Details
Download the 2025 Information Package
Dates
- November 11 – Open for entries
- January 31 – Early bird deadline
- February 21 – Submissions close
- April 17 – Finalists announced
- April 17-May 11 – People’s choice voting
- June 20 – 15TH Anniversary Gala celebrating winners and finalists
Eligibility
The 2025 AZ Awards is open to:
- Designers and design firms from all disciplines
- Architects, landscape architects and architectural firms
- Urban designers and developers
- Post-secondary students enrolled in design and architecture programs in 2024
- Clients and manufacturers
- Products must be prototyped or in production
- The completion date of projects should be within the past three years, i.e. anytime between November 1, 2021 and December 31, 2024.
Categories
Design
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Furniture, single piece: Residential, office, contract and outdoor furniture.
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Furniture systems & collections: Entire systems and collections, with multiple pieces and variations, for residential and/or contract uses (office systems, kitchen and bath furniture systems, storage systems, office and residential furniture collections).
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Lighting fixtures: Indoor and outdoor fixtures and systems.
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Lighting schemes: Permanent architectural lighting programs for commercial, institutional or residential projects; and temporary light-art installations.
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Interior products: Finishes and accessories, including wall and floor coverings (wallpaper, rugs, tiles, etc.), flooring (wood, tiles, broadloom, etc), window coverings, hardware.
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Architectural products: Built-in and heavy-duty items, including sanitary fixtures and fittings (sinks, tubs, faucets, etc.), appliances, doors and windows.
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Housewares and Tech Products: Tableware, textiles, kitchenware (small appliances i.e. toasters, spice grinders, cooking pots or utensils), bathroom accessories, home electronics and tech devices (speakers, headphones, etc.), home organization and office accessories, pet accessories.
Architecture
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Residential buildings, Houses: new builds, renovations and additions.
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Residential buildings, Multi-unit: new builds, renovations and additions.
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Commercial & institutional buildings over 1,000 square metres
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Commercial & institutional buildings under 1,000 square metres
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Experiential installations: Exhibition designs, experiential installations, showrooms, pop-ups, theatre sets, displays and similar projects whether temporary or permanent.
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Adaptive re-use: Projects that reimagine existing buildings or sites in innovative and sustainable ways.
Landscape Architecture
- Landscapes that are regenerative and revitalizing, whether private or public, urban or rural.
Urban Design
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Built Development Projects: Completed commercial, residential or mixed-use developments consisting of more than one building.
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Masterplan Proposals: Unbuilt commercial, residential or mixed-use developments consisting of more than one building.
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Urban Interventions & Infrastructure: Completed bridges, transportation structures, etc. Redesigns to incorporate new green and public spaces into the built environment and schemes for ameliorating transit, cycling and pedestrian circulation.
Experiential Graphic Design
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Way finding, sign programs, information and map design, experiential brand identity
Interiors
- Residential Interiors: Houses, apartments, condos, etc.
- Retail & Hospitality Interiors: Hotels, Restaurants, cafés, boutiques, concept stores, etc.
- Healthcare Interiors: Hospitals, clinics, wellness centres, etc.
- Workspace Interiors: Corporate and small scale workplaces, office interiors, co-working spaces, artist studios, etc.
- Institutional Interiors: Educational facilities, museums, theatres, cultural and recreational centres, etc.
Concepts
- Conceptual projects, ideas and prototypes: Conceptual works, design solutions and objects not yet realized or not in production. Proposals for buildings, landscapes and interiors that are abstract, hypothetical or speculative intended for a credible client commission – whether planned to be built or not – or a purely experimental idea.
A+ Award for Student Work
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Student work: Any industrial design product, architectural structure, landscape, interior space or unbuilt/unrealized concept developed by a student enrolled in a post-secondary design or architecture program in 2023. The winner will receive a $5,000 cash prize.
Social Good Award and Environmental Leadership Award
In addition to the category in which they are submitted, entries may also be considered for the SOCIAL GOOD AWARD and/or the ENVIRONMENTAL LEADERSHIP AWARD. A winner in each of these categories will be selected.
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. Projects may be entered in one or both categories.
NEW* EMERGING Awards
Starting in 2025, the AZ Awards will select an EMERGING firm for special recognition in up to four categories:
- Architecture
- Design
- Landscape
- Interiors
The award is for a body of work that reflects the AZ Awards’ criteria of aesthetics, function, creativity and social and environmental responsibility.
Eligibility and Requirements for Emerging Awards:
- The firm needs to have been established within the past 10 years
- Architecture and landscape firms need to have at least one principle who is licensed.
- Firms need to submit the following:
- Architecture Firms: At least 1 project (of any scale) completed, 2 underway and 2 concepts
- Design Firms: 2 to 3 products in production (small batch run to mass production), 2 products in design or development and 1 concept
- Landscape Firms: At least 1 project completed, 1 underway and 2 concepts
- Interiors Firms: 2 to 3 projects completed, 2 underway and 2 concepts
4. Entry Requirements:
- Images and descriptions of completed projects; renderings and descriptions of in-progress projects and concepts. No more than 300 words for each description.
- Rationale for EMERGING recognition – A 500 to 800-word description of the firm’s portfolio and how it reflects the AZ Awards’ criteria of aesthetics, function, creativity and social and environmental responsibility.
- Support letters from at least two notable members of the A&D profession (these could include practitioners, critics, academics, and manufacturers).
Competition Details
Guidelines
- Entries must be submitted and received via the online entry system by 11:59 pm EST on Friday, February 21, 2025.
- Full payment must be received by the submission deadline. Entries submitted without the appropriate submission fee will not be eligible for judging. Payments are only accepted online.
- Images must be jpg or tiff format, in print-quality resolution (at least 300 dpi)
General Terms and Conditions
- All information and requested materials must be provided by the deadline or the submission will be disqualified without notice or return of payment.
- No refunds will be issued under any circumstances.
- Works are excluded from the competition if their presentation would infringe a right.
- The entrant authorizes Azure Publishing Inc. (“AZURE”) to publish the submission in the print edition of AZURE Magazine, on azuremagazine. com, on AZURE’s social media channels and on any online platforms affiliated with the AZ Awards competition. The submission may be reproduced, in whole or in part, for editorial and promotional purposes.
- By entering the AZ Awards the submitter grants AZURE Publishing Inc. (“AZURE”) a royalty-free, transferable worldwide right to use and publish in print, online and on social media, all entries and their corresponding photographs and videos, as well as any photos and/or videos of the submitter and their team members. The submitter also grants AZURE a royalty-free right to share the said entries, photo- graphs and videos with AZURE’s international partners who would be posting news about the AZ Awards on their website, newsletter and social channels.
- If the photography/videography rights are owned by a party other than the submitter, the submitter must obtain copyright permission on behalf of Azure Publishing Inc. (“AZURE”). When entering the AZ Awards, the submitter indemnifies and holds harmless AZURE Publishing Inc. (“AZURE”) and its partners against any claims or causes of action that would allege that the use of the submitter’s entries, photos and videos by AZURE and/or AZURE’s partners’ violates a third party’s intellectual property rights.
Submission Specs
- Images: You may submit up to 30 images and/or drawings/renderings in jpg format, at least 300 dpi. If submitting a rendering, please ensure that this is clearly indicated in the file name. Make sure to credit the photographer. When submitting images from multiple photographers, include the photographer’s name in the file name.
- Video: Entrants are encouraged to share videos of their work that help to communicate the project. It is preferred if the video is shared via web link (e.g. YouTube, Vimeo), but we will accept direct uploads in .mov, .mp4 or mpg format with a file size less than 1 GB. NOTE: Images and videos are primarily for the jurors to get a better representation and thorough understanding of your projects. If there are any images or videos that should not be published – should your entry be shortlisted – make sure to add DO NOT PUBLISH in the image/video file name.
- Project name: Indicate the name that represents your project/product and that should be used when referring to your project/product.
- Project description: Include objectives and how they were met, design challenges, technological and/or material innovations, social and environmental impact.
- Project specs: Indicate dimensions, materials, fabrication techniques, manufacturing process.
Fees
Early-bird Fees: For entries submitted by Tuesday January 31, 2025 at
11:59 pm EST
- A+ Award for Student Work: $35 per submission
- All other categories: $250 for the first submission, $225 for the second submission, $200 for each following submission
Regular Fees: Entries submitted after the early-bird deadline
- A+ Award for Student Work: $45 per submission
- All other categories: $275 for the first submission, $250 for the second submission, $225 for each following submission
Each entry includes a 1-year digital subscription to AZURE Magazine, valued at $28.95 CAD.
Full payment must be received by the submission deadline. Entries submitted without the appropriate submission fee will not be eligible for judging. Payments are only accepted online.
People’s Choice
All finalists are considered for the People’s Choice selection, decided by the general public. Voting will take place in April and May.
Judging Criteria
Each project is evaluated on its own merits according to the following four criteria:
- Aesthetics – Is the design contemporary, visually and intellectually stimulating? Does it provoke curiosity, have the capacity to uplift spirits or simply delight?
- Function – How well does it serve its intended use? Does it effectively resolve problems?
- Creativity – Does it incorporate a unique approach, use a new medium or materials? Is it technologically innovative, forward-looking?
- Social and Environmental Responsibility – Does it make respectful use of materials and resources? Does it possess a long life span? Does it contain recycled materials and/or can it be recycled? Does it provide a social benefit?
Jury Process
Each year, the AZ Awards receives hundreds of submissions from around the world. We are thrilled to accept inspiring entries in all our categories.
Soon after the competition deadline, our editorial team reviews ALL submissions in a multi-day series of sessions with local A&D experts. These sessions result in a longlist.
This longlist is then presented to our official jury. With every edition, the AZ Awards convenes an international jury made up of the world’s most renowned architects, landscape architects and designers. The jury convenes in March, reviews the longlist, selects a shortlist of finalists (Awards of Merit), and designates the Winners.
For the 15th anniversary of the AZ Awards, Azure will publish online the longlist selected by the editorial team and local experts. After the jury deliberates in March, Azure will publish the official jury’s shortlist of finalists. These shortlisted finalists will then compete in the People’s Choice segment. The AZ Awards Winners and the People’s Choice favourites will be announced at our annual gala and in the July/August print edition of Azure as well as on our AZ Awards website.
