The 20 winners of the 2017 AZ Awards proved their prowess through stunning and innovative projects that represent a snapshot of the leading work in global architecture and design today – from a curious, castle-like observatory in New Hampshire that maximizes stargazing to a bicycle-powered canopy that can unfurl anywhere an event space is needed to a 31.3-hectare park that preserves delicate wetlands in China. To mark their achievement, they were each awarded a one-of-a-kind trophy, the creation of Canadian-born, international design phenomenon, Philippe Malouin.

This year’s submissions reached a staggering 813 from 41 countries, setting a formidable task for our jury of renowned experts. Gathering in March to narrow down the hundreds of submissions to a shortlist of 70 finalists were: planner and landscape ecologist Nina-Marie Lister, interior designer Alessandro Munge, industrial designer Theo Richardson, architect Nader Tehrani and multidisciplinary designer Michael Vanderbyl. The jurors met at Toronto’s Drake Hotel – itself a historic landmark – where through debate and discussion they made their final selection of the best of the best – the 20 exceptional winners who were honoured tonight, and who are featured below.

Discover the winning and shortlisted projects below, along with the People’s Choice, by clicking on the Winners and Finalists headings.

The 2017 AZ AWARDS is presented by Audi, Cosentino, DXV, Keilhauer, and Rado, and is sponsored by TD Bank Group, Urban Capital and George Brown School of Design.

The AZ Awards Gala is sponsored by Alpi, Bauhaus, Farrow & Ball and Euro-Line.

All winners and finalists are featured in the Annual Awards Issue, on newsstands June 29 and available to order online here on July 3.

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ARCHITECTURE

Best Residential Architecture, Single Family

Winner:
Jean Verville Architecte: FAHOUSE, Eastern Townships, Canada

Finalists:

• Palinda Kannangara Architects: Studio Dwelling at Rajagiriya
• People’s Architecture Office: Mrs Fan’s Plugin House
• Omar Gandhi Architect (Canada) and Design Base 8 (U.S.): Rabbit Snare Gorge (People’s Choice)
• Studio MK27: Jungle House

 

Best Residential Architecture, Multi-Unit

Winner:
Hiroyuki Ito Architects: Tatsumi Apartment House, Tokyo, Japan

Finalists:

• FXFOWLE: 35XV
• MAD Architects: Huangshan Mountain Village
• Bjarke Ingels Group: The Grove at Grand Bay
  

 

Best Architecture Over 1,000 Square Metres

Winner:
Patkau Architects: Audain Art Museum, Whistler, Canada

Finalists:

• Steven Holl Architects: Visual Arts Building, University of Iowa
• Henning Larsen Architects with GPP Arkitekter: Frederiksbjerg School
• Atelier du Pont: Community of Municipalities’ Offices
• Hariri Pontarini Architects: Bahá’í Temple of South America
• Gimeno Guitart: Church and Parish Center Santa Maria Assumpta (People’s Choice)
  

 

Best Architecture Under 1,000 Square Metres

Winner:
Anmahian Winton Architects: Gemma Observatory, Central New Hampshire, U.S.

Finalists:

• BO-DA Architecture: Group 8 Headquarters, Seoul, South Korea (People’s Choice)
• Neri&Hu Design and Research Office: Suzhou Chapel, Suzhou, China

 

Best Recreational Architecture

Winner:
Matter Design and FR|SCH Projects: Five Fields Play Structure, Lexington, U.S.

Finalists:

• The Marc Boutin Architectural Collaborative: John Fry Sports Park Pavilion (People’s Choice)
• Kleinfeldt Mychajlowycz Architects: BMX Supercross Legacy Track, Toronto, Canada

 

Best Temporary & Demonstration Architecture

Winner:
People’s Architecture Office: People’s Canopy, Preston, U.K.

Finalist:
Matter Design: Microtherme, Boston, U.S. (People’s Choice)

 

Best Landscape Architecture

Winner:
Turenscape: Quzhou Luming Park, Quzhou City, China

Finalists:

• Victoria Taylor Landscape Architect: Public Laneway Puncture, Toronto, Canada
• West 8: Governors Island Phase 2: The Hills, New York, U.S.

 

Unbuilt Concept

Winner:
Adamiczka Consulting: A Church for the Local Community, Wrocław, Poland

Finalists:

• Sanjay Puri Architects: Iskcon Temple, Ahmedabad, India
• Belzberg Architects: Zacatecas, Mexico City, Mexico (People’s Choice)

 

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INTERIORS

Best Residential Interior

Winner:
Desai Chia Architecture: Photographer’s Loft, New York, U.S.

Finalists:

• FM.X Interior Design: Returning Hut, Fujian, China
• Audax with Pencil Design: Strata House, Toronto, Canada (People’s Choice)

 

Best Institutional & Commercial Interior

Winner:
Neri&Hu Design and Research Office: The HUB Performance and Exhibition Center, Shanghai, China

Finalists:

• Assembly Design Studio: Uber Advanced Technologies Group, Pittsburgh, U.S.
• Hallucinate Design Office: Midwest Inland Port Financial Town, Xi’an, China
• Fieldevo Design Studio: NCTU Innovation Centre, Hsinchu, Taiwan
• João Mendes Ribeiro Arquitecto: Claus Porto Flagship Store, Lisbon, Portugal
• Maurice Mentjens: House of Smart, Eindhoven, Netherlands (People’s Choice)

 

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DESIGN

Best Furniture Design

Winner:
Republic of Fritz Hansen: Pair Chair, by Benjamin Hubert

Finalists:

• Coalesse: LessThanFive Chair, by Michael Young
• Neal Aronowitz: Whorl Table (People’s Choice)
• MDF Italia: Sign Filo, by Piergiorgio Cazzaniga
• Estúdio Ronald Sasson: Armchair Yori

 

Best Furniture System

Winner:
Keilhauer: Hangout Collection, by EOOS

Finalist:
Teknion with PearsonLloyd: Zones

 

Best Lighting Fixtures

Winner:
Flos: Infra-Structure, by Vincent Van Duysen

Finalists:

• Davide Groppi: Infinito (People’s Choice)
• Brightgreen: Surface-Mounted Wall Light Collection

 

Best Lighting Installations

Winner:
CannonDesign and NEUF Architect(e)s: CHUM Passerelle, Montreal, Canada

Finalists:

• Lichtvision Design and Random International: Swarm Study / IX, Chemnitz, Germany
• Castor Design: Particle Accelerator, Toronto, Canada

 

Best Interior Products

Winner:
Young Projects: Pulled Plaster Panels

Finalists:

• Agape: Dot Line, by García Cumini
• Wolf-Gordon: Wolf-Gordon + Mae Engelgeer

 

Best Architectural Products

Winner:
Rimadesio: Soho Doors, by Giuseppe Bavuso

Finalists:

• Nemo Tile & Stone: Think Thin, by Matt Karlin
• RVB: Andrew, by Co.Studio

 

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EXPERIENTIAL GRAPHIC DESIGN

Winner:
Volume: Bloomberg SF Tech Hub, San Francisco, U.S.

Finalists:

• Form:Media and Ekistics Planning & Design: Storyboard on the Landscape, Batoche, Canada (People’s Choice)
• Civiliti: Pont Ferroviaire, Montreal, Canada

 

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ENVIRONMENTAL LEADERSHIP

Winner:
Michael Green Architecture: T3 Minneapolis, Minneapolis, U.S.

Finalist:
Edward Ogosta Architecture: Hangar Office

 

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SOCIAL GOOD

Winner:
OPSYS: Extraction, Venice, Italy

Finalists:

• Architem Wolff Shapiro Kuskowski Architectes: Old Brewery Mission, Transformation of Cafeteria, Café and Kitchen, Montreal, Canada (People’s Choice)
• People’s Architecture Office: Mrs Fan’s Plugin House, Beijing, China

 

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A+ STUDENT AWARD

Winner:
Students of Kansas State University: Preston Outdoor Education Station, Cottonwood Falls, U.S.

Finalists:

• Mark Hemphill, Savannah College of Art and Design: Wiggle Theory
• Students of design/buildLAB, Virginia Tech: Sharon Fields
• Caio Barboza and Sofia Blanco Santos, Harvard University: Aéro (People’s Choice)
• Tomasz Broma, Wrocław University of Science and Technology: S’lowtecture Housing Structure