Design for Aging 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 include 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.

2027 Deadline

Submissions are due by 5pm ET on Tuesday, November 3, 2026. All materials must be submitted via the online application portal (i.e., cannot be accepted via email, phone, shared online drive, fax, post, etc.) by the prescribed deadline(s): deadline extension or exception requests will not be granted. Applicants and interested parties are encouraged to seek award assistance well in advance of application deadlines to minimize the risk for ineligibility and/or application noncompliance, rendering the entry removed from review

Formatting requirements

For information on templates for required uploaded forms (e.g., Image Release Form, Application Release Form, Client Authorization, etc.), please visit the AIA Awards FAQ webpage. Applications that do not conform to the program's formatting requirements for uploaded materials (e.g., required forms, images, and portfolio documents) are subject to automatic disqualification. AIA does not accept release forms with altered terms. 
 

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.

Review Process

• AIA Awards juries will be shared on AIA.org once available.
• Award advisory panels are composed of individual experts recommended to and appointed by the AIA President, to adhere to the composition requirements outlined in the AIA Rules of the Board.
• Award advisory panels are composed of individual experts recommended to and appointed by the AIA President, to adhere to the composition requirements outlined in the AIA Rules of the Board.
• All policy and application-compliant entries are evaluated by a uniform rubric. Jurors review submissions independently, then convene collectively to discuss submissions and select recipients.
• All policy and application-compliant entries are evaluated by a uniform rubric. Jurors review submissions independently, then convene collectively to discuss submissions and select recipients.
• Evidence of current or future applicants and/or their supporters attempting or actualizing contact with an AIA award juror(s) pertaining to the evaluation of applications to specific award programs within specific award cycles can result in an official filing with the AIA Ethics Committee, suspension of membership in good standing, ineligibility of involved parties from participation in current and/or future AIA award program participation, and/or additional measures

Review criteria

• The jury evaluates entries based on how successfully projects have met their individual requirements
• All projects must demonstrate design achievement, including a sense of place and purpose, ecology and environmental sustainability, and history.
• In 2019, AIA adopted the Framework for Design Excellence as the set of guidelines and requirements to assess project performance. Climate action requires a holistic approach addressing the interdependence among people, buildings, infrastructure, and the environment. The Framework for Design Excellence provides the elements that support this vision during project evaluation. While projects submitted do not need to address all the measures included in the framework, they do need to highlight how they perform in this context and highlight relevant narratives and metrics when applicable.

Recognition

Recognition for this program typically includes the following elements but may be subject to change. Recipients will receive additional information about this cycle’s recognition benefits with their selection notification.

• Invitation for the recipient or a recipient representative to attend selected Awards event celebrations, commonly held during the annual AIA Conference on Architecture & Design®.
• The recipients will be announced to the members of the Design for Aging Knowledge Community.
• Selected projects may also be featured in publications, presentations, and/or included in other Design for Aging Knowledge Community-sponsored media presentations.
• Recipients may be invited to present their work at the Design for Aging Knowledge Community conferences (e.g : LeadingAge Annual Meeting and Expo, Environments for Aging Conference and Expo)

For information on 2025 recipients, visit our awards management portal.  

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