The AIA Potomac Valley Excellence in Design Awards program is designed to encourage and recognize distinguished architectural achievement; to honor the architectural team, their clients and consultants who work together to improve the built environment; to demonstrate the breadth of services architects provide; and to celebrate and raise public consciousness of the architect’s role in shaping the quality of life through design excellence.

We are following the pandemic situation and restrictions closely, and will make decisions later in the year regarding AIAPV's Excellence in Design Awards event. Please note that all dates and details are TBD, and will depend on whether or not we are able to hold a live awards ceremony this year. We’ll communicate that information by updating our chapter website and this page as details are finalized.

Eligibility

Participation is open to built and unbuilt projects completed after January 1, 2015 and not having been previously awarded by AIA Potomac Valley [exception: projects that were previously awarded in an unbuilt category may be resubmitted in a built category]. Unbuilt submissions may not be under construction at the time of submission. There is no limit to the number of projects that may be entered by a firm and all materials included in submissions must be cleared for public reproduction. All eligible entrants must be AIA members in good standing as of June 1, 2020. Entries must be submitted by the Firm of Record or the Architect of Record.

• Primary members of AIA Potomac Valley (architects or associates) who are a principal member of the design team, or a Principal of the Firm responsible for the project, may submit projects designed or built anywhere in the world.
• Primary members of other AIA chapters (architects and associates) who are a principal member of the design team responsible for the project, or a Principal of the Firm that is responsible for the project, may submit projects that are located within the geographic boundaries of the Potomac Valley chapter (Allegany, Charles, Frederick, Garrett, Montgomery, Prince George’s, and Washington counties in Maryland).

AIA Potomac Valley Schedule

• Friday, July 24, 2020 Submission Forms, Material Uploads and Entry Fees are due by 11:59pm EDT. Entry fee payments will be made by credit card in the awards submission portal when the project is ready for final submission. NO LATE ENTRIES WILL BE ACCEPTED.
• August, 2020  Online Individual Juror Review by AIA Mississippi Jurors
• August, 2020  Live / Virtual Jury Review @ Duvall Decker Architects, P.A.
• TBD  Design Awards Ceremony - Live or Virtual (Due to COVID-19, plans for a Design Awards ceremony are evolving and we'll provide an update regarding format and location as plans are confirmed.)

NEW for 2020

Sustainability Questions Added to the 2020 Submission Form

In response to AIA’s commitment to climate action, AIA Baltimore, AIA Chesapeake Bay, AIA Potomac Valley and AIA Maryland are introducing new sustainability questions to Design Awards Submissions.

Following the lead of AIA National, the Maryland Chapters of AIA will phase in measures from the AIA COTE Top 10 Toolkit, now the Framework for Design Excellence. This will begin with our 2020 Design Awards program with 5 of the 10 measures: Designing for Integration, Designing for Energy, Designing for Equitable Communities, Designing for Water and Designing for Resources.

When you submit a project, you will be given open-ended prompts to describe in a few sentences how your design achieves outcomes for each of the above measures. Projects are not required to address every measure; you should only address those measures that are relevant to your project. The goal is to promote the sustainable design work of our members and to support AIA’s Resolution for Urgent and Sustained Climate Action.

Expanded Promotion of Design Award Projects to Clients and the Public

To add value to our design awards programs, the AIA Chapters in Maryland are collaborating on a new digital platform to more widely promote 2020 awarded projects. This will include a more visually compelling awards gallery and yearlong marketing to public and client-facing publications and websites.