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 Enter the 2024 Residential Architect Design Awards!

Enter Today!

ARCHITECT has launched the call for entries to its 25th annual Residential Architect Design Awards (RADA) program. RADA recognizes outstanding work and innovations across a wide range of typologies and specialties within residential design. Winning entries of this year's program will be published online on ARCHITECT's website, architectmagazine.com and through the brand's social media platforms in January or February 2025. Any house or project completed after Jan. 1, 2021, is eligible. You can see the 2023 RADA winners here.

This year there is a new spotlight focus category for FIREPLACES. See below for more information.

RADA 2024 Deadlines

Regular Submission Deadline: Sunday, Dec. 1, 2024, 11:59 p.m. EST

Late Submission Deadline: Tuesday, Jan. 7, 2025, 11:59 p.m. EST (will include a late fee of $50 / entry)

REGISTER HERE TO BEGIN YOUR ENTRY

 

Registration Guidelines
The Residential Architect Design Awards (RADA) recognize outstanding work in advancing residential design. Judging will take place in January 2025. Winning entries will be notified in mid-January 2025, and published online at Architectmagazine.com in either late January or February 2025.

The entry process for RADA is entirely digital. Use Chrome or Firefox as your browser when registering and completing the forms.

Eligibility
Entries should be submitted by an architect or designer. Other building industry professionals may submit projects on behalf of an architect or designer. Projects outside the U.S. are welcomed. Any home or project completed after Jan. 1, 2021, is eligible.

Standard Entry Categories (Regular Fee: $160 | Late Fee: $210)

  1. Custom / 3,000 Square Feet or Less
  2. Custom / More Than 3,000 Square Feet
  3. Renovation (residential remodeling and additions) / Adaptive Reuse
  4. Restoration / Preservation
  5. Multifamily Housing
  6. Affordable Housing
  7. Architectural Interiors (build-outs, interior renovations)
  8. Specialized Housing (SROs, shelters, student housing, etc.)
  9. Outbuilding
  10. On the Boards (any unbuilt residential project not yet completed)

Specialty Entry Categories (Regular Fee: $130 | Late Fee: $180)

  1. Spotlight Focus Category "Fireplace" (See special Fireplace Category Entry Rules below), sponsored by Heat & Glo
  2. Universal Dwelling Design
  3. Architectural Design Detail
  4. New Approaches to Housing and Specialty Homes (built accessory dwelling units, tiny homes, micro-units, multigenerational housing, co-living, co-housing, 3D-printed residences, etc. PLEASE NOTE: submissions in this category must be built. All unbuilt projects should be submitted to Category 10. On the Boards)

Individual projects should be submitted in only one Standard Entry Category. Projects may be submitted to a Standard Entry Category and then to one or more Specialty Entry Categories. 

SPOTLIGHT FOCUS "FIREPLACE" CATEGORY ENTRY RULES
1.     The Contest Judges for the Fireplace Category, sponsored by Heat & Glo, will be comprised of ARCHITECT’s Editor in Chief, a representative from Heat & Glo, and an architect or a designer selected by ARCHITECT’s Editor in Chief, who will review and score Entries in the Fireplace Category based on the following criteria:
a.     Creative and aesthetically pleasing in their approach to incorporating a fireplace into a residential space (indoors or out).
b.     Contextualized and responsive to their surroundings (whether indoors or out) to ensure they fit into their environment.
c.     Whether and to what degree the fireplace elevates the experience of being in that space (whether indoors or out).

2.     Subject to verification of eligibility, the three (3) entrants whose Entries in the Fireplace Category receive the highest scores from the Fireplace Category Contest Judges will be declared the Fireplace Category winners.

3. For Fireplace Category Award Winners: Round-trip economy class air travel to Las Vegas, Nevada from the major commercial airport nearest winner’s residence for winner and one (1) guest, departing February 25, 2025 and returning February 27, 2025, two (2) nights’ hotel accommodations (single standard room, double occupancy, room and room tax only) at an area hotel selected by Heat & Glo in its discretion, and two (2) passes (Expo Only) to the 2025 NAHB International Builders’ Show® at the Las Vegas Convention Center, Las Vegas, Nevada from February 25, 2025 through February 27, 2025. All elements must be used together and are only valid for attendance at IBS from February 25, 2025 to February 27, 2025. See important travel and event ticket restrictions below. ARV: US$3,000.00. The use of Heat & Glo products isn’t required to enter or win this contest.

For a complete set of the OFFICIAL RULES and REGULATIONS, please click here. 

Important Dates 
Sunday, Dec. 1, 2024, 11:59 p.m. EST → Registration deadline for regular entries (pay for your entry by this date; you will have until the regular deadline to upload and complete your support materials)
Tuesday, Jan. 7, 2025 , 11:59 p.m. EST → Submission deadline for regular and late entries

Regular Registration Fees 
$160 → Standard Category Entry
$130 → Specialty Category Entry

Late Registration Fees 
$210 → Standard Category Entry
$180 → Specialty Category Entry

Note: You will be charged the late fee of $210 per Standard Category Entry and $180 per Special Category Entry for entries registered after 11:59 p.m. EST, Dec. 1, 2024.  All entry materials, regardless of when they were registered, must be received by the deadline of 11:59 PM, eastern time, Tuesday, Jan. 7, 2025, 11:59 p.m. EST.

No refunds will be issued.
All materials submitted to the 2024 RADA program become the property of Zonda Media, which will not be responsible or liable for them. Entry fees are non-refundable.

How to Enter
You can register, complete your entry forms, and upload your entry materials (including images, drawings, and plans) by submitting everything through this website in a three-step process.

  • STEP ONE:  Register your project(s) and pay the entry fee(s).
  • STEP TWO:  Fill out the online entry forms and upload your entry materials, as outlined in the next section. With your login credentials, you can return to this website to add to or modify your entry at a later date, up until the final deadline.
  • STEP THREE: Finalize and submit your application. In order to submit your application, you must go through the payment wall at the end of the submission materials section, regardless of whether you submit a regular or late application. In addition, once you finalize and submit an entry, you will not be able to edit it further.

Entry Materials:
Your entry will consist of an online entry form and supporting documents that can be uploaded to this website. The online entry form will ask for the following:

  • Entrant (contact details for the person preparing the entry)
  • Firm (contact details for the firm responsible for the project)
  • Client (contact details and client description)
  • Project (including description, site and zoning constraints, square footage, etc.)

After filling out this information, you will have an opportunity to upload supporting documents for your entry. Files can be .jpg images with a maximum width and height of 2,000 pixels, Microsoft Word .doc files, or .mp4 files. You can upload up to 20 files total, not to exceed 50MB total. 

These supporting documents must include:

  • Photographs of the completed project in .jpg format
  • Site plan, floor plans, and sections in .jpg format

Optional documents include:

  • Energy modeling diagrams, drawings, and model photos, in .jpg format
  • Performance qualifications and diagrams, in Word .doc or .jpg format
  • Videos in .mp4 format 

Rules and Regulations

WHO CAN ENTER  Entries for the RADA awards should be submitted by an architect or designer resident in the United States, the District of Columbia and Canada (excluding Quebec). Other building industry professionals may submit projects on behalf of an architect or designer. Projects outside the U.S. are welcomed. Any home or project completed after Jan. 1, 2021, is eligible.

PUBLICATION  Winners will be featured online at Architectmagazine.com and through ARCHITECT magazine's social media platforms in either late January or February 2025.

(View the winners of the 2023 RADA  Awards.) 

ENTRY CATEGORIES  During the submission process, you will be asked to identify each submission by type (see categories above). Only one category may be selected per submission, and each project may only be entered in one Standard Entry Category. Projects entered in Standard Entry Categories may also be entered in Specialty Entry Categories.

PROCESS DOCUMENTATION  Entries should document the design process, as well as its result. Photographs of the completed project and floor plans are required. Sections and detail drawings are optional. ARCHITECT encourages entrants to include copies of preliminary sketches, alternative preliminary schemes, information on context, precedents for the design, and excerpts from working drawings, all of which should be submitted in .jpg format, with a maximum file height and width of 2,000 pixels.

ANONYMITY  To maintain anonymity in judging, no names of entrants or collaborating parties may appear on any submission materials except where specifically requested on the online entry forms. Do not, however, conceal the identity or location of projects. 

ENTRY FORMS  Each submission must be registered online ahead of the submission deadline using this website. Additional materials must also be uploaded to the website prior to the submission deadline.

PUBLISHING RIGHTS  All materials submitted to the 2024 RADA program become the property of Zonda Media. Zonda retains the right to consider all non-winning entries for future publication, but entrants will be notified beforehand. Keep a copy of all entry materials for your records. Note that awards are left to the judges’ discretion: An award may not be granted in each category. All entries may also appear online in ARCHITECT's Project Gallery.

REGULAR ENTRY  Regular entries must be registered online by Dec. 1, 2024. The fee is $160 for submissions in Standard Entry Categories and $130 for submissions in Specialty Entry Categories, as outlined above. Entry fees must be paid online by credit card, and are nonrefundable. Upon registering and paying the fee for the submission, entrants will have until the late deadline to complete and upload their submission materials.

LATE ENTRY  Entries registered after Dec. 1, up until the competition deadline, cost $210 per submission in the Standard Entry Category, and $180 in the Specialty Entry Category. Fees must be paid online by credit card, and are nonrefundable. Entrants will have until the late deadline to complete and upload their submission materials. The final deadline is Tuesday, Jan. 7, 2025, 11:59 p.m. EST. 

QUESTIONS  Check out our FAQ or e-mail rada@zondahome.com.

REGISTER HERE TO BEGIN YOUR ENTRY