AIA Charleston Design Awards

Welcome to the 2016 AIA Charleston Design Awards!

New this year, we are using the AIASC OpenWater online awards portal for our design awards program.  If you're new to the portal, you will need to create an account to begin your entry.  If you already have an OpenWater account, please note you may need to reset your password to enter this year's AIA Charleston Design Awards program.

Please read the instructions below and then click here to enter a project in the 2016 AIA Charleston Design Awards!

Your design entry must be prepared and formatted as described below for submission through the digital portal.

After creating an entry application, you may begin working on your forms and uploading the required files. You may save your work as you go and return to the site as often as needed, but all submission materials and entry fee payments must be completed and submitted by the submission deadline.

SCHEDULE 2016

• Friday, September 30, 2016:  Submission Forms, Material Uploads and Entry Fees are due by 11:59pm EDT.  Entry fee payments may be made by credit card in the awards submission portal when the project is ready for final submission. Check payments, payable to AIA Charleston, must be received at the AIA Charleston post office box address (PO Box 21122, Charleston, SC 29413) by the submission deadline, September 30.
• October 18, 2016 (TBV): Jury Review
• Saturday, November 5, 2016:  Design Awards Gala will take place from 6-10 pm at Memminger Auditorium, 56 Beaufain Street, Charleston, SC 29401.

PURPOSE
Through its Design Awards Program, AIA Charleston recognizes excellence in architecture throughout the South Carolina Low Country.  The purpose of the awards program is to encourage and recognize distinguished architectural achievement and to honor the architects, clients, and consultants who work together to improve the built environment and for their role in shaping the quality of life through design excellence.

ELIGIBILITY
The Awards Program is open to AIA Charleston Section Members for projects located anywhere in the world. For a project to be considered eligible for an award, the sole proprietor or principal of the submitting firm must be an assigned AIA Charleston member. New structures, additions, and projects involving significant changes to existing buildings, regardless of location, whose construction was completed after January 1, 2010, may be submitted. Projects that have previously won an AIA Charleston award are not eligible in the same category.

REGISTRATION
Entry fee is $75 per project - with the exception of the Unbuilt Project Award which is $25. Multiple projects can be submitted, each at $75.  Payment is required at time of submission. There is no separate deadline for payment and project submission. Registration fees are non-refundable.

CATEGORIES

• Honor and Merit Design Award
• Residential Award
  • New Construction
  • Renovation/Addition
• Historic Preservation Award
• Adaptive Re-use/Renovation Award
• COTE Sustainable Design Award
• Un-built Project Award

AWARDS AND JUDGING
A panel of distinguished architects will review project entries for design excellence. Awards will be bestowed at two levels: Honor and Merit (and at the jury's discretion, Citation), of which Honor is the highest distinction. No minimum or maximum number of awards will be required of the jury. Each project will be considered on its own merit. Therefore, projects will not be considered in the limited context of the Charleston Low Country region but rather within the context of present day design values and the ideals that have shaped the definition of "good" design throughout the years. As always, a host of design issues will inform the jury process. Issues such as innovation, form, construction, utility, response to context and/or an appreciation of the project's environmental impact are some of the factors likely to be considered for each project.

WINNING ENTRIES
The Winners of 2016 Design Awards will be notified prior to the Design Gala in order for the winner to make arrangements with parties involved with the project to attend the Gala should they wish to.  We encourage those receiving recognition to invite project team members as well as owners, consultants, contractors and other interested parties to attend the Gala and share in the honor of being selected as an award recipient. Notification will indicate that the project/firm will be receiving an award but will NOT indicate the award level prior to the event.

DESIGN AWARDS GALA
The 2016 AIA Charleston Design Awards Gala will be held on Saturday, November 5, 2016 from 6-10pm at Memminger Auditorium, 56 Beaufain Street, Charleston, SC 29401. Please check the AIA Charleston website in the coming weeks for additional information.

To complete your submission, you must:

1. REGISTER your project and pay the entry fee in the "Pay First" round. You must pay for your entry (by check or online with a credit card) prior to advancing to the "Submission" round where you will enter project information and upload your image files.
2. Complete the SUBMISSION FORM (Project Descriptions, Concealed Project Data) and upload all required files (Image Files (including a Public Display Image), Jury Presentation PDF, Photo/Client Release Forms)
3. Confirm that no Image Files nor your Presentation PDF contain your firm name and/or logo.
4. "Save and Finalize" your submission by Friday, September 30, 11:59 pm EDT
5. If you're paying by check, be sure we receive your payment by Friday, September 30, 11:59 pm EDT

Please complete all requested information in the portal. Required fields are marked with an asterisk. Please be sure the information appears EXACTLY as you wish to see it published and listed on the awards certificates. Check the spelling of names carefully. You may save your work and return to the submission site as often as needed - as long as you complete and submit all parts of the project submission, along with payment of entry fees, by the due date.

Please direct questions to AIA Charleston's Vice President and Design Awards Director, Aaron Bowman, at aaron@liollio.com or 843.762.2222 x 232.

PROJECT SUBMISSION INSTRUCTIONS

A complete submission will include:

1. Completion of the online SUBMISSION FORM
2. IMAGE FILEs of 5-8 digital images for publication, website, and public gallery purposes
3. PUBLIC DISPLAY IMAGE ("Image 1" from above) for display and media purposes
4. JURY PRESENTATION PDF (10MB, 12 pages max) for jury and design awards presentation purposes
5. RELEASE FORM (photo/client forms are available for download during the submission process)
6. Payment of Entry Fee

Conceal references to the architecture firm on all materials submitted for jury review. Identification of project authorship within the Image Files or Presentation PDF will disqualify the submission.

JURY/PRESENTATION PDF (10MB, 12 pages max.)
Files shall conform to the following page requirements:

• The total size of the PDF file—all pages combined—may not exceed 10MB of data.
• Each submission may contain a maximum of 12 pages. At your discretion, submit individual images on separate pages, or arrange multiple elements in a layout on a page. (Entrants are encouraged to include drawings, diagrams or sketches to provide the jury with an insight into your design process and solution.)
• Each page shall be in PDF format, 8 1/2" x 11" in landscape orientation, and developed as a PDF presentation file. The jury will view your submission on computer screens and through screen projection. An easy way to produce your PDF presentation file is to create your presentation in PowerPoint and then save the file as a PDF.
• Please include photographs, drawings, floor plans, elevations, sections, renderings and graphic images as necessary to provide a clear understanding of the extent and quality of the finished project. A site plan is required, where applicable. Photographs should depict the whole project with views of each exposed exterior façade and each room of the project, as appropriate. Exterior views are optional for Interiors projects.
• Label images with suitable titling and captions. 
• Renovations, restorations, additions and conversions should present “before” and “after” photographs. For projects involving changes to existing structures, documentation of original conditions is highly recommended. Process sketches that communicate the development of the project and/or its construction are encouraged.
• Indicate the project’s physical context or site character through graphics and/or imagery.
• Unbuilt projects should include floor plans, elevations, sections, renderings, graphic images, and/or site plans as necessary to provide a clear understanding of the project. If client-commissioned, include photos of the site location.
• When your pages are ready to submit, arrange the desired sequence of pages in a single .pdf presentation and reduce the file size.
• Please remember you must conceal references to the architecture firm or team members on all PDFs submitted for jury review. Identification of project authorship within the project PDF, including the file naming convention, will disqualify the submission.
• Use this naming convention for the Presentation PDF file: Entry(number)_Presentation.pdf

IMAGE FILES (10MB max., each)
Provide no more than 8 images in JPG format (10MB max per image) for use in the presentation of entrants, awards and publications. 

• Files should be high res images, at least 300 dpi, and 8'x10” in landscape orientation format. 
• Use this naming convention for the Presentation PDF file: Entry(number)_Image(number).jpg
• The first file you upload "Entry(number)_Image1" will be used as your Public Display Image

Click here to enter a project to the 2016 AIA Charleston Design Awards!

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