2026 IIDA Southwest Design Awards

IIDA Southwest Design Awards

CALL FOR ENTRIES:

PURPOSE: The Design Awards honors design excellence within the IIDA Southwest Chapter (including Arizona, New Mexico, and Las Vegas, Nevada) and celebrates innovative solutions for interior spaces. The Design Awards Event is the Chapter's longest-running event celebrating 31 years of design excellence in 2026.

• The event is scheduled for April 24, 2026 in the evening

• The Scott Hotel (4925 N Scottsdale Rd, Phoenix, AZ 85251)

We are celebrating 31 years of Design Awards in the Southwest Region

 

ENTRY CRITERIA: ANY IIDA Professional, Associate or Student Member of the IIDA Southwest Chapter in good standing is invited to participate. Pending Members are welcome to submit but must include a copy of their IIDA membership application. 

- The project should have been completed between January 1, 2022 and January 30, 2026.

- On the Boards, the Design Phase should have begun before January 1, 2026 but not prior to January 1, 2022

- If the project was completed between January 1, 2022 and January 30, 2026 and did not win an award in previous year(s), it is eligible to be resubmitted.

- If a project previously won an On the Boards Category, it can be entered into a built project award in future years. 

 

CATEGORIES:

NEW CATEGORIES: Branding Excellence; Building Repurposing; Jill Brey Art Excellence

COMMERCIAL

• On the Boards (In Design Phase, Not Construction Phase)
• Single Space (lobby, reception area, conference room, etc.- must be ONE singular space.)
• Commercial Office Over 75,000 SF
• Commercial Office 20,000 - 75,000 SF
• Commercial Office Under 20,000 SF
• Healthcare | Out-Patient (MOB, Clinic, Dental Office)
• Healthcare | In-Patient (Hospital)
• Educational | K-12
• Educational | Higher Learning
• Hospitality (Includes Hotels, Restaurants, Retail, Spa Facilities)
• Public Facility (Government Buildings | Aviation)
• Design on a Budget
• Residential (Student Housing, Multi-Family Residential)
• NEW!!!  Building Repurposing (Amenity Centers, Fitness Centers, Conference Centers, etc within an existing building)
• NEW!!! Branding Excellence (Outstanding connection of brand to space through design)
• NEW!!!  Jill Brey Art Excellence (Outstanding creativity, innovation and impact in the visual arts)

STUDENT

Any project designed by a student or team of students (All student's names should be listed in entry form)

 

JUDGING CRITERIA: 

• Please note that there will be a period after submittal when the committee will be looking over any missing data.  We will contact you ASAP to change before the judging period starts.  
• There are new judges this year and they are all from different chapters. They represent design expertise in all major vertical markets and are all professional IIDA members
  - Judges will be announced prior to the event, but after submissions are complete. 
• Each criterion is scored 1-7, which gives each project a maximum score of 28 points. Criterion are equally weighted and include the following:
  • Design Concept displays originality and innovation
  • Concept support design elements and function is clearly displayed
    throughout the layout
  • Strong Connection in material selection (overall form, scale, color and
    texture- establishing design unity)
  • Visual statements support written statements
• All judging scorecards are totaled and averaged for a final score for each project.
  Projects are awarded based on the following point thresholds:
  • No award: 0-21 points
  • Award of Merit: 22-25 points
  • Design Excellence: 26-28 points
  • Best in Show: Judges select ONE project from Design Excellence recipients

TOPIC: REVISED JUDGING DIRECTION

-  Although the judging criteria is not changing, a grading scale will be implemented to facilitate an appropriate quantity of awards that align with the budgets of the Southwest Chapter
- The Best of Show Award Winner will automatically be entered into an IIDA International Award Competition, and the cost to enter will be covered by IIDA Southwest Awards

 

HOW TO ENTER:

• Monday, January 5, 2026 Call for Entries open

• Friday, February 6, 2026: All entries due by 5pm MST

SUBMISSION GUIDELINES:

All entries will require the following information:

This is not a change, but we would like to remind you to list the General Contractor Partner, as well as the major subcontractors/consultants (min 3) and vendor/manufacturer partners (min 3) in your submittal (this is to recognize your partners during the awards ceremony and is not judged). You are able to include up to (12) subcontractor/consultant/vendor partners in your submission for recognition.

• • The items you will need to anticipate for this year’s submissions are as follows:

    • Project Details (Size, Location, Construction Completion Date, Project Team (including GC/Subs/Vendors/Manufacturers),   Construction Budget $/SF- include hard costs)

    • Project Statement (up to 500 Words)

    • Project Goals (up to 500 Words)

    • Project Challenges (up to 500 Words)

    • Project Award Summary (2 sentences about the project that will be read if awarded- can include client information)

  • Supportive Design Documents: Historical Background, Before Images, Design Drivers, Conceptual Renderings/Sketches, Materiality, Inspirational Boards, Floor Plans (up to 8 photos in .jpg format, 10 MB max per file). Can include text, as long as it does not indicate the client/design firm information.  Images are to be named Category #, Submission #, Document # (ex: C01-027 Document 1)

  •  Final Photography (up to 8 images in .jpg format, 10 MB max per file). For On the Boards category only- please utilize your renderings. Images are to be named Category #, Submission #, Image # (ex: C01-027 Image 1)

  • Please indicate your Primary and Secondary Hero Files (can be from the Final Photography or the Supportive Design Documents). If no images are indicated, files utilized for award show/publications will default to the first and second final photography images. 

All entries must be submitted electronically through this online portal. Each company representative will need to create an account. After the account is created, you can enter your project/ projects. JPEG files only, no PDFs.

Client and Design Firm information is strictly prohibited from being included in the documents that the judges will review. Submissions that include the client or firm’s name in the description, any of the drawings, or photos may be requested to provide additional supporting documents or risk potential disqualification.

The only category where the client name may be visible is the new Branding Excellence Category.

QUESTIONS:

Please reach out to iidasw.designawards@gmail.com with any questions you may have. Please also listen to the FAQ recording.

PAYMENT:

• Purchase your entry before January 30, 2026- Cost of each entry will be $275

• Purchase your entry after January 30, 2026- Cost of each entry will be $375

• Student Category: $25.00 per project

*Note: Again this year!  If your firm only has (1) office, is located in the Southwest Chapter and is less than 12 people total, you are eligible to receive a 20% discount on your entry fees. Please reach out to iidasw.designawards@gmail.com by January 25, 2026 to receive the discount code.

All entry fees are non-refundable.

 

AWARDS:

All award recipients will be announced on the night of the Design Awards on April 24, 2026. The winning projects will be published on the IIDA Southwest Chapter website as well as this competition website and may be published through additional sources as opportunities arise, including social media and print. Applicants do not have to be present to win.

 

REQUIREMENTS:

All entries uploaded to this competition must include the following:

1.ENTRY FORM 

All teams must create an account before uploading project information. 

2.PROJECT INFORMATION 

Each team will be able to upload Photos, Floor Plans and provide project and team information. The website will automatically assign your first photo uploaded as the image displayed as your entry (if a different photo is desired to be the prime photo, please update accordingly). Judges will be able to see all photos that are uploaded. All team and client information will be hidden from judges.

3.SUBMITTAL COMPLETION 

Teams will be able to add/delete information on project submittals until the final closing date of February 6th, 2026. 

 

TICKETS:

• Students submitting a project will receive (1) ticket to attend the event.

• Ticket sales will be available sometime in February or March 2026. More information on https://www.iidasw.org/iidaswdesignawards