Design Awards 2023
In recognition of individual architects and architectural firms who have made a substantial contribution in the field of architecture in our region and around the world, this award celebrates excellence in design that goes far beyond the practice of architecture. Great architecture is about creating an enduring legacy, inspiring people and enriching their lives. Innovative buildings can help shape the way we live and enable us to make the most of the limited resources we have.
AIA|SB’s Design Awards reflect the values and aspirations of our region’s design community while focusing on larger, even global design issues. We recognize that our members work on a variety of challenging projects of every scale.
Submissions should reflect a strong sense of place, history, and purpose. We value artfully resolved design and celebrate the fact that good design offers new solutions to new challenges.
Design Awards Gala: Thursday, December 7th, 2023
Schedule
Call for Entries: May 16, 2023
Early Bird Registration deadline: July 24, 2023
Final Registration deadline: August 14, 2023
Submission deadline: September 6, 2023, Entries shall be uploaded / delivered no later than 11.30 PM, PDT
Jury Convenes: October 2023
Design Awards Ceremony: December 7, 2023
Eligibility
Licensed architects or firms in good standing membership of AIA|SB are eligible to submit projects. Projects may be located within Santa Barbara County or worldwide. Non AIASB chapter members may submit projects as long as the submission is located in Santa Barbara County. Projects previously awarded by the AIA|SB design awards program are not eligible. Members of the 2023 Design Awards Committee who intend to submit a project for consideration are not eligible to participate in juror selection or deliberations.
Categories
Entrants should carefully consider selecting the most appropriate category for their submission. Projects may be entered in more than one category. To enter in more than one category entrants must register the project separately in each desired category. (i.e. Commercial Buildings and Santa Barbara Style, etc.) Once submitted, entries cannot change categories.
Submissions must be projects designed or completed within the previous 10 years (2013-2013.)
Submission/Jury Criteria
Your submission should demonstrate the follow measures of excellence:
1. Inspiration: Does the project tell a story about innovative architectural design that is relevant and inspiring? Is the design well-resolved, given the stated project program? Do the materials presented articulate the ambitions of the design?
Common Application: Measure 1 Design for Integration. Measure 7 Design for Wellbeing. Measure 10 Design for Discovery.
2. Creative Problem-Solving: What unique problems was the project asked to address regarding: site, budget, program, materials, collaboration or context? Did it address these requirements successfully? Is the relevance and value of design thinking evident in the submission? Do the presentation materials clearly depict the program, context and organizing principles influencing the design?
Common Application: Measure 5 Design for Economy.
3. Environmental Sensitivity: Does the project exhibit serious intent to minimize negative environmental impacts and enhance the natural environment? Are metrics, narratives, diagrams, sketches or other clear evidence provided of both modeled and actual performance? This may also include project submissions in response to the COVID Pandemic.
Common Application: Measure 3 Design for Ecosystems. Measure 4 Design for Water. Measure 6 Design for Energy. Measure 8 Design for Resources.
4. Social Transformation/Response: How does the project respond to its social, historical and physical context? Is it sensitive to its physical, social and historical context? Does the project improve the community in which it is situated? Does it exemplify a commitment to enhancing livable communities?
Entry Fees
AIA Santa Barbara Members:
Early Bird Registration $175 ($150 each additional entry,) $100 for entries previously submitted, but not awarded.
After July 22, 2023: $225 ($200 each additional entry,) $150 for entries previously submitted, but not awarded.
Non-Members: $270 ($250 each additional entry,) $200 for entries previously submitted, but not awarded.
Entry fees are non-refundable
Jurors
Jonathan Segal, FAIA has been awarded six national AIA Honor Awards for their housing work. Segal is considered one of San Diego, California’s most successful and pioneering residential architectural/development companies and has a reputation for providing superior housing at a lower cost than comparable properties. Their focus is exclusively on urban projects, ranging from 80 to 160 dwelling units per acre. Segal has been the recipient of numerous accolades including 40 local, state and national AIA awards for residential and Urban Design.
Over the past twenty years, Segal has created and modeled the unique practice of “Architect as Developer”, a prototype in which the architect has the ability to become the owner, therefore eliminating the client and the general contractor from the design and building process. Segal teaches this concept of “Architect as Developer” in an online video course for architects.
Michael Burch, FAIA specializes in the Spanish Colonial Revival Style. A fourth generation Southern Californian, Burch was raised in Pasadena, CA, and educated at the University of California, Berkeley and the Yale School of Architecture. He has taught at the University of Southern California. Burch founded his firm, Michael Burch Architects, in 1986. He was the original co-curator of an exhibition for the Getty Institute’s Pacific Standard Time on the Spanish Colonial/Mediterranean Revival style. Burch’s work has appeared in 20 books on the style, including the cover of “the definitive statement on the subject”. He was invited to and presented the work of his firm at the Venice Biennale of Architecture in 2012, 2014, 2016, 2018 and 2020. He has been described as “the greatest living practitioner of the Spanish Colonial/Mediterranean Revival style”. In addition to numerous American Institute of Architects awards, his firm has received three Palladio Awards, the sole national award for traditional architecture.
Greg Wynn, AIA is an architect and educator with over 20 years of teaching experience at Cal Poly, San Luis Obispo. Having taught almost all courses within the architecture curriculum, Greg is currently teaching fifth-year thesis and capstone studio and he is the lead instructor of the professional practice courses that cover ethics, contracts, project delivery and financial considerations, for which he was nationally recognized as an NCARB Scholar in Practice.
Greg maintains an active practice that specializes in residential historic rehabilitation and restoration as well as small scale commercial projects. He is the outgoing chair of the Architectural Review Commission for San Luis Obispo and is the President of the AIA-Central Coast Chapter.
Always active in examination development, Greg serves has served as a Subject Matter Expert for the California Architects Board and is a member the Examination Committee for the Architectural Registration Examination (ARE). Greg is a member of the American Institute of Architects (AIA), the National Council of Architectural Registration Boards (NCARB), and the International Code Council (ICC).