The 11th Annual A+Awards have officially launched! If your firm is interested in competing to be named one of the world’s best AEC firms, be sure to complete your submission to the A+Awards Best Firm categories — hit the blue button below to get started or continue your entry:
One question we’ve had come up frequently during the program is this — how will the work of participating firms be judged, and what factors will decide the winners? The judging criteria for the A+Firm Awards program have been carefully formulated to cover a broad range of qualities, allowing jurors to come to a fair decision on which firms they believe are delivering excellence in their respective fields. The following criteria are worth bearing in mind as you complete your submission, as firms that score highly across all five will maximize their chances of success.
Community Church Knarvik by Reiulf Ramstad Architects, 2015 A+Awards Firm of the Year.
Our stellar jury — a diverse, globe-spanning lineup of creative though leaders — will evaluate each firm’s work based on the following criteria:
- Aesthetics
- Innovation
- Impact
- Versatility
- Mission
Here’s a more in-depth description of what each of these means in the context of the A+Firm Awards program.
Aesthetics
Aesthetics encompass the visual language of a firm’s work. The jury will consider how a firm’s portfolio of projects manifests their stated intent through innovative materiality, form, spatial organization and detailing. Each project’s aesthetics should be driven by its relationship to its context, its users and the public at large. It isn’t enough to be beautiful – the best projects will display aesthetics that respond to the unique nature of each site and their respective users, and their visual qualities should be both intentional and well executed.
Innovation
Architecture is a relentlessly forward-looking field that must embrace new technologies and shifting social and demographic trends with curiosity and eagerness. The jury will reward pioneering firms that are forging new paths in their industry, whether it be through material innovation, formal experimentation and/or explorative construction processes. Firms that are rethinking typologies and testing new design concepts to address contemporary challenges of our world will score highly in this area.
Impact
In the face of unprecedented global challenges, the impact of the built environment is more crucial than ever. Firms whose work prioritizes the health and wellbeing of people and the wider environment are considered most impactful. Impact can be measured in a multitude of ways, including environmental, material, social, and professional, and high scores will be given to firms that place emphasis on designing for positive change. Both short-term, immediate impact and long-term, potential impact will be taken into consideration.
Versatility
Critical to an architecture firm’s success is the ability for its designers to adapt to the unique circumstances of each brief. No two projects or clients are the same, and firms that demonstrate how they can respond successfully to a range of different varying project scales, typologies, geographies, social considerations and/or budgets will score highly in this area. Versatility goes beyond aesthetic variation; firms may have a characteristic style, while also illustrating the adaptable nature of their work through material selection, spatial design, performance and functionality.
Mission
A firm’s mission encapsulates their overarching goals, and how their approach contributes to achieving those goals. Firms will be scored on how well their body of work represents their company’s principles, philosophy and/or their unique vision for improving the built environment and/or the industry itself through their creative processes. A firm’s mission can be related to their past work and future goals, and speak to their collaborations with others in the field.
Inside the National Museum of African American History and Culture by Adjaye Associates, 2017 A+Awards Firm of the Year; photo by Brad Feinknopf
A combination of these five factors will decide the prestigious winners of the A+Awards Best Firm categories, a unique accolade that will see every winning firm published in print next year, as well as in hundreds of industry platforms online. Ultimately, the program will form a global celebration of beautiful architecture, but also of teamwork and collaboration. The A+Awards Best Firm categories are designed to spotlight every player in the creative process of architecture — and we hope to see your firm be part of it.
Good luck from the Architizer team!
