The AZ Awards has been recognizing excellence in design and architecture across the world for over a decade now. Since AZURE debuted the AZ Awards in 2011, the program has grown in size, scope and momentum to be internationally recognized for its influence in the global design and architecture spheres. The AZ Awards 2021 adds the completely new category of Urban Design, encouraging developers to submit their projects.

The awards program welcomes submissions until February 25 and promises to attract entries from some of the most forward-thinking firms from all corners of the globe. Enter here!

In 2020 – the AZ Awards’ 10^th anniversary – the program received projects from over 1,200 architects, landscape architects, product designers, interior designers, students and manufacturers from 48 countries. Out of that unprecedented number, the international jury of experts selected 68 extraordinary finalists.

This year, our jury of internationally renowned practitioners in the areas of product design, architecture, landscape architecture and interiors will convene remotely from their homes and offices all over the world to evaluate the entries. Past jurors have included Thom Mayne, Nader Tehrani, Nina-Marie Lister, Philippe Malouin, Marion Weiss, Omar Gandhi, Craig Dykers, Michel Rojkind and Brigitte Shim. Stay tuned to find out who the members of the 2021 AZ Awards Jury will be!

Winners will be revealed at the AZ Awards Gala in Toronto in June. The gala has become the event of the season, an exciting evening with fellow members of the industry’s elite. Every year – with the exception of 2020, when we hosted our gala online – close to 500 top architects, designers and industry-related professionals come together to meet and mingle and to celebrate the finalists and winners. Past finalists have travelled from as far away as South Korea, Austria, Brazil, Peru and Japan to join the festivities. The gala also welcomes an annual international guest of honour; previous years’ guests have included legendary landscape architect Martha Schwartz, architect Winy Maas (co-founder of the Dutch architecture firm MVRDV) and designer Gaetano Pesce.

Winners take home the AZ Awards trophy, recreated annually by a prominent designer – in past years such luminaries as Luca Nichetto, Michael Anastassiades, Matt Carr, Philippe Malouin, Karim Rashid and Omer Arbel have designed trophies for the AZ Awards. Look for announcements later this year about our special gala guest and the 2021 AZ Awards trophy designer.

Azure and its partners encourage design and architecture professionals, developers, students and manufacturers to submit their work to the AZ Awards for an opportunity to step into the global spotlight, elevate their profile, and raise public awareness for their firm and their clients.

Submissions close Tuesday, February 25, 2021 (early-bird submissions end January 31, 2021).

Online entry portal and more information at awards.azuremagazine.com 

ELIGIBILITY

The 2021 AZ Awards are open to:

• Designers and design firms from all disciplines
• Architects, landscape architects and architectural firms
• Developers
• Post-secondary students enrolled in design and architecture programs in 2020
• Clients and manufacturers
• Projects must be completed by December 31, 2020
• Products must be prototyped or in production
• Concepts must have been developed or presented for the first time in 2020

THE CATEGORIES 


Architecture: Residential buildings; commercial and institutional buildings over 1,000 square metres; commercial and institutional buildings under 1,000 square metres; temporary and demonstration projects; adaptive re-use

Landscape Architecture: Public and private landscapes


Urban Design: Built and unbuilt multi-building development projects (commercial, residential or mixed-use); infrastructure; urban interventions

Interiors: Residential spaces; commercial and institutional spaces


Design: Furniture; furniture systems; lighting fixtures; lighting installations; interior products; architectural products


Experiential Graphic Design: Wayfinding; sign programs; information and map design; experiential brand identity


Concepts: Unbuilt competition entries; concepts/prototypes


A+ Award: Projects developed by a student enrolled in a post-secondary design or architecture program in 2020. The winner will receive a $5,000 cash prize. 


All entries may be considered for the Social Good Award and/or the Environmental Leadership Award by election. A winner in each of these two categories will be selected. Projects may be entered in one or both categories. 


For the Social Good Award, projects must advance social equity and have a positive impact on the collective realm.

For the Environmental Leadership Award, projects must show sensitivity and respect for the use and management of natural resources throughout their lifecycle, especially with respect to materials and energy use.

The AZ Awards 2021 is presented by Keilhauer and Landscape Forms.

The AZ Awards 2021 Gala sponsors are Ciot, Dark Tools and Scavolini.

Media Partners: Archello, Archiexpo, Archilovers, Archinect, Archiproducts, Architect@Work, The Architect’s Newspaper, Architonic, Bustler, Design Week Mexico, Interior Designers of Canada, INDEX Design, Kollectif, v2com newswire and World-Architects.