All submissions must be completed electronically. No hard copy submissions will be accepted. There is no limit to the number of eligible projects a firm may submit; however, each project may only be submitted once. To enter a project into this competition, you will need to prepare and submit the following:
- Your firm's contact information including name, address, phone number, and email
- Your design project's information including name and location
- Project description: a brief project summary (50-word maximum)
- Challenge statement: a description of your design challenge (250-word maximum)
- Solution statement: a description of specific solutions to project challenges (250-word maximum)
Please use the following list of categories as a guide regarding the projects we accept. We neither judge nor award based on categories, but we do allow designs to be submitted into a category:
- Corporate Space Large (1,000 square meters and above)
- Corporate Space Small (under 1,000 square meters)
- Education (elementary/secondary educational facilities, colleges/universities)
- Entertainment (casinos, performing arts centers, sports arenas, theatres)
- Healthcare (hospitals, outpatient clinics, medical facilities)
- Hotels (must include 1 image of guest room)
- Institutional (cultural, government/municipal spaces, libraries, religious spaces)
- Public Spaces & Commercial Lobbies
- Residences Large (125 square meters and above)
- Residences Small (under 125 square meters)
- Restaurants, Lounges, & Bars
- Retail (stores, boutiques)
- Sales Centers & Show Flats
- Showrooms & Exhibition Spaces
- Spas, Fitness Centers, & Gymnasiums
Please submit color images of your completed project, in JPG or JPEG format with a maximum file size of 2MB. You may submit captions to your images, not to exceed 50 words. Take note of the following additional guidelines:
- Submit 7-10 color images total
- Only one (1) exterior image is permitted
- Use numbers to name your image files, in order of uploads (01, 02, 03, etc).
- Submit a minimum of one (1) floorplan
- A maximum of three (3) floorplans are allowed
- Please use the following format for floor plans: "floorplan1, floorplan2, floorplan3"
- No composite images allowed - only one photograph per image upload
- Do not reference or include your design/architectural firm name/logo in the images
- Images may be edited to improve contrast ratio, color balance, and composition through cropping only.
- Images may not be edited to add, remove, or alter any aspect or element of the project including its context. Images should represent the project as it exists in the built environment.
- Conceptual renderings will not be accepted
Finalists and the winning design projects will be selected by a jury of design professionals. Submissions are judged on excellence in aesthetics, design, creativity, and function as well as the suitability of the design solution to the project challenge and the successful integration of the elements of design. The jury reserves the right not to select a winner from the entries submitted.
Winners will be honored, and the best of competition announced at the winners celebration at the black-tie IIDA event Revel In Design in June of 2023, located in Chicago! Winners will be featured on IIDA.org and published in Interior Design magazine. Winners will also receive official digital assets, including competition winner logos for self-promotion, coverage, and mention on IIDA’s social media accounts, and in an official press release distributed to leading industry outlets and media partners.