9
– Resolution: 300dpi
IMPORTANT entry notes:
– Please be certain that your project slides are in the appropriate order in the PDF. (Jurors will hear the 100 word “Short Description” while viewing your images.)
– Each project slide should include your entry number and slide order (page numbers).
– Please be certain your PDF includes a cover page containing ONLY YOUR ENTRY NUMBER centered on the page – no images or special formatting.
– PDFs can be no longer than 13 pages, which includes one cover page and up to 12 project slides.
– PDFs may be no larger than 20 MB.
-Do NOT include your firm name in any file names or on any slides.
-You will be uploading TWO image files: One containing the project slides (PDF) and another containing only the public display image (JPEG).
Please use the following file name conventions, depending on whether you are submitting a built or unbuilt project:
ENTRY NUMBER_COMMERCIAL
ENTRY NUMBER_RESIDENTIAL
ENTRY NUMBER_SMALL
ENTRY NUMBER_UNBUILT
All submission requirements must be received by February 28, 2025.
Entry Fees are non-refundable.
Descriptive Data
The online form will contain both the Concealed ID and Descriptive Data Sheet. The format provided must be used without the addition of any photographs, drawings, lines, or color.
The “Short Description of Project” should be 200 words or less and will be read aloud while the jury views electronic images during the first phase of the jury process and later used for publication of the winners. You are encouraged to briefly include how the project addresses the AIA Framework for Design Excellence in the description.
Following the short description will be the “Architect’s Statement Concerning the AIA Framework.” Here you are asked to explain how the project addresses one or multiple components of the AIA’s Framework for Design Excellence: https://www.aia.org/resources/6077668-framework-for-design-excellence
Your statement may be no longer than 500 words.
Awards Criteria
All entries will be judged on the basis of their architectural design excellence. The AIA Triangle Design Awards program promotes excellence in design regardless of project type. Jurors will be asked to consider important issues/challenges particular to each project type. However, all entries will be judged collectively.
The jury will decide the number of awards to be given and will confer two levels of award:
- Honor
- Merit
Certificates for all award-winning entries will be presented at the awards reception. It is important to have a representative from the winning firm present to accept the award.
Note: Award winners will NOT be notified prior to Awards Reception. Winners will receive three certificates: one for the architect, one for the owner and one for the contractor. Additional certificates will be available at the expense of the award recipient.
Exhibition/Publicity
The AIA Triangle Awards Co mmittee intends to publish the entries receiving awards. All entries will be posted on the AIA Triangle website under Design Awards. All entries will be exhibited at the Design Awards Reception and included in the booklet which is handed out at the conclusion of the event.
Photos from entries receiving awards may be used in future publicity materials to promote the AIA Triangle Awards program.
Drawings and photographs shall not be restricted against publication. It is the entrant’s responsibility to clear all drawings and photographs for release by the AIA Triangle Awards Committee which will assume no responsibility for copyrights or photographic fees. The photographs for each award-winning entry will be used for unrestricted newspaper, magazine, and website publicity. Credit must be given to the photographer by the entrant.
PREVIOUS AWARDS
2024 AWARDS
The AIA Triangle Design Awards Program recognizes excellence in architectural design throughout the Raleigh-Durham-Chapel Hill, North Carolina metropolitan area.