AIA/ALA Library Building Award
Honors the best in library architecture and design.
For more information on opening and deadline dates, please see the AIA Awards FAQ.
Honoring the best in library architecture & design
Libraries are more than learning centers—they’re also enduring examples of architectural excellence. Every year, the AIA is proud to partner with the American Library Association/Library Leadership and Management Association to honor the best in library architecture and design.
The AIA/ALA Library Building Award is the only award that recognizes entire library structures and all aspects of their design.
Questions? Email AIA Awards
- The award is open to all types of libraries that permit public access.
- The library must be in service before entry and completed no earlier than January 1, 2018.
- Any architect licensed in the United States may enter.
- New construction, renovations, restorations, conversion to library use, and interior redesign and refurbishing are eligible.
- Projects may be located anywhere in the world.
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.
Entry 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: AIA/ALA Library Building 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.
2023 Jury for AIA/ALA Library Building Awards
The jury is composed of three (3) architect members (at least one (1) of whom should be an architect member licensed less than ten (10) years) and three (3) representatives selected by the American Library Association.
Dianne Chia, AIA, Chair, Pfeiffer, New York
Stacy Bourne, FAIA, The Bourne Group, USVI
Michael Crumpton, University of North Carolina-Greensboro, Greensboro, N.C.
Clem Guthro, University of Hawai'i at Manoa, Honolulu
David Powell, FAIA, Hastings Architecture, Nashville, Tenn.
2023 winners
Atherton Library, Atherton, Calif. | WRNS Studio
Louisville Free Public Library Northeast Regional Library, Louisville, Ky. | MSR Design and JRA Architects
Missoula Public Library New Main Library, Missoula, Mont. | MSR Design and A&E Design
Student Success District, University of Arizona, Tucson, Ariz. | The Miller Hull Partnership LLP and Poster Mirto McDonald
Woburn Public Library, Woburn, Mass. | CBT
Past winners
AIA/ALA Library Building Award 2022
AIA/ALA Library Building Award 2021
AIA/ALA Library Building Award 2020
AIA/ALA Library Building Award 2019
The award-winning library design of the Atherton Library creates a zero net energy building reflective of the modern library’s evolution to a vibrant civic hub.
