2015 Design Excellence Awards

The Montgomery County Planning Department seeks to recognize exceptional work in architecture, landscape architecture and urban design that will represent Montgomery County’s high quality of design to the region, state and nation. Each year, the Department will honor one project that exemplifies the highest qualities of Design Excellence and fosters economic, social and environmental sustainability.

The winning project should express the essential qualities of outstanding walkable, sustainable places at the scale of the neighborhood, block and building.  It will illustrate how great design contributes to the community in terms of character, identity and economic value. It will be a project deserving of community pride. This award is an opportunity for your project to be seen widely, particularly in business and professional settings where the best qualities of Montgomery County are promoted.

Entries are being accepted as of Monday, June 22, 2015.  The deadline for submissions is Friday, August 21, 2015 at midnight.  The selection of a winner will be made by an outside jury of accomplished professionals in the fields of architecture, landscape architecture, planning and urban design invited by the Planning Department. The winner will be announced on Thursday, October 22, 2015 during an awards celebration at the Silver Spring Civic Building.

This event will be part of the American Institute of Architects (AIA) Potomac Chapter annual awards celebration. One of the highlights of the evening will be a presentation on the business case for design excellence by land use strategist Christopher Leinberger, senior fellow at the Brookings Institution.

Goals

• To recognize the best examples of architecture, landscape architecture and urban design that improve a neighborhood’s physical, ecological and social context.
• To increase public awareness of world-class design excellence within Montgomery County.
• To promote built work that contributes to the creation of pedestrian-oriented, walkable neighborhoods that enrich and contribute to the greater community.
• To show how physical design can lead to greater health, economic opportunity and environmental sustainability.

Prize

The prize is a partnership with the Montgomery Planning Department to promote the winning project as a premier example of Design Excellence in Montgomery County.

This will include a public promotional campaign launched in spring 2016, to include the following:

• • Announcement with images via the Planning Department e-mail list.
  • Illustrated features on the Planning Department website, linked to multiple portals.
  • Newscast feature video on Plan-It Montgomery on cable television and online.
  • News releases to media outlets with video.
• Display space and a feature slide loop at the Makeover Montgomery Conference in Spring 2016.  The slide loop will exclusively showcase the winning project at the conference conference.
• Inclusion of the project in Design Excellence presentations by the Planning Department’s Director, Deputy Director and Chief Urban Designer who speak regularly at events each year in the County and region.

Project Eligibility

• Public or private projects located within Montgomery County.
• Completed and in use.
• Built within the past 10 years.

Judging Criteria

The jury will be asked to judge entries based on the following:

• Exceptional, distinctive, high quality architecture, landscape architecture and/or urban design.
• Ability of a development to improve its context through outstanding design.
• Creation and enhancement of an extraordinary public realm.
• Ability to stimulate greater public and developer awareness of outstanding, creative and high quality design solutions.

Award Submittal

All submitted materials reviewed by the jury, which are shown above, must not include names of project team members and consultants to guarantee impartial judging.  Jury members will recuse themselves from reviewing any project where there is a conflict of interest. Such information will be provided to the public to ensure a transparent process.

A complete submittal will include:

• Contact information (separate page).
• Project description of 500 words maximum.
• Project description fill-in-the-blank online form.
• Slides for jury review – PDF of 10 slides.
• Slides for display at awards celebration- PDF of 3 slides.
• Images for printed materials – high resolution jpeg images 5-10.
• Team members/consultants information.
• Entry fee through this link to AIA Potomac Valley Chapter.

As part of your entry you will be asked to prepare a project description of no more than 500 words.

Describe the program, its purpose, goals, scale and details, such as context and site features. Describe the site’s physical, social and ecological setting. Describe how the project was initiated and how the key design concepts respond to challenges posed by the program and context.

• Point to ways in which design choices are likely to improve the way people will live, work, thrive and prosper in the project area.
• Point to quality design/quality of life linkages within the project that will achieve quality of life goals.
• Point to ways in which the project meets standards for sustainability and smart growth.
• Based on what is known about the links between the built environment and quality of life, explain how the project provides:
  • A healthier place because of design decisions.
  • A place that makes it easier to start and sustain businesses.
  • A place that preserves choices for people at the full range of incomes and life stages.
• Provide details of lessons learned or expertise gained over the course of this project that will help this project serve as an example for future high-quality development in Montgomery County. Cite innovative ways of overcoming common barriers to the creation of good urbanism and advancing project excellence in areas such as policy, regulations, development process, design and construction.

Please use descriptive information, including supporting graphics, to assist the jury in quickly developing a strong understanding of both the general characteristics of the project and how it demonstrates design excellence, ingenuity and livability.

Dealine and Entry Fee

• Deadline: Friday August 21, 2015 at midnight.
• Entry Fee: $175 per submittal.
• Entry fees will be paid directly to the AIA Potomac Valley Chapter which is handling the finances and ticketing for the Awards Celebration on October 22, 2015.
• Each entrant receives a complimentary ticket to the Awards Celebration.

There is no entry fee to enter a project in this awards program if it is already entered in the AIA Potomac Valley Chapter award program.