Best in Product Type

Best in Building Systems

• Smart Design & Technology – Products with integrated technological elements, including smart devices. Entries can include smart home systems, lighting and sensors, AV equipment, home security, energy systems and building envelope technologies.
• Building Equipment & Systems – Products relating to the inner workings of a building, including but not limited to HVAC systems, plumbing, ducts, water recycling systems, M&E systems, photovoltaics, elevators and escalators. (Plumbing includes concealed pipework and other products; please submit visible fixtures and fittings in the Fixtures & Fittings - Bath category.)

Best in Facades & Openings

• Building Envelopes, Cladding, & Roofing – Structural and non-structural exterior wall products, cladding, roofing, and rainscreen panels made from any material, including but not limited to metal, wood, stone, masonry, concrete, terracotta, fiber cement and plastics.
• Glass & Glazing – All architectural, low-e, birdsafe and switchable/dynamic glass, as well as framing systems, supports and fittings for curtain walls, structural glazing, storefronts and interior walls.
• Windows & Skylights – Openings including windows, roof windows/hatches and skylights (both fixed and operable); window and skylight hardware including latches, handles, locks, cranks, hinges and pivots.
• Doors & Door Hardware – Openings for entrance and egress including doors of all styles and door hardware including latches, handles, locks, hinges and pivots.

Best in Finishes

• Hard Surfacing, Tiles, & Stone – All finishes that utilize hard materials, including solid surface products, metal, wood and plastics. All small and large format tiles and slabs, including ceramic, porcelain, stone and other materials. Interior and exterior products for use on floors, walls, façades and roofs are eligible.
• Walls & Wall Coverings – Wall coverings for commercial or residential applications, including but not limited to wall panels and panel systems, acoustic panels and tiles, green or living walls, wallpaper, paints and coatings.
• Acoustics – All types of architectural acoustic panels and sound insulating products, including freestanding partitions, baffles, panels integrated into walls and ceilings, furniture with sound-absorbing properties, and decorative art-based panels.
• Ceilings – Includes whole ceiling systems, ceiling tiles and clouds for either commercial or residential settings.

Best in Flooring

• Carpet – Carpets designed for commercial or residential applications, including but not limited to modular carpet tile and plank, broadloom, area rugs and hybrid woven products are all acceptable.
• Hard Flooring – Wood or engineered wood, LVT, resilient, terrazzo, regular and large-format tile with appropriate slip resistance for flooring applications, floor pavers, quartz composite, natural or engineered stone, metal.

Best in Kitchen & Bath

• Fixtures & Fittings - Kitchen – Fixtures and fittings for kitchen applications, such as faucets, taps and pot fillers, sinks, garbage disposals, water filtration systems, kitchen furniture and accessories.
• Fixtures & Fittings - Bath – Fixtures and fittings for bathroom applications, such as sink faucets and taps, tub spouts, faucet and tub filler handles and controls, sanitaryware including toilets, urinals, sinks and bathtubs; built-in elements such as shower bases and doors/enclosures. (Please submit lavatory sink cabinets into the Cabinetry & Millwork category.)
• Cabinetry & Millwork – All built-in cabinetry for kitchen and bath settings including vanity cabinets, cook island cabinets and medicine/mirrored cabinets. This category also includes entire kitchen furniture systems.
• Appliances – Including major household appliances such as refrigerators, ovens, washing machines and dishwashers, as well as small countertop appliances like coffee makers, toaster ovens and microwaves.

Best in Furnishings

• Residential Furniture – Non-commercial grade furniture suited to residential settings, including tables, case goods, beds and dining pieces, and home office furniture including desks and storage.
• Contract Furniture – Commercial grade furniture for use in corporate, hospitality, educational, healthcare, and other public settings. Furnishings may include individual and communal tables, desks, signage, case goods, mobile carts, shelving and other storage.
• Outdoor Furniture – Furniture and systems rated for outdoor use in all public and private settings, including benches, deck and lounge chairs, dining tables, arbors, pergolas, trellises, playground structures, planters, bins, signage, umbrellas, cabanas, outdoor kitchens, fountains and fire pits.
• Furniture Systems – Commercial and non-commercial grade systems, interior structures and furniture sets for use in residential, corporate, hospitality and public settings, including but not limited to partition walls and wall panels, dividers, multi-functional and modular furniture systems, large scale shelving systems, kiosks and meeting booths.
• Contract Seating – Commercial grade seating for use in corporate, hospitality and public settings, including chairs, sofas, stools, workplace/office chairs and benches for both interior and exterior uses.
• Residential Seating – Non-commercial grade seating suited to residential settings, including dining chairs, sofas, armchairs, recliners, loveseats, accent chairs, chaise longues, lounge and club chairs, home office chairs, benches and stools.
• Accessories – Products that lend functional and decorative details to an architectural environment. Includes bath and tabletop accessories, soft goods such as pillows and throws, table and bed linens, stemware and dishware, wall art, frames and other decorative objects.
• Fabric & Textiles – Fabric and textile products for commercial, residential, or outdoor applications, including upholstery and drapery textiles, window shade fabric, outdoor and awning textiles, tensile structure textiles and room/space division textiles (such as hanging felt panels and screens).

Best in Lighting

• Pendant Lighting – Commercial and non-commercial interior lighting in suspended form, including multi-light, inverted, downlight, drum-shade and linear pendant lights.
• Recessed & Mounted Lighting – Commercial and non-commercial interior lighting in recessed or mounted forms, including: troffers, reflector or wall washed trims, recessed LED or OLED panels, sconces, mounted ceiling lights, track mounted lighting, and other recessed or mounted fixtures for ceilings, walls and floors.
• Decorative & Freestanding Lighting – Decorative luminaires of any scale, from distinctive wall sconces and table lamps to chandeliers and pendant clusters. Lighting for both residential and commercial uses are eligible. The diffusers, shades, housing or composition of these lights should be design objects that add to the built project.
• Exterior Lighting – Commercial and residential lighting designed for outdoor uses, including step lights, path and street lamps, landscape spotlights, external façade lights, in-ground lights and utility lights such as motion-activated parking structure lights.

Best in Technology - NEW!

• Architecture Hardware - NEW! – Hardware and devices that help architects, designers and others in the AEC industry maximize their creativity, practice their craft more efficiently, and/or run their business effectively. Eligible products include (but are not limited to): computers, laptops, workstations, tablets, phones, drones, 3D printers, robotic devices, mice, keyboards, cameras, laser measures, surveying equipment and more.
• Architecture Software - NEW! – Software and applications that help architects, designers and others in the AEC industry maximize their creativity, practice their craft more efficiently, and/or run their business effectively. Eligible products include (but are not limited to): CAD, BIM and drafting software, 3D modeling and rendering software, environmental analysis applications, project management software, surveying software, AI and generative design applications, planning software and more.

Best of the Year

• Residential Design – The Residential Design Award celebrates the world’s best products and materials used in residential applications. This includes products of all types, including building products, furnishings and materials that are designed for use in buildings such as:
  • Private residences
  • Multi unit residences
  • Apartments
  • Ancillary structures such as garden studios and sheds
  • Residential interiors
• Commercial Design – The Commercial Design Award is dedicated to the world’s best products and materials used in commercial applications. This includes products of all types, including building products, furnishings and materials that are designed for use in buildings such as:
  • Office buildings & interiors
  • Coworking spaces
  • Retail, showrooms & shopping centers
  • Pop ups & temporary commercial structures
  • Factories & warehouses
  • Hospitality, including hotels, restaurants, bars & nightclubs
  • Cultural & institutional buildings
• Landscape Design – The Landscape Design Award celebrates the world’s best products and materials used in landscape architecture and outdoor spaces. This includes products of all types, including building products, furnishings and materials that are designed for use in spaces such as:
  • Public outdoor spaces
  • Private gardens
  • Courtyards
  • Landscape master plans
  • Streetscapes
• Sustainable Design – The Sustainable Design Award celebrates products that are among the most sustainable in their field. This includes but is not limited to products that minimize or actively help reduce carbon emissions, highly energy efficient products, products that facilitate passive heating and cooling, products with a sustainable “cradle to grave” lifecycle and products that utilize locally sourced materials.
• Flexible Design – The Flexible Design Award celebrates products whose primary quality is adjustability, flexibility or modularity. This category is open to products of all types that have a flexible element, including but not limited to: modular furniture, flexible seating, customizable wall or acoustic panels, flexible façade and glazing systems, modular storage, and customizable or modular lighting.
• Innovation – The Innovation Award is dedicated to products that are among the most innovative in their field. Contenders for the Innovation Award should be groundbreaking, pioneering products that set a precedent in their industry, breaking away from the conventions of their product type. Products that set a new benchmark for design and quality within their vertical stand the best chance of success in this category.
• Architectural Design – The Architectural Design Award is dedicated to products that are integral to the building's envelope or structure. These are the products that enable architects to realize their creative vision. Eligible products include façade systems, cladding, glazing, windows and doors, roofing and flooring materials.
• Positive Impact – The Positive Impact Award celebrates building products that do good for the environment or society as a whole. Eligible products include products that are designed to be accessible to communities of all socio-economic contexts, products that are expressly non-harmful to people and the environment, or the product of a business model with humanitarian or other socially ethical goals.
• Health & Wellness – The Health & Wellness Award celebrates the world’s best products and materials used in health and wellness settings. Eligible products include those used in healthcare architecture, such as hospitals, clinics, medical centers and mobile or temporary healthcare facilities, and products used in wellness-related architecture such as spas, leisure centers, bathhouses, wellness retreats, and both commercial and non-commercial bathrooms.