A highly anticipated annual chapter event, AIA San Antonio’s People + Place Awards recognize outstanding architectural projects by AIA members that promote public awareness of the value of design excellence.
In 2022, AIA San Antonio implemented several significant improvements to the Awards program including the following:
- Award Categories were introduced to recognize the variety of project types.
- Limit of four (4) entries per firm or entrant.
- Project Eligibility extended to ten years.
- Recognition simplified to Design Award. (Honor, Merit, and Citation designations have been retired.)
- Simplified the Common App. Please reference entry requirements for award-specific guidelines
- The Community Impact Award is now a stand-alone award, independent of the Project Category awards, with its own simplified entry requirements and reduced fee. This Award spotlights projects that positively impact our community.
Submissions are due on September 25, 2023.
Submissions will be accepted via the Submittable platform. Scroll down to see the entry form portion of the submission.
Awards
Design Excellence Awards recognize excellence in built projects. Entries are evaluated on the merit of the quality of design, resolution of the program, conceptual clarity, innovation, thoughtfulness, and execution.
Projects are juried by project category.
The categories are designed to collapse into its larger primary Project Category if one or more sub-categories do not receive the required minimum number of entries to be viable.
Project Categories include:
1) Residential: any project intended for habitation
1A) Single-Family under 3,000 SF—any single-family residential project (e.g., primary or secondary residence)
1B) Single-Family over 3,000 SF—any single-family residential project (e.g., primary or secondary residence)
1C) Multifamily—any project inhabited, owned, or leased by multiple tenants on a single contiguous site
2) Small Scale: any architectural work under 1,500 SF—open to all project types (e.g., cabin, pool or guest house, pavilion, wine cave, barn, garage, or installation including temporary)
3) Commercial: Any building for profit-generating activities (includes hospitality but excludes residential).
3A) Commercial under 7,500 SF (e.g., small office, restaurant, bar, café)
3B) Commercial over 7,500 SF (e.g., corporate headquarters, large office, retail, hospitality)
4) Architectural Interiors: any Commercial Interior space (e.g., finish-out within a shell space)
5) Civic/Institutional/Educational: any publicly funded, nonprofit, or educational project
5A) Civic/Institutional—any publicly funded or nonprofit project used primarily for a civic or institutional purpose (e.g., Courthouse, Municipal Building, Hospital, Church, Museum, or Recreational Facility)
5B) Educational—any project intended for learning (e.g., K-12, Higher Education, Training Center)
6) Unbuilt Work: recognizing design excellence in proposed or unrealized work
7) Historic Preservation, Restoration & Adaptive Reuse: preservation, restoration, renovation, or adaptive reuse of an existing or historic structure
Any project entered in any one of the building categories above may also be submitted for any, or all of the following Awards, provided the entry meets the additional submission and eligibility requirements for each award.
The COTE Award—The Committee on the Environment (COTE) Award recognizes projects that embody a holistic vision of design excellence that supports human health, vibrant communities, and ecological resilience.
Mayor's Choice Award—recognizes design excellence of publicly funded projects. Projects must be located within Bexar County and constructed with public funds.
Eligibility
1) All built projects submitted must have been completed after September 1, 2013, and prior to September 1, 2023.
2) Entrants are required to be a member of AIA San Antonio and licensed by the Texas Board of Architectural Examiners at the time of the project’s completion.
3) For Built or Unbuilt projects where several parties share responsibilities for a project, the Architect must be an AIA San Antonio member and credit must be given to all who contributed substantially to the project. Primary portions of the design of the project submitted must have been performed by AIA San Antonio members and their firms located within the chapter region. Work performed outside the chapter by a satellite office of a locally established firm is ineligible.
4) An entrant may submit up to, but not more than, four (4) completed projects.
5) Projects completed in any geographic region or country are eligible.
6) Efforts by successor firms, individuals, or joint venture members should be coordinated prior to entering a project. Disqualifications resulting from multiple entries are not the responsibility of AIA San Antonio.
7) Projects are to be submitted into the most appropriate single Project Category. Submitting a project into more than one category is not allowed. Disqualifications resulting from multiple entries are not the responsibility of AIA San Antonio.
8) Separate entries of related projects are eligible (e.g., the interior completion of a lease space by one Architect within the shell building designed by another Architect).
9) Submission of a project represents permission from the entrant, the owner, and photographer to publish the project.
10) Projects that have won an AIA San Antonio Design Excellence Award in prior years are not eligible. Projects that have previously been recognized with the Mayor’s Choice Award or a Community Impact Award are eligible to resubmit.
11) Completed projects that have won an Unbuilt Award are eligible to submit as a Built Project.
Submission Requirements
All project entries will be reviewed by the jury online via the Submittable platform. All submissions must include all the following:
1) Completed Submittable Entry Form—all required fields must be completed. All submissions are final and may not be edited or changed, no exceptions.
2) Common App Document—this form highlights project strategies that address the AIA Framework for Design Excellence in a concise, standardized format for juror consideration. CLICK THIS LINK TO DOWNLOAD THE CURRENT COMMON APP
a) Design Excellence Award applicants are required to complete the introductory section and ONLY TWO of the ten measures listed in the Common App project data sheet that best represent their project. If applicants complete more than, or less than, two Measures, the application will not be presented to the jurors for consideration.
b) COTE Award applicants should complete all ten measures of the Common App to the best of their ability. Fields that are not applicable, or where information is unavailable, may be left blank.
c) Projects submitting for a Design Excellence Award wishing to also be considered for the COTE Award must submit TWO Common App Forms: One for Design Excellence (see 2.a) and a second for COTE (see 2.b).
d) Note: the 2023 common app form has been updated. Do not reuse the 2022 form.
e) Please submit the Common App form as an Excel file to ensure legibility.
3) Jury PDF—submit a PDF that thoroughly presents the project to the Jury. It should be concise and of high graphic quality. Requirements include:
a) 20 pages maximum, landscape orientation suggested
b) File size to not exceed 20 MB
c) Filename: “Jury23ProjectName.pdf”
d) All submissions shall include a Title Page including ALL the following:
- A detailed Written Description up to 250 words including program requirements, sustainability goals, and design process
- Project Name
- Project Size (in square feet)
- Location
- Date of Completion
- The Title Page may include an image
e) For all projects categories, except Interiors, include a Site Plan with a Graphic Scale and North Arrow
f) Floor Plans and Elevations should be clearly marked with a Graphic Scale and North Arrow
g) For Renovation/Restoration projects, indicate preexisting conditions with plans and/or photographs.
h) Project Images—selected images that convey the qualitative aspects and design intentions of the project. Images may be full bleed. Supporting diagrams and text may also be included.
i) Submittals shall not contain transitions, sound, animation, video clips, QR codes, hyperlinks, or links to other files.
j) The entrant’s and/or firm’s identity shall not be present anywhere within the Jury PDF.
4) Publicity Images—submit four that best portray the project. These images will be used during the ceremony event and may be provided to the media.
a) JPEG format, landscape or portrait
b) 1920x1080 minimum resolution, 3000 pixels maximum dimension
c) Filenames: “ProjectName01.jpg”, “Project Name02.jpg”, etc.
5) Social Media Image—submit one single image for AIA San Antonio’s Social Media Place Awards Campaign.
a) PNG format only, 800 x 450 pixels exact resolution
b) Landscape format only. Vertical images will not be accepted.
c) Filename: “ProjectNameSM.png”
d) Please provide your social media handle (e.g., Facebook: @aiasa; Instagram: @aia_san_antonio)
e) Provide up to five desired Hashtags to be included with your post (e.g., #architecture, #design, #designexcellence, etc.)
6) Exhibition Board—provide a mounted Project Board to be included in the gallery exhibition
a) Single full color image, full bleed, on gloss finish paper
b) Include the Project Name, Location and the Entrant’s or Firm’s Name
c) Dry-mounted on 24” x 24” x ¼” thick black gator board
d) Boards are due by 5pm Monday, October 30, 2023 at the Center for Architecture, 1344 South Flores, Suite 102
Entry Fees & Deadline
Entry Fee: $250 per entry. Submissions are due by 11:59 p.m. September 25, 2023. Submission fee includes one RSVP to attend the People + Place Award Celebration on Tuesday, November 14, 2023, when award winners are announced. This is an exclusive invitation-only event for award entrants and sponsors.
Late Entry Fee: $100 additional fee for entries submitted after the September 25 deadline. Late entries will be accepted up until 11:59 p.m. October 2, 2023.
Events
PEOPLE + PLACE AWARDS CELEBRATION will be held in-person on the evening of Tuesday, November 14, 2023, from 6 to 8 p.m.
PEOPLE + PLACE AWARDS EXHIBITION: AIA San Antonio will exhibit all the 2023 People + Place Design Awards submittals in the Center for Architecture Gallery in November.
Contact
Please direct any questions regarding submissions or procedures to:
Belinda Sanchez, Managing Director, AIA San Antonio
210.226.4979 Office
210.544.0898 Cell (SMS texts only please)
The Community Impact Award is now a stand-alone award, separate from the Place Awards. This award spotlights community projects that positively impacts communities served by AIA San Antonio’s members.
Community Impact Award—Entries in this category must provide a 150–250-word descriptive statements describing how the project addresses one or more of the following criteria:
- Economic Disparity—Architecture, or a design process that addresses disparities in the economics of a larger community or individuals served by the project.
- Educational Inequity—Projects that address inequities in our education system and promotes
the advancement of quality education. - Community Engagement—design that leads to increased civic engagement. Projects that promote and integrate a participatory design process.
- Design Excellence—Projects that integrate effective social outcomes within the highest level of design expectations.
- Health Outcomes—Projects that promote healthier outcomes for the larger community or individuals served by the project.
- Human Rights—Projects that contribute to the respect and observance of human equality and fundamental freedoms for all, without regard to race, color, religion, national origin, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, veteran status, age, or disability.
PLEASE NOTE: FIRMS ARE NOT LIMITED IN THE NUMBER OF ENTRIES ALLOWED FOR THE COMMUNITY IMPACT AWARD. ENTRIES IN THIS CATEGORY DO NOT COUNT AGAINST THE MAXIMUM FOUR PLACE AWARD ENTRIES.
Eligibility
1) Entrants are required to be a current member of AIA San Antonio and licensed with the Texas Board of Architectural Examiners at the time of the project’s completion.
2) All projects submitted must have been completed after September 1, 2013, and prior to September 1, 2023.
3) Projects must be located within the AIA San Antonio charter territory which includes the following counties: Atascosa / Bandera / Bexar / Comal / Dimmit / Edwards / Frio / Gillespie / Gonzalez / Guadalupe / Kendall / Kerr / Kimble / Kinney / Llano / Mason / Maverick / Medina / Real / Uvalde / Val Verde / Wilson / Zavala
4) Projects that have previously won a Place Award, State or National Award are eligible to submit for the Community Impact Award
5) For projects where several parties share responsibilities, the Architect must be an AIA San Antonio member and credit must be given to all who contributed substantially to the project. Primary portions of the design of the project submitted must have been performed by AIA San Antonio members and their firms located within the chapter region. Work performed primarily outside the chapter by a satellite office of a locally established firm is ineligible.
6) Efforts by successor firms, individuals, or joint venture members should be coordinated prior to entering a project. Disqualifications resulting from multiple entries are not the responsibility of AIA San Antonio.
7) Submission of a project represents permission from the entrant, the owner, and photographer to publish the project.
8) Submissions are due on September 25, 2023.
Submission Requirements
All project entries will be viewed and evaluated by the Place Awards jury via the Submittable platform. Submissions must include all the following:
1) Completed Submittable Entry Form—all required fields must be completed. All submissions are final and may not be edited or changed, no exceptions.
2) Jury PDF—submit a PDF that thoroughly presents the project to the Jury. It should be concise and of high graphic quality.
a) 20 pages maximum, landscape orientation preferred
b) File size to not exceed 20 MB
c) Filename: “Jury23ProjectName.pdf”
d) Please include the following on the cover page:
- Project Name
- Project Size (in square feet)
- Location
- Date of Completion
e) Submissions may include project images, drawings, or any supporting text or diagrams that present a compelling story.
f) The entrant’s and/or firm’s identity shall not be present anywhere within the Jury PDF.
3) Publicity Images—submit four that best portray the project. These images will be used during the ceremony event and may be provided to the media.
a) JPEG format, landscape or portrait
b) 1920x1080 minimum resolution, 3000 pixels maximum dimension
c) Filenames: “ProjectName01.jpg”, “Project Name02.jpg”, etc.
4) Social Media Image— submit one single image for AIA San Antonio’s Social Media Place Awards Campaign.
a) PNG format only, 800 x 450 pixels exact resolution
b) Landscape format only. Vertical images will not be accepted and will consequently not be included in the Social Media Campaign.
c) Filename: “ProjectNameSM.png”
d) Please provide your social media handle (e.g., Facebook: @aiasa; Instagram: @aia_san_antonio)
e) Provide up to five desired Hashtags to be included with your post (e.g., #architecture, #design, #designexcellence, etc.)
Entry Fees & Deadline
Community Impact Award submissions are $175 per entry. Submission fee includes one RSVP to attend the People + Place Awards Celebration on Tuesday, November 14, 2023, when award recipients will be revealed. This is an exclusive invitation-only event for award entrants and sponsors.
A Reduced $50 Entry Fee is offered for Community Impact Award submissions that have also been submitted for Place Award consideration. Reduced Entry Fee does not include an RSVP to attend the People + Place Celebration.
Submissions are due by 11:59 p.m. September 25, 2023.
Late Entry Fee: $100 additional fee for entries submitted after the September 25 deadline. Late entries will be accepted up until 11:59 p.m. October 2, 2023.
Events
PEOPLE + PLACE AWARDS CELEBRATION will be held in-person on the evening of Tuesday, November 14, 2023, from 6 to 8 p.m.
PEOPLE + PLACE AWARDS EXHIBITION: AIA San Antonio will exhibit all the 2023 People + Place Design Awards submittals in the Center for Architecture Gallery in early November through the end of the year.
Contact
Please direct any questions regarding submissions or procedures to:
Belinda Sanchez, Managing Director, AIA San Antonio
210.226.4979 Office
210.544.0898 (SMS texts only please)
2024 2PLP Application
Confidential Application
TO THE APPLICANT: As an emerging leader in the architectural profession, you are submitting this application form because you are interested in the opportunity to elevate your knowledge in the practice of architecture. The AIA San Antonio Professional Practice Leadership Program created this curriculum with the intent to allow participants to enhance their abilities in three areas of leadership: the firm, the profession, and the community. It is the committee’s hope that each participant will use the skills obtained through the program to not only enhance their own careers, but also to impact the success and culture of their firms and the San Antonio architectural community.
The program consists of one (1) half-day orientation in January 2024, followed by nine (9) half-day sessions to be held once a month on Fridays beginning February 2024 and ending in October 2024, and concluded with a graduation in November 2024. Classes feature various local guest speakers and lectures, including quarterly sessions led by program facilitator Pete DeLisle PhD, Hon. TxA, Professor of Human Behavior, and Principal of Educet and the Leadership Design Studio. Upon completion of the program, participants will be recognized as a graduate of AIA San Antonio's Professional Practice Leadership Program (2PLP) and will receive recognition at a local AIA San Antonio chapter event.
Please note: To encourage firm collaboration and diversity, the AIA San Antonio Professional Practice Leadership Program limits enrollment to a maximum of two participants per firm.
PROGRAM REQUIREMENTS: To qualify for this program, an applicant at minimum should:
- Be employed full-time by an architectural firm in the immediate chapter area.
- Pursuing a path to architectural licensure or recently licensed.
- Have at least 5 years of experience working in the architecture or design fields.
- Desire to commit the time and effort necessary as outlined in this document.
While these are the minimum program requirements, we encourage all with a strong desire to grow as leaders in their communities to apply.
INSTRUCTIONS: The following are imperative for an applicant’s acceptance:
- Completed application is due by noon, Friday, October 20th, 2023.
- Upon receipt of application, the selection committee will promptly begin the review and selection process. Late submissions will not be considered.
- All applicants will be notified of the decision by October 27th, 2023 by the current program co-chairs. Invoices for program fees will be sent, by AIA San Antonio Directors, to all selected applicants and the corresponding sponsoring firms in January 2024.
TUITION: A tuition fee of $750 shall be paid no later than the date of the program orientation (January 21, 2024). Tuition is non-refundable one week after orientation. Late payment of the tuition forfeits your candidacy which will be offered to the first qualified alternate. The employer/sponsor is responsible for paying the tuition fee on behalf of the participant. *Tuition for non-AIA member is $1000. Of which, the employer/sponsor will be responsible for $700, with the remaining $300 to be paid by the participant as a personal commitment to the program.* It is an expectation that non-members participating in this program would become members following graduation. In support of this, our chapter will apply a portion of the non-member fee to the local AIA San Antonio membership dues in 2025.
TUITION WAIVER REQUEST: Waivers for tuition are available for candidates facing financial hardships, and for non-profit sponsors/firms. One of each of the following may be awarded on a case-by-case basis:
· Full waiver $750/$1000
· Partial waiver $300/$500 on the Sponsor’s behalf
· Partial waiver $100/$150 on the Candidate’s behalf
Candidate: if applicable, please provide enough detail and background information for the waiver request for the consideration of the AIA San Antonio Board of Directors.
Sponsoring firm: if applicable, please submit proof of non-profit status along with this completed application.
COMMITMENT: The AIA San Antonio Professional Practice Leadership Program requires a significant commitment of time and effort, as outlined below. In-person sessions are the preferred method for meeting.
- The date for Orientation is Friday, January 19, 2024, 1:00 - 5:00pm. Full participation at the orientation is mandatory.
- There will be (9) program sessions held on the third Friday of the month from 1:00pm – 5:00pm. Time is built in for breaks and networking opportunities with one of the AIA San Antonio Networks/Knowledge Groups.
- Session dates may change, with sufficient notice, due to scheduling needs with presenters.
- Participants who are not able to attend a session are to provide notice to the 2PLP Co- Chairs at least one week in advance. Absences will be reviewed on a case-by-case basis. Should you need to miss more than (2) sessions throughout the year, we strongly encourage you reconsider participating this year.
- Responsibilities conducted outside of normal session times will be detailed at a later date. This will primarily include a class project which is created and lead by class participants. Applicants are encouraged to meet with local leaders and organizations to identify problems so the project serves our communities. Applicants should be prepared to spend approximately 1-2 hours per week throughout the year on project responsibilities and team contributions, with potential for additional hours as the team(s) near the project’s final presentation.
- Participants in the program are asked to join at least one AIA San Antonio network(s)/committee(s) at the culmination of the program. Please indicate network(s)/committee(s) you are interested in so leadership can coordinate opportunities to meet these committees during the program.
Participants must be able to fulfill program attendance requirements to graduate, including active engagement in each session and equitable participation in the class project.