Announcing the 2017 Architectural Excellence Design Awards Digital Broadcast!

Submissions are OPEN now until Tuesday, August 15, 2017 at 11:59 pm EST. See below for details.

AIA Pennsylvania is pushing the envelope with a fresh, new design awards presentation format for 2017! Be a part of the professionally shot and edited awards video broadcast set to debut simultaneously to nearly 3,000 architects across Pennsylvania. The deadline to submit for all Architectural Excellence Awards and Special Awards is Tuesday, August 15, 2017 at 11:59 pm EST

Submit to the AIA Pennsylvania Design Awards

The submission guidelines for the AIA Pennsylvania Architectural Excellence Awards can be viewed here. Categories include the following:

Architecture
Historic Preservation
Interior Architecture
Regional and Urban Design
Unbuilt Projects
Impact Design

Click here to read the Nomination Guidelines for the AIA Pennsylvania Special Awards. Categories include the following:

Associate Award
Emerging Professional Award
Allied Trades Award
Contribution to the Profession by a Non-Architect
Architectural Firm Award
Government Award
Medal of Distinction
50 Year/Timeless Award
Impact Designer

Don’t miss the opportunity to compete with your peers from New York, New Jersey, and Connecticut! The 2017 AIA QUAD (Quality Unites Architectural Design) Design Awards will be presented on day one of the three day QUAD Conference set for Thursday, November 9th – Saturday, November 11th in Albany, NY.

Submit to the QUAD Design Awards

by September 12, 2017

Entry in the AIA Pennsylvania Architectural Excellence Design Awards is a prerequisite for the QUAD program.
Awards will be presented on November 9, 2017 at the Albany Convention Center

In 2016, AIA PA’s prestigious Design Awards program garnered more than 150 submissions and honored over 54 firms and individuals across the Commonwealth. This unprecedented broadcast event is sure to give your brand maximum exposure to Pennsylvania’s largest and most respected architectural firms as they come together to celebrate at office viewing parties across the state. Interested in sponsoring the broadcast? Reach out to Olivia Perry at operry@aiapa.org or 717.236.4055 x 103

Previous Awards

2016 Architectural Excellence Design Award Winners

2015 Architectural Excellence Design Award Winners

2014 Architectural Excellence Design Award Winners

Submissions

SUBMIT to the 2016 Architectural Excellence Awards

2014 Architectural Excellence Awards

Allied Professions Award

This new award is presented for contribution to the built environment to honor those professionals who bring architects’ work into reality and uphold the tenets of design, sustainability and collaboration.

Recipients

Mascaro Construction (2015)
Langan Engineering & Environmental Services (2014)

Associate Award

This new award recognizes exceptional contributions to the profession by an AIA Pennsylvania Associate member who graduated in the last five years and who has demonstrated professional and civic leadership.

Recipients

Troy Hannigan, Associate AIA Community Ventures (2015)
Jared McKnight, Associate AIA Wallace Roberts & Todd (2015)
Erike De Veyra, Associate AIA (2014)

Architectural Excellence Awards

Past Winners:

2015

2012

2011

Project Eligibility

Awards can be given for a project in any geographic location if the project’s Architect of Record is a member of AIA Pennsylvania and the project was completed within the last five years.

Award Types

Silver Medals may be granted, at the jury’s discretion to the project that distinguishes itself from the rest of the submissions and may be given in any category.

Honor Awards may be given at the jury’s discretion for projects that exemplify the highest design quality in any category.

Citation of Merit Awards may be given to reward a project that either lies outside of the other categories or bears an exceptional aspect or detail that the jury feels represents excellence which deserves specific honor.

Award Categories

Architecture: built projects including new buildings of all types including additions and alterations to existing buildings.

Interior Architecture: large or small in scope and may involve new construction, renovation, or preservation/restoration.

Historic Preservation: projects including historic restoration, historic rehabilitation and adaptive reuse.

Regional and Urban Design: urban design projects, planning programs, civic improvements, campus plans, regional plans, environmental programs, or redevelopment projects.

Special Initiatives: planning, research, conceptual, unbuilt projects, policy development and implementation and community initiatives. The project must have been completed within the last five years.

Associate: recognizes the contributions and creativity of AIA Pennsylvania Associate Members. Work submitted may include projects that the member has had significant participation in at the firm where the associate is affiliated or an individual effort at the conceptual level that is recognized for its inventiveness and/or originality. The project must have been completed within the last five years.

Medal of Distinction

The Medal of Distinction is the highest award bestowed by AIA Pennsylvania upon a living AIA Pennsylvania member. The recipient shall have made contributions to architecture that transcend local boundaries and have been of benefit to the profession and citizens of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania.

Nominations may be made by the Board of Directors of a Chapter or by a group of ten (10) AIA Pennsylvania members. This is an excellent opportunity for us to recognize an excellent member. We encourage you to nominate worthy candidates. Only one award will be presented, and the selection will be made by AIA Pennsylvania’s board of directors.

Recipients

Firm Award

The Architectural Firm Award is awarded to any firm or successor firms, whether an individual or an organization of architects, in which the continuing collaboration among individuals of the firm has been the principal force in consistently producing distinguished architecture for a period of at least 10 years. While serving on the AIA Pennsylvania Board of Directors, Board members and their firms are ineligible to be nominated for this award. Nominations may be made by the Board of Directors of a Pennsylvania local Chapter or by a group of ten (10) AIA Pennsylvania members.

Recipients

Kieran Timberlake (2015)
BCJ Architects (2014)
Spillman Farmer Architects (2013)

Emerging Professional Award

The Emerging Professional Award seeks to recognize the exceptional achievements and future promise of a licensed architect and promote their continuing development. The applicant’s contribution to the profession can be through one or more of the following: design excellence, leadership in practice, leadership in education, and service to the profession or society. The award is open to registered architect members of AIA Pennsylvania in their first ten years of licensure as of the date of the application. (Please note that this can be a self nomination.)

Recipients

Soha St. Juste, AIA Jacobs (2015)
Jo Hohenwarter, AIA, Joshua Otto, AIA and Sean Sheffler, AIA (2014)
Denise E. Thompson, AIA (2013)

Contribution to the Profession by a Non-Architect

AIA Pennsylvania is seeking nominations for the Award for Contribution to the Profession by a Non-Architect. The award goes to an individual, corporation, association, or other group; and will be presented at the Statewide Conference.

Recipients will be cited for their direct contributions to the profession such as a building program, public works project, book, theoretical or applied research in zoning, urban design, interiors, planning, energy conservation, preservation, restoration, transportation, industrial design, artistic endeavors, or other significant disciplines that have a strong influence on Architecture. Projects must be non-built contributions that benefit the built world or profession of Architecture.

This is an excellent opportunity for us to recognize excellent work that has helped us to be better architects. We encourage you to nominate worthy candidates. Only one award will be presented, and the selection will be made by AIA Pennsylvania’s board of directors.

Recipients

Gary Saulson, Corporate Real Estate PNC Bank Corp. (2015)
Anthony Potter, Esq. (2014)
David Leatherbarrow (2011)
John Andrew Gallery, The Preservation Alliance for Greater Philadelphia (2010)
Roger W. Moss, The Anthenaeum of Philadelphia (2007)
Dr. Graham Spanier, The Pennsylvania State University (2006)
Gunther O. Carrle, Esq., Powell Trachtman Logan Carrle & Lombardo (2006)
The Pittsburgh Cultural Trust (2006)
Chris Satullo, The Philadelphia Inquirer (2005)
Paul R. Levy, Executive Director of the Center City District in Philadelphia (1996)
Thomas Hagen, Erie (1993)
Thomas Hine, Philadelphia Inquirer (1992)
The Anthennaeum of Philadelphia (1990)
Hobart G. Cawood (1989)
George E. Thomas (1988)
Pittsburgh Architects Workshop (1986)
Architecture Career Explorer Post #920 from Pittsburgh (1985)

Government Award

The Government Award is given in recognition of significant contributions to, or particular support of, the profession and business of Architecture and/or the built environment. Anyone working in state or local government such as legislators, department secretaries, township officials, etc. are eligible for the award as an individual or specified group. The award will be presented at Architects Day in Harrisburg.

Past Recipients

Mayor Michael A. Nutter, Philadelphia (2015)
Alan Greenberger, FAIA (2014)
Senator Jay Costa (2013)
Representative Mike Turzai (2012)
Senator John Rafferty (2011)
Representative Matthew Smith (2011)
Representative Robert L. Freeman (2010)
Mayor Stephen Reed, Harrisburg (2007)
Secretary Jim Creedon (2006)
Bonnie Mark (2006)

President's Award

The President’s Award is presented at the discretion of the President of the Board of Directors, in recognition of special contributions and/or particular support of the profession, the business of architecture or the built environment, in Pennsylvania. The award is open to anyone, including members, non-members, architects and others.

The nominations are due August 30th. Upload the completed form and documentation to our dropbox.

Past Recipients

City of Philadelphia Zoning Code Commission (2012)
Witold M. Rybczynski, Hon. FAIA (2011)
Maureen A. Guttman, AIA (2010)

Student Award

The Student Award recognizes the exceptional scholastic achievement and future promise of a student graduating at the end of the current academic year. The student should have proven to be proficient in both academics and design, and ready to take on the challenges and responsibilities of the work environment in an architecture firm. Student Awards:

2015

Gloriana Gonzalez, Carnegie Mellon University
Patrick Barendt, Drexel University
Elizabeth Mae Andrzejewski, Marywood University
Bong Hei Wong, Philadelphia University
Katelyn Troutman, Penn State University
Alex E. Aftuck, Temple University
Caleb White, University of Pennsylvania

2014

College of Fellows

The American Institute of Architects bestows the recognition of Fellowship for achievement in architecture on members who have contributed notably to the advancement of the profession of architecture. With the exception of the Gold Medal, Fellowship is the highest national honor the AIA can bestow on a member.

It is conferred on members with at least 10 years of continuous membership who have made significant contributions to the aesthetic, scientific, and practical efficiency of the profession; to the standards of architectural education, training, and practice; to the building industry through leadership of the AIA and other related professional organizations; to the advancement of the living standards of people through their improved environment and to society through significant public service.

The College of Fellows includes approximately five percent of the total AIA membership. Those advanced to fellowship may use “FAIA” after their names in recognition of their contributions in design, education, research or public service.

Current members of AIA Pennsylvania who have been recognized with the honor of Fellow are: