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Submit to the AIA Baltimore Design Awards

The annual AIA Baltimore Excellence in Design Awards program recognizes excellence in architectural design by AIA Baltimore members and AIA members with projects in AIA Baltimore’s region (Baltimore City and County, Howard, Cecil, Carroll, and Harford Counties). Built and unbuilt projects submitted by AIA members are judged by a distinguished jury of AIA architects.

Eligibility

Design Awards may be given to built or unbuilt architecture, interior architecture, adaptive reuse, planning, renovation, restoration and urban design projects. Architectural projects eligible for submission include, but are not limited to: details, images of models, building segments and renderings.

Eligible projects include:

  • Built or unbuilt projects designed by AIA Baltimore licensed architect members anywhere in the world.
  • Built or unbuilt projects built in AIA Baltimore’s region designed by AIA members of other chapters.
  • Unbuilt projects designed by Associate AIA members of AIA Baltimore.

Projects must be completed on or after January 1, 2020 and cannot have previously received an award from AIA Baltimore.

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. Entries must be submitted jointly by the architect and client and must credit all members of the design and construction team. Projects must be submitted by or on behalf of an AIA member involved in the project.

New for 2025

Framework Design Excellence Award replaces the Excellence in Sustainable + Resilient Design Award.

This award seeks to recognize projects that are exemplary representations of one or more of the principles of AIA’s Framework for Design Excellence. The award will examine the project against each principle in regard to the criteria and focus topics outlined in each category. Only built works will be considered for this award.  

The Bicycle Award will honor a singular project that showcases that impactful design is not directly proportional to project budget. Only built works will be considered for this award and project entry must include the project budget.

Framework for Design Excellence

In response to AIA’s commitment to climate action, all Maryland AIA chapters include sustainability questions, drawn from the Framework for Design Excellence, for Design Awards Submissions.

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.

All 10 questions are optional, though the goal is to promote the sustainable design work of our members and to support AIA’s Resolution for Urgent and Sustained Climate Action.

Download Framework Questions Preview

Register and submit

Learn more about eligibility and submit your project on the AIA Maryland Design Awards page