Unbuilt Washington Awards

See the 2022 winners on our blog!

The Unbuilt Washington Awards bridge the academic and professional
communities by providing a forum for recognizing the contributions
of both younger and established practitioners alike.

Since 2009, AIA|DC has conducted an annual competition that recognizes excellence in both theoretical and unbuilt commissioned projects. Open to registered architects, associate architects, landscape architects, planners, interior designers, and students from the Washington metropolitan region, the competition typically yields unique, innovative, and thought-provoking concepts from around the globe.

The difference between theoretical and unbuilt commissioned projects is simple: theoretical projects refer to exploratory work without a client such as design competitions, hypothetical or research-oriented assignments, and student work; unbuilt commissioned projects refer to unexecuted work or work that is not yet constructed in project types such as buildings, interiors, monuments and memorials, planning, public art, public space, transportation infrastructure, and urban design.

2022 Unbuilt Washington Awards Winners:

Artifacts by W.C. Ralston Architects (Professional Commissioned Project)

Fort Lauderdale Federal Courthouse by Skidmore, Owings & Merrill (Professional Commissioned Project)

Honorable Mentions:

Bowie State University Martin Luther King, Jr. Communication Arts and Humanities Building by Perkins&Will (Professional Non-Commissioned Project)

Hydrohaven: Our Marine Weapon Against Climate Change by Anamika Naraynsingh (Student - Non-Commissioned Project)

2022 Unbuilt Washington Awards Jury:

Paul Murdoch
Joan Soranno, FAIA
William D. Chilton, FAIA

2022 Submission Details:

Click here to submit your entry

*Deadline: November 28, 2022 at 4:00pm*

Projects must be registered and submitted online no later than 4:00PM on Monday, November 28, 2022. If you experience difficulties or miss the deadline and require assistance the next day, a $95 late fee will be assessed at that time. WE ENCOURAGE YOU TO UPLOAD YOUR SUBMISSION(S) EARLY.

The Awards Jury will convene on December 12, 2022.

PURPOSE
The 2022 Unbuilt Washington Awards Program recognizes excellence in unbuilt projects both non-commissioned and commissioned projects. This competition is conducted by AIA|DC independently of other awards programs sponsored by the national American Institute of Architects and other AIA components.

Winners of this year’s competition will be exhibited on AIA|DC website.

MISSION STATEMENT

The Washington UNBUILT design Awards program has a unique role to play in supporting a vibrant intellectual discourse within the design community in the DC metro region. This program bridges the academic and professional communities by providing a forum for recognizing the contributions of both younger and established practitioners alike. Accordingly, the objective of the Awards program is to engage and recognize the broadest possible range of research, conceptual exploration and innovation in design thinking represented in the DC Metro region.

ELIGIBILITY
The program is open to all registered architects, landscape architects, planners, interior designers, associate architects, and students in the Washington metropolitan area. The individual(s) submitting a given project must be (a) member(s) of the design team responsible for the work, though not necessarily the head of the team. Projects that have won this award in previous years are not eligible for resubmission.

SUBMISSION CATEGORIES
The awards program is divided into two categories:

• Unbuilt Non-Commissioned Projects
Work without a client commission; e.g. design competitions, student work, hypothetical projects and research-oriented projects.

• Unbuilt Commissioned Projects
Work commissioned by a client: Planning, public space, urban design, buildings, interiors, transportation infrastructure, monuments, public art, or any other project type. There are no typological or geographical restrictions. Projects must not have begun construction by the submission deadline.

JURY
There shall be at least three jurors, which may include practicing and academic architects, interior designers, landscape architects, and members of (local or federal) commissions, boards, governing agencies, and members of the Washington building community. The jurors shall be selected and/or approved by the Executive Committee of AIA|DC. The composition of each jury is at the Chapter’s discretion and shall not be subject to review. The jury shall have the sole authority to determine whether and how many awards shall be awarded.

SCREENING COMMITTEE
The Executive Committee of AIA|DC may appoint a committee to screen all entries and verify their compliance with the requirements specified herein. The Executive Committee may also appoint impartial individuals to assist the jury throughout the examination of submissions. No screening committee member or jury assistant shall participate or cast a vote during the jury proceedings. The Chapter staff shall assist in the screening of entries and may assist the jurors as needed during its deliberations.

AWARDS
The jury shall have the sole authority to determine which and how many awards are justified in each category, bearing in mind the objectives of the Mission Statement, which encourages a representative recognition of the breadth and depth of architectural design thinking in the DC Region.

Projects shall be considered on their own merits, regardless of size or scope. The jury’s decisions shall be final and not subject to review.

REGISTRATION AND SUBMISSION DEADLINE
Projects must be registered and submitted online no later than 4:00PM on Monday, November 28, 2022. If you experience difficulties or miss the deadline and require assistance the next day, a $95 late fee will be assessed at that time. WE ENCOURAGE YOU TO UPLOAD YOUR SUBMISSION(S) EARLY.

PROJECT CREDIT INFO
All persons or firms substantially contributing to the design of the project must be given due credit, regardless of their professional disciplines. It is incumbent upon the submitting individual to provide a complete list of all participants substantially contributing to the design of the project, regardless of professional discipline. By submitting a project for consideration, the submitter represents and warrants to AIA|DC that he or she has provided a complete list. Failure to provide a complete list may result in disqualification and/or a referral of the matter to the appropriate ethics body of the national office of AIA. AIA|DC accepts no responsibility for incomplete lists. Interested persons are referred to AIA|DC’s “Awards Credits Policies,” copies of which may be obtained by contacting AIA|DC.

SUBMISSION GUIDELINES

All projects are to be submitted online. Submissions can be no larger than 6MB each and must be submitted in PDF format. Winners may be asked to provide higher resolution files for printing.
Drawings such as plans, sections and diagrams are not required but are strongly recommended.
Each submission shall be contained within one (1) pdf file, and is limited to a maximum of six (6) slides (PDF pages).
The size and composition of each page is up to the submitter, however submitters are encouraged to consider that the jury will view the content as a projected image when preparing their submission. The submissions will not be printed for the jury.
A text description of the project (maximum of 150 words) will be required as part of the online submission form and included in the pdf. The description should clearly describe the problem and its solution.
Names, logos, or other content that identifies the submitter/design team within the PDF may be cause for disqualification.
Each submission must be for a single project. Entrants may submit as many projects as they wish with the appropriate entry fee.

ENTRY FEE
• Professional – $175 per submission
• Student or 10 years or less from graduation - $60 per submission

All submissions must be registered, paid for, and submitted individually.

2021 Award Winners:

Award of Excellence

Treasure Hunt 650