ELIGIBILITY

1. Entrant must be an AIA Dallas chapter or AIA Northeast Texas section member and licensed architect or a firm comprised of AIA Dallas members and licensed architects.
2. The primary design must be originated by a local AIA Dallas chapter or AIA Northeast Texas section member. In the case of joint ventures and design collaborations, appropriate credit must be given in the submission regarding the responsibilities of each firm or individual.
3. The entry cannot previously have been a winner in the category for which it is being submitted. For example, awarded Unbuilt projects could be submitted for a Built Design Award but cannot be resubmitted to Unbuilt.
4. The project was completed after January 1, 2021.

SUBMISSION REQUIREMENTS

The AIA Dallas Design Awards program is seeking entries responsive to beauty, poetry, context and previous condition, inspiration, process, environmental and social impact, economy and consumption.

The AIA Dallas Design Awards uses a paperless, electronic submission process.

1. Each submission must recognize all firms and individuals involved in the design process.
2. Release Waiver: By submitting an entry, entrants take full responsibility for the accuracy of all information submitted and warrant that all necessary permissions have been obtained from others who may have rights to the work. Entrants further acknowledge that no royalty or compensation is due to anyone, hold AIA Dallas, its sponsors, staff, consultants and members harmless from all liability and grant to AIA Dallas the non-exclusive right to publish, reproduce and distribute copies of the original entry.
3. Each submittal must contain RGB JPEG slides (including RGB JPEG text and RGB JPEG plan files).
4. The slides must have an exact height of 2250 pixels and an exact width of 3300 pixels (vertical views also have an exact height of 2250 pixels) – no exceptions.
5. The maximum number of slides allowed is 12. The Common App "Spider" graph must be displayed on the second to last slide of the submission. The ensure legibility, the spider graphic should be no smaller than one ninth of the image area (approximately 1000 x 800 pixels). The graphic can fill the whole screen if desired.  It can be black on a white background, or a contrasting color placed over an uncluttered portion of a project photo.
6. The images should be named with a double-digit numerical sequence for viewing by the jury. Slides will also be on display in sequential order at the awards venue gallery. (i.e. “01.jpg” for the first image, “02.jpg” for the second image, etc.)
7. Firm and photographer must not be listed on the slides. Entries that violate this requirement are subject to disqualification.
8. Please consider text size and legibility when composing slides.
9. Videos cannot be submitted.

Submissions must include the following:

1. Slides must include a site plan and/or floor plan, and any additional drawings to give the jury a thorough and comprehensive understanding of the entry (in the form of JPEG files).

NOTE: Entrants are no longer required to submit a project information sheet PDF.  This will be generated automatically from your online submission.  The first image of the entry slides will be used as the feature image on the project information sheet for the jurors' reference.  Please consider that when arranging the order of your entry slides.

ENTRY APPLICATION

The entry can be submitted under any of the following categories:

• Adaptive Reuse / Historic Preservation
• Aviation / Transportation
• Civic / Cultural
• Education
• Healthcare
• Interiors
• Mixed Use / Hospitality
• Religious
• Residential
• Sports
• Workplace
• Other

Each submittal must consist of the following:

1. Complete all form fields on the AIA Dallas Design Awards submission portal
1. Entry title, location, and size
2. Client’s name and address (when applicable)
3. Names and addresses of the entrant/designer, the consultants, and others to receive credit; each entrant is responsible for giving proper credit where joint ventures, firm name changes or former partnerships are involved; disputes regarding credits may result in disqualification
4. Date of design completion
2. Up to 12 slides of project
3. Complete the Project Narrative

The Design Awards Committee or the jury may make any interpretations that may be necessary to carry out the program’s intent.

ENTRY FEES

The Built entry fee must be submitted at the time of entry. The early bird submission fee is $180, and it is due by Thursday, July 16, 2026 at 11:59 p.m. The fee for entries submitted after that time is $200. No entry fee will be refunded.

DEADLINES

We will begin accepting entries Monday, June 1, 2026.  Design award submissions are due by 11:59 p.m., Thursday, August 6, 2026. All materials stated above must be submitted at this time. No entries will be accepted after this time. 

Submissions must be entered online: 
Please enter your information, submit your slides and Project Information Sheet through the Design Awards portal. 

QUESTIONS?

Feel free to contact AIA Dallas (214.742.3242) or the Design Awards Committee Leadership:
2026 Chair: Laura Baggett, AIA| laura@ljbstudio.me
2026 Vice Chair: Yu Xin, AIA | yuxin@beckarchitecture.com