Interior Architecture Award
Celebrates the most innovative and spectacular interior spaces across a range of projects.
For more information on opening and deadline dates, please see the AIA Awards FAQ.
Celebrating innovative interior architecture & design
Impactful building interiors make their mark on the cities, places, and spaces where we live and work.
The Interior Architecture program celebrates the most innovative and spectacular interior spaces, with projects ranging from a distillery visitor center to an ice rink to a 1,100-foot table, and that’s just the beginning.
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.
Questions? Email AIA Awards
Entrants
- Any U.S. licensed architect may enter.
- Submitting architects do not have to be the head of the team.
- Projects must credit every substantial contributor.
Projects
- New construction, renovations, and restorations are eligible.
- Projects may be located anywhere in the world but must have been designed by a U.S. licensed architect.
- Projects must have been completed since January 1, 2018.
The jury evaluates entries based on how successfully projects have met their individual requirements. Entries are judged individually—not in competition with each other.
All projects must demonstrate design achievement, including a sense of place and purpose, of ecology and environmental sustainability, and of history.
Fee: Single project submissions are $450 each. Submitting the same project to additional award categories costs an extra $100 per category.
Submission process: Visit the submission site for full submission details prior to the deadline. After logging in, you may view the entire submission site, and save your submission as you work to complete it. You will not be asked to pay until your submission is complete.
A sample application can be viewed here: Interior Architecture Awards Sample Application
Please note: Some components of the sample application are subject to change from the final version and are merely here to allow a submitter to view the major criteria prior to logging on to the awards platform. Please rely on the online awards platform for the final criteria.
2024 Jury for Interior Architecture
The jury is composed of five (5) members, at least four (4) of whom shall be AIA members (three (3) of whom shall be Architect members, at least one (1) of whom shall be an Architect member licensed less than ten (10) years), and one (1) of whom may be an allied professional or client.
Luis G. Huertas, AIA, Chair, Sustainable Design Consulting, LLC, Richmond, Va.
Lori Apfel Cardeli, AIA, LACArch, Bethesda, Md.
Denise Rush, Boston Architectural College, Boston
Mark Schwamel, FAIA, Ware Malcomb, Chicago
Jennie Cannon West, AIA, Studio West Design & Architecture, New Orleans
2024 winners
Billerica Memorial High School, Perkins & Will, Billerica, Mass.
David Geffen Hall, Diamond Schmitt (Masterplan and Theater); Tod Williams Billie Tsien Architects | Partners (Public Spaces), New York
Rockwell Integrated Sciences Center, Payette, Easton, Mass.
Maeli Market—Taiwanese Specialty Shop, Suulin Architects, North York, Ontario
Mingei International Museum, LUCE et studio architects, San Diego
Royal Norwegian Embassy Renovation, Fentress Architects, Washington, D.C.
The Center of Developing Entrepreneurs, EskewDumezRipple, Charlottesville, Va.
Past winners
Interior Architecture Award 2023
Interior Architecture Award 2022
Interior Architecture Award 2021
Interior Architecture Award 2020
Interior Architecture Award 2019
The award-winning interior architecture for the Center of Developing Entrepreneurs is a mixed-use project in Downtown Charlottesville comprised of a new public plaza for the historic pedestrian mall
