AIA Honors Small Projects

In the weeks and months leading up to the AIA Conference on Architecture, the AIA announces many awards, such as the AIA Institute Honor Awards. But more anticipated than any of their awards (minus the 25-year award, which isn't being given out this year) are the diverse recipients of the Small Project Awards, which range from residential commissions to installations to small public projects. Given the emphasis on small projects, the winning designs tend to exhibit one strong idea or detail that is executed impeccably. Howeler + Yoon's Shadow Play, for instance, aggregates geometric modules into a shade structure positioned on a former traffic median in a hot Arizona city. It's a lovely structure that might have taken on a much different form if it were part of a larger project. 

AIA gives out the Small Project Awards in three categories:

• Category 1 "could include small project construction, an architectural object, work of environmental art or an architectural design element that cost up to $150,000 in construction."
• Category 2 "could include small project construction that could cost up to $1,500,000 in construction."
• Category 3 "could include small project construction, an architectural object, work of environmental art or an architectural design that is under 5,000 square feet."

​Winners are listed below and illustrated with one photo. Be sure to visit the AIA website for much more information on the AIA Small Project Awards winners — or head to New York City later this month to see the winners displayed at the AIA Conference on Architecture.