Submissions to the 2022 Excellence in Design Awards are now OPEN

Submissions to the 2022 Excellence in Design Awards are now OPEN.

Submission Requirements

You are invited to enter the 2022 Central Pennsylvania Excellence in Design Awards Program. Registered Architects and Intern/Associate Architect members of the section are highly encouraged to submit their best built and unbuilt work for review by a jury of peer architects. Eligible members must be current members in good standing of the Central Pennsylvania section. Eligible work includes architecture, interior architecture, historic preservation, adaptive reuse, renovation, and restoration projects as well as planning and urban design efforts. Built and unbuilt projects completed after January 2017 which have not previously received an award from the AIA Central Pennsylvania section are eligible. Awards may be given by the jury recognizing Honor, Merit and Citation levels of achievement.

Winners will be announced and all work celebrated at the Excellence in Design Awards event, to be held on Wednesday September 28, 2022.  More event details to follow. 

The cost per entry is $100. The section would like to encourage new firms and firms who have not submitted projects in the past five years to submit one (1) project free of charge.

FIRM ENTRY FORM

The Firm Entry Form is now closed must be completed and returned with the digital submissions. Please label the file as the project name. 

The 2022 Design Award Submission Deadline HAS BEEN EXTENDED TO Friday, August 19th at 5:00 pm

PROJECT CREDIT FORM

Complete the Project Credit Form for each submission and submit with your electronic submission. All credits in publications will be based on this information. Any errors or omissions are the responsibility of the entrant.

Please mark on the Project Credit Form if you would like your project to be considered for the Good Design is Good Business Award. To be considered for this award, your project shall utilize Good Design to achieve important objectives for an organization. This award is intended to recognize projects in which design excellence elevated the resulting benefit of a project to the business, institution, or community, which it serves. Past recipients of similar awards at the national level include a library, preschool, container-shipping facility, bridges, universities, healthcare facilities, and corporate and retail operations. *Limit one project for consideration per firm. 

Please specify if you would like your project to be included in the running for our Members’ Choice Award*. Limit one project for consideration per firm.

*The AIA Central PA Membership will be solicited for the digital vote in September. Members will be advised to vote for a project that was not submitted by their respective firms as they will not be counted.

GENERAL INFORMATION AND SUBMISSION REQUIREMENTS

Submission Components

Each project submission should include the following:

  • Firm Entry Form (one per company)
  • Project Credit Form (one per project) – Each project credit form shall include principal consultants, contractors, subcontractors, suppliers, and photographers.
  • Project Upload File (more information below)
  • Project Image(s) Upload (more information below) – Submit (4) full resolution jpeg images to be included in the rolling slideshow shown throughout the Design Awards & Expo day, ranked in preference (in addition to submission)

Project Upload File

  • PDF format bundled for upload to the Project Upload File(s) field must include First Title Page/Slide: Project Introduction, Second Title Page/Slide: Project Description,  Photographs, and Drawings as specified in the criteria below
  • No more than 20 pages/slides (including the two title slides)
  • Minimize the file size to the best of your ability.
  • This presentation is what the jury will see; it must be completely anonymous (firm name and/or logo cannot appear).
  • Reference to previous awards, project publications or company name will automatically disqualify the project from consideration.

First Title Page/Slide: Project Introduction

  • Project Name
  • Project Completion Date
  • Construction Costs (if appropriate)

Second Title Page/Slide: Project Description

  • Key information such as program requirements, size, and site issues.
  • Brief explanation of project background and design concept.
  • Brief descriptions of advancements in design made by the project such as technical, societal and environmental.
  • This slide should be one page.

Photographs to be included in the Project Upload File

Photographs may be black-and-white or color. Do not submit magazine reprints. Multiple images per page are permissible. Photography credits and captions need to be included for each photograph (on the Project Credit Form).

Include the following photos (as relevant to the project submitted):

  • One image showing each exposed side of the building or environment.
  • One additional image showing the context of each exposed side of the building (may be omitted if the project’s relationship to its context is defined in other images).
  • For a group of buildings, one image of the project sufficient to illustrate the complete project, including its relationship to its environs.
  • For projects involving exterior alterations one image of each altered (exposed) side together with one image of the same side before alteration (unless evidence is submitted on the unavailability of the latter)
  • One image showing context of interior.
  • For Historic Preservation projects, include before and after photos.
  • For interior projects, submit at least five images (four interior photos and one exterior photo of the building in which the interior is located).

Drawings to be included in the Project Upload File

Provide a site plan, at small scale, showing the project and its context. Also provide a floor plan or plans and one or more sections sufficient to explain the solution. For interior projects provide floor plan(s) with furniture, fixture and lighting information and any other drawings necessary to explain fully the project’s use.

Feature Photos to be submitted in the Project Image(s) Upload

Submit (4) full resolution jpeg images to be included in the rolling slideshow shown throughout the pre-roll of the Virtual Design Awards, ranked in preference (in addition to submission). If the project is selected for an award, the firm must provide all images used in the submission (300 dpi resolution). These images are not seen by the jury, but will be used in the awards presentation and/or publication of the awards.

EVENT PRESENTATION

Liability

AIA Central Pennsylvania and the State of Pennsylvania assume no liability for original drawings and other submission materials or loss or damage to any part of the submission. AIA Central Pennsylvania retains the right to reproduce any of the submission materials in its publications, educational programs, and website.

Please check all information for correct spelling and accuracy since it will be used for publication. By making a submission, the entrant agrees that the information contained in this form is correct and complete, and that the entrant will hold harmless AIA Central Pennsylvania for any and all damage arising out of the use of the information contained herein. Any errors or omissions are the complete responsibility of the entrant.

The entrant further certifies that permission has been obtained from the owner, developer, and photographer of the project to publish photographs, images, drawings, and other information included in the submission (and releases and authorizes AIA Central Pennsylvania to use all such materials).

JUDGING CRITERIA

Each entry in the program is judged for the success with which the project has met its individual requirements. Entries are weighed individually, not in competition with each other. While all the submissions are judged together in one category, the submission requirements differ in order that the project can be shown in a manner that best describes it.

The judging criteria for Architecture/Interior submissions are as follow:

  • Citations will be given for projects illustrating a high level of design conceptualization and implementation
  • Merit Awards may be given for projects illustrating a higher level of design achievement.
  • Honor Awards may be given for projects that exemplify the highest design quality at the Jury’s discretion.
  • The Jury will consist of three or more architects outside of the Central Pennsylvania region.

Submit Online