2025 AIA Monterey Bay Design Awards
Submittal Process, Judging Criteria, and Submittal Requirements
The following document outlines how to complete the steps to submit a project for the AIA Monterey Bay Design Awards.
Eligible Architects and firms are current AIA Monterey Bay Members, Associate Members, and Affiliate Members, or pay a fee of $600 at the time of submittal, which is equal to two years of Affiliate dues.
Eligible projects must be completed within the last ten years if they are located in Monterey, Santa Cruz or San Benito Counties and for the Designed But Not Built Category. Projects located outside these three counties must have been completed in the last 5 years. Previously submitted projects which did not win an award may be re-submitted.
Submittal dates: July 1 – October 15, 2025.
For questions regarding submitting to the Awards, please contact: Polly Osborne, FAIA at posbo@mac.com
SUBMITTAL PROCESS
1. Review the Eligibility Criteria. Determine the Category that you want to use to submit your project.
2. Use the buttons below to submit your project Summary Form, Narrative, Submittal Package (the latter in a single pdf), and three separate images for the printed brochure.
After your online submission is made, changes or modifications are not possible. Please review the Submission Guidelines carefully before submitting.
CATEGORIES
1. Non-Residential New Construction
2. Non-Residential Remodel
3. Residential New Construction, including ADUs
4. Residential Remodel, including ADUs
5. Historic Renovation/Restoration
6. Designed But Not Built
7. Small Project/Big Impact: This is a new category, defined as commissions that leverage design opportunities to produce a positive impact beyond the limits imposed by small scale and/or budget. Submissions must be small in size and not fit into other categories. Submissions may be, but are not limited to, accessory structures, landscape structures, out buildings, shade structures, sculptural structures, and any other structure that showcases thoughtful design in atypical applications or uses.
JUDGING CRITERIA
Architecture Award entries will be judged by measuring the architect’s performance against each project’s stated intent and perceived potential, and not in competition with each other. Thus, projects of any type or budget can receive awards based on the built outcome. The jury process is blind, and the identities of the designers and team will be hidden from the judges.
Entries will be judged on architectural design quality, design challenges met, originality of design solutions, regional appropriateness, value to the community, and site and environmental sensitivity. Special attention will be given to a project’s relationship with its surrounding context and innovative design of climate action and criteria in the COTE “Framework for Design Excellence.” To that end, use of the COTE “Common App” is encouraged for technical review, but not required(1)
The jurors will consider awarding projects in three levels: Honor, Merit and Commendation. They are not required to give awards in all of them.
SUBMITTAL MATERIALS REQUIREMENTS
1. Complete all fields of the online Registration Form via the button at the bottom of this page titled, “Registration Form”.
2. Complete all fields of the online Project Summary form, including a Project Narrative (maximum 500 words), via the button at the bottom of this page titled, “Summary + Submission Page”. Address the architectural design concept and project challenges. This includes, as appropriate per project: approach to architectural design, originality of solution, use of materials and aesthetics; approach to site, landscape, and context. Discuss sustainability strategies, overall environmental impact and sensitivity. Include the project site, square footage, and “common app” data, Energy Use Index, or at the very least percent of performance above Title-24 for the judge’s reference.
3. One .PDF File, not to exceed 25MB and 20 pages. The pdf is to contain all images, diagrams, and plans stipulated below. Preservation and restoration projects may add an additional two pages (not to exceed 22 pages total for this upload) to provide the jury with sufficient information to differentiate between the original architects’ work and the newly altered, preserved, or restored work.
No firm or author’s information is to appear on this file, or the images contained in it.
The PDF must contain the following, in no specific order:
Scaled site plan including the following site conditions:
• orientation of building on site,
• prominent site features including slopes, type of landscape, views, etc.
• property lines (not required for Interior remodels)
Building plans, orthographic architectural plans with dimensions and North arrow
Building elevations, orthographic architectural elevations
Building Sections
Site sections (Not required for interior remodels.)
Use a consistent horizontal format throughout the submission (for computer screen viewing.)
Keeping to the maximum page limit, the following items may be added:
• Conceptual diagrams: as applicable (limit 3 pages); design concept diagrams to reinforce the objectives as outlined in the narrative, used to evaluate the success of the project based on designer’s intent
• Diagram or image showing the site in the larger setting-urban, suburban, or rural
• Rendered drawings as appropriate
• Photography of the project, up to twelve images, numbered in order of importance. (You will be required to submit separately three images that may be included in the printed brochure.)
• Composite pages are acceptable
• Include only high-resolution images
• Text/notes on images/drawings are allowed but shall be concise
• Renderings need to be labeled as such, in particular those that may represent unbuilt elements of the project
• No video files or animations will be accepted.
Registration Form | Summary and Project Submission Form
The Common App is being adopted by the AIA and numerous chapters as a way to technically rate environmental performance. It is required at the national level for the COTE awards. https://aiacalifornia.org/design-awards/