Design Awards

by the WBDG Aesthetics Subcommittee

Last updated: 08-23-2005

Overview

High quality architecture should stand the test of time, years after it is designed and constructed. It excels in function, fulfills its purpose, is enduring, and enriches the people who come in contact with it. Design award programs serve as the vehicle to honor the creative strengths of building design professionals and to publicize the enduring results of their efforts.

Today design award programs are also used to raise the standard and expand the definition of design excellence, which has moved beyond just aesthetics to include: awarding new and improved methods of construction, encouraging more socially and environmentally conscious solutions to design problems, and honoring collaboration and cooperation among the various disciplines involved in the design and construction of a building project. Design award programs have also been utilized as a way to gain public support for design, the arts, and other issues through a community-oriented process, while others seek to challenge design standards by a peer review process.

Light-filled, efficient spaces have transformed the GSA Office of the Chief Architect into a model for its mission to improve the quality of Federal design. Winner of 2002 GSA Design Award.
Credits: Lehman-Smith Mcleish, and National Capital Region and Office of the Chief Architect, Public Buildings Service, U.S. General Services Administration

Design award programs take many forms, from those sponsored by professional organizations such as The American Institute of Architects, to those sponsored by individual building trade organizations. There are many private sector award programs to which the architect, owner, or building contractor can submit a specific project to gain visibility and prestige.

Design competitions, which differ from design awards programs, are usually vehicles for seeking new ideas and/or design proposals. A competition may also be utilized specifically to select a firm based on numerous criteria including the design itself, services, and fee, among others. Firms that have been involved with design competitions usually have a better chance of receiving future work of the same caliber due to the high standards set within the competition and the publicity they receive from the competition. Using a design competition as a vehicle for firm and design selection is not new. It has been utilized since Ancient times as a way of selecting the best design, architect, and/or engineer for a building. For information on how to plan and execute a design competition, see WBDG Running a Design Competition.

Federal Design Competitions

View the Chief of Engineers Design and Environmental Awards Program

The Federal Government recognizes design excellence through several agency specific design competitions that are outlined below.

• Architect, Landscape Architect, and Interior Designer of the Year Awards Program: Through this program the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers recognizes its creative and dedicated registered professionals. For current submission categories and requirements.


View the NAVFAC - Biennial Design Awards Program Flash™ presentation

• Chief of Engineers Design and Environmental Awards Program: Started in 1965, the Design and Environmental Awards Program seeks to recognize and publicize the achievement of design excellence as it relates to the projects and professional works of various design professions and to the natural and built environment. For current submission categories and requirements, contact Frank. A. Norcross, R.A., IIDA, (202) 761-7113.


View the Presidential Design Awards Program Flash™ presentation

• Naval Facilities Engineering Command—Biennial Design Awards Program: The NAVFAC Design Awards Program, which began in 1997, recognizes specific achievements by Architects, Engineers, Planners, and other professionals accomplishing design work under contract for NAVFAC that demonstrate and promote excellence in both the built and the natural environment. The program seeks to recognize excellence in design activities, design products and associated management activities. For information on submission categories and submission requirements, contact Mike Chapman, NAVFAC, (202) 685-9175.
• U.S. General Services Administration Design Awards Program: As builder for the federal civilian government, steward of many of our nation's most valued architectural treasures, and manager of the Art-in-Architecture program that incorporates works by outstanding contemporary artists into Federal facilities, GSA contributes to the architectural and artistic legacy in the United States. Through their Design Excellence Program, they seek the best in design, construction, and restoration. The Biennial Design Awards Program honors "the best of the best." For information on the Biennial Design Awards submission categories and requirements and the GSA Design Excellence Program, contact Thomas Grooms, (202) 501-4941.
• U.S. Air Force Design Awards Program: The purpose of the USAF Design Awards Program is to publicize and recognize projects that have achieved the Air Force goal of design excellence as it relates to the natural and built environment.

Industry Award Programs