2020 Architectural Excellence COTE Awards Recipient Gallery

In step with the AIA Pennsylvania strategic plan and AIA National’s dedication to fighting climate change and inequities in the built environment, a joint Taskforce of the Committee on the Environment and Committee on Design established the COTE Awards program with two core objectives.

One: Forge an optional and free path for members to submit their award-worthy projects to the program that would also introduce the AIA Framework for Design Excellence measures, formerly the COTE top 10, with a simplified assessment tool to encourage participation.

Two: Emphasize to members, industry partners, civic leaders, clients, and the public-at-large, that the highest standards of design excellence surpass aesthetic appeal to encompass community connection, equity, economic value, resilience, and stewardship of the natural environment.

The inaugural COTE Awards jury was made up of a panel of AIA Seattle COTE members independent of the design awards jury. Brad Benke, Shannon Bunsen, and Zachary Stevens gathered virtually to review 34 submissions to the inaugural Architectural Excellence COTE Awards. They reviewed the projects through the lens of the following AIA Framework for Design Excellence measures indicating how buildings perform for the health and wellness of the occupants, communities, and the environments they serve.

AIA Pennsylvania is proud to debut the inaugural Architectural Excellence COTE Awards. The 2020 COTE awards and made possible by Atlantic Engineering Services: A structural engineering firm with net-zero experience and 450+ LEED projects.