Design for Aging Review Award

All entries must meet the following requirements for each of the entry categories:

• Open to AIA Members and non-members based in the United States or Internationally; however, there must be an identified US-licensed architect on the project.
• Projects submitted by jury members or by the organizations they represent, and projects that included jury members on their team, will be disqualified.
• All entries must receive permissions from owners and other team members and acknowledge that permission as part of the submission. Designers and providers should collaborate on completing the form, as there likely are some questions better answered by one group or the other.
• Projects may only be submitted once, under one category. If a project can be classified under more than one category, applicants are encouraged to choose the one they think best applies to their project.

Fee: Single project submissions are $450 each. Submitting the same project to additional award categories costs an extra $100 per category.

Application Components
Extensive information on the materials required to submit an application is housed in the AIA online application portal. Please reference the information in this portal when the program is receiving materials for the 2026 season. 

Categories

• Built projects: The built form(s) and related site work, whether it is an entire campus or a wing of a building. Must be completed after 1/1/2018.
• Small Projects: Built or Unbuilt ($3 million construction cost or less): Supportive elements of the built environment, either as small stand-alone projects or as a part of larger projects, including interior and/or outdoor spaces.
• Affordable Projects: Residents can obtain housing with a mix of income from 30-60% average median income (AMI) and should also meet Inclusionary Zoning needs. Housing types should be for independent senior and assisted living. Mixed income can include a mixture of affordable and market rate units within the project.
• Unbuilt Projects: Projects may be in the planning phase only, with the intention to build. They could be community or campus plans, master plans, or re-positioning plans. Also, building projects that are currently in the early stages of design, which demonstrate significant ideas or innovations, should be submitted in this category.

Recognition

A jury of architects, allied professionals, and care providers for the aging will categorize and recognize submissions to be published and exhibited as follows:

• Awards of Merit: Projects that represent advanced design concepts, research, and solutions sensitive to the needs of an aging population. Projects submitted in the Built, Small Project, and Affordable categories are eligible for a Merit Award.
• Special Recognition:Projects that, while not Awards of Merit, display special features or innovations that warrant acknowledgment as exemplary, trend-setting, or innovative. Unbuilt projects are only eligible for Special Recognition.
• Published: Projects that offer distinction and notable competency.
• All selected projects will be published in a digital DFAR17 compilation. In addition, the Merit projects will be published in a Supplement for Environments for Aging, sent to approximately 23,000 subscribers. The selected projects will also be exhibited at one or more of the following conferences: LeadingAge Annual Meeting and Expo, Environments for Aging Conference and Expo, as well as the AIA Conference on Architecture.

For information on 2025 recipients of this award program visit our awards management portal.  

Recipients of this award from 2024 and 2023 can be found at AIA award winners. For previous recipients please contact AIA Archives.