The winners of the 14th Architizer A+Awards are live! Discover a global cohort of architects shaping the future of design, and subscribe to our Awards Newsletter for future program updates.
The winners of the 14th Architizer A+Awards have been announced. If this year’s projects tell us anything, it’s that the industry is moving in an encouraging direction. Across continents and typologies, many of the strongest entries place just as much emphasis on how they’re made as on how they look. Rather than relying on spectacle alone, they’re grounded in well-resolved ideas, thoughtful material choices and details that feel purposeful.
That made this year’s focus on craft feel especially timely. More importantly, it offered an opportunity to recognize the practices that have long treated materiality and making as central to their work, which is exactly why the inaugural Best in Craft Firm category was introduced. The award celebrates architecture and interior design firms whose projects demonstrate an exceptional command of craft, not as an isolated feature, but as something that shapes the architecture from the outset.
So, without further ado, meet the Jury Winner, Popular Choice Winner and Special Mention recipients of the 14th Annual A+Awards Best in Craft Firm category.
hooba design group
Jury Winner, Best in Craft Firm, 14th Annual A+Awards
hooba design group‘s portfolio on Architizer
Hitra Office & Commercial Building by hooba design group, Tehran, Iran
Just by opening HOOBA Design’s Architizer page, you get a sense of how the practice thinks. Rather than introducing each project with a photograph, the studio presents its work through a series of striking black-and-white drawings, each reducing a completed building to its essential geometry. It’s a subtle choice, but one that reveals a great deal about the firm’s design philosophy.
Founded by Hooman Balazadeh in Tehran in 2007, HOOBA Design approaches every commission as an opportunity for research, drawing inspiration from the cultural and geographical characteristics of each site. Whether exploring light, materiality or the relationship between architecture and the city, the practice is guided by a simple idea: every part of a building should reinforce the whole. That philosophy naturally extends to craftsmanship. Rather than treating details as decorative flourishes, HOOBA develops them as an extension of the project’s central concept, ensuring that the way a building is made is inseparable from the idea that shaped it.
KPF (Kohn Pedersen Fox)
Popular Choice Winner, Best in Craft Firm, 14th A+Awards
One Vanderbilt by KPF (Kohn Pedersen Fox), New York City, New York
TCC DAKA Renewable Resource Recycling Center by KPF (Kohn Pedersen Fox), Xiulin Township, Hualien County, Taiwan
Few architecture firms have shaped contemporary skylines quite like KPF. From the soaring Shanghai World Financial Center to The Pinnacle and Hudson Yards, the firm’s work spans more than four decades and over 40 countries, leaving its mark on cities around the world. Yet despite the scale of its portfolio, KPF has resisted becoming synonymous with a single architectural language. Each project responds to its own physical, social and environmental context, resulting in buildings that feel distinctly rooted in place rather than in the signature of their designer.
That philosophy helps explain why KPF was named the Popular Choice Winner in the inaugural Best in Craft Firm category. Across projects of vastly different scales and programs, the firm’s attention to craft is expressed less through ornament than through precision. Materials are selected with purpose, details reinforce the larger architectural idea, and construction becomes an integral part of the design process rather than simply its execution. It’s an approach that has allowed KPF to build some of the world’s most recognizable buildings without relying on a recognizable style.
Enter Projects Asia
Spice & Barley Riverside Bangkok by Enter Projects Asia, Bangkok, Thailand. Photo by William Barrington-Binns.
T2 Kempegowda International Airport Rattan Retail Pods by Enter Projects Asia, Bengaluru, India
Based in Bangkok, Enter Projects Asia was founded as what the practice describes as “a gentle rebellion” against the loss of detail in contemporary construction. Rather than accepting standardized materials and methods as the inevitable future of architecture, the studio has built its work around artisanal craftsmanship, sustainable materials and original design at a commercial scale.
That ambition is reflected in every stage of the design process. Drawing inspiration from natural geometries and biophilic design principles, the practice creates fluid, sculptural spaces that respond to their surroundings rather than conforming to the limitations of mass-produced construction. Every project begins with a careful study of its site, from the movement of natural light to the way people inhabit and navigate a space, allowing each design to develop its own distinct character.
Whether designing for hospitality, retail or residential clients, Enter Projects Asia works closely with artisans to translate these ideas into architecture that feels both contemporary and deeply rooted in the craft of making.
Brenac & Gonzalez & Associés
I-CONIC by Brenac & Gonzalez & Associés, Lyon, France
La Grande Motte by Brenac & Gonzalez & Associés, La Grande-Motte, France
Founded in Paris in 1981, Brenac & Gonzalez & Associés has spent more than four decades designing housing, cultural buildings and public architecture, building a portfolio that reflects both a remarkable range and a deep understanding of context. Curiously, all that experience hasn’t led the practice toward a recognizable signature style. Looking across its work, what stands out instead is a willingness to let each project become its own thing.
The firm describes its evolution as a gradual liberation from architectural dogma, replacing fixed positions with a more pragmatic way of working. Rather than beginning with a preconceived architectural language, each project grows out of its own circumstances and evolves through the design process. That openness has allowed the practice to remain remarkably diverse over the years, while never losing sight of the care and precision that define its work.
1100 Architect
House on Sag Harbor by 1100 Architect, Sag Harbor, New York
Böllenfalltor Sports Hall by 1100 Architect, Darmstadt, Germany
Founded in New York in 1983, 1100 Architect has built an international portfolio spanning cultural institutions, educational buildings, workplaces and residential projects, with studios in both New York and Frankfurt. Throughout that breadth of work, the practice places as much importance on the process of building as it does on the process of design. Remaining closely involved from concept through construction, the team sees the successful realization of a project as an essential part of its work rather than a separate phase handed over once the drawings are complete.
That philosophy carries through to the studio’s attention to materiality and detail. Materials are selected for the qualities they bring to a space, while careful detailing ensures those qualities are fully realized once built, allowing the finished architecture to remain true to the original design intent.
Acebal Canney Arquitectos & Asociados
Villa del Mar F11 by Acebal Canney Arquitectos & Asociados, Punta Cana, Dominican Republic. Photo by Fabiana Ocando.
Based in the Dominican Republic, Acebal Canney Arquitectos & Asociados has built its reputation designing residences, hospitality projects and commercial spaces that are deeply connected to their surroundings. Rather than treating architecture and landscape as separate disciplines, the practice brings the two together, using natural light, carefully framed views and expressive architectural forms to shape the experience of each project.
That same attention extends to the finer details. Every staircase, roofline and material choice contributes to a larger architectural narrative, resulting in buildings that feel carefully composed without ever becoming overworked. Supported by advanced design technologies and a collaborative design process, the studio continues to demonstrate that, apart from precision, craftsmanship is about creating spaces people remember long after they’ve left them.
Omar Gandhi Architects
Prime Seafood Palace by Omar Gandhi Architects, Toronto, Canada
East River Residence by Omar Gandhi Architects, East River, Canada
Working from Canada’s Atlantic coast has inevitably shaped Omar Gandhi Architects’ approach to design. Regional materials, rugged landscapes and a strong sense of place run through the firm’s work, creating buildings that feel as though they’ve grown out of their surroundings rather than been placed upon them.
Founded in Halifax, the award-winning practice has since expanded to Toronto and, more recently, Berlin, taking its distinctly regional approach to projects across North America, the Caribbean and Europe. Whether designing a private residence, a civic landmark or a landscape intervention, the work is united by the same careful attention to craft and context, proving that architecture can be deeply rooted in place while resonating far beyond it.
The winners of the 14th Architizer A+Awards are live! Discover a global cohort of architects shaping the future of design, and subscribe to our Awards Newsletter for future program updates.
