The 2025 Design Awards season brings some exciting changes that reflect both the evolving needs of firms and the feedback we’ve received in recent years. With new submittal requirements, shifts in the award cycle timing, and revamped categories, the updates are designed to streamline the process, improve alignment with state-level awards, and ensure that the awards program continues to recognize the full diversity of design excellence. Here’s a breakdown of the key changes you can expect this year.

Updated Submittal Format: Simplifying the Process
One of the most significant changes this year focuses on the submittal format. In collaboration with AIA Virginia, we’ve made huge strides to align the submittal format between local and state design award programs.  We believe this will make it easier for firms to submit projects to both programs with fewer revisions required. While many of the criteria remain the same for AIA Northern Virginia as you saw last year, page count has decreased significantly. The following includes the newly revised design award submittal format criteria for AIA Virginia and all local components within the Commonwealth:

• Maximum File Size: Submissions must be no larger than 15MB.
• Entry Format: All entries must be submitted as PDFs
• Aspect Ratio and Orientation: All submittals must follow a 16:9 wide-screen ratio with horizontal page orientation.
• Page Count: Submissions are now limited to 9 pages total—8 content pages, plus 1 cover/info page. This will help keep projects concise and ensure that the most essential information is highlighted.

These changes were made in direct response to feedback from firms like yours, making it easier for you to participate without needing to completely reformat your submissions for each award program.

Expanded Award Categories: More Opportunities to Recognize Design Excellence
To reflect the broad range of outstanding projects being completed in our region, we’ve also expanded and revised the award categories this year. The total number of categories has increased from 7 to 10, allowing for more specific recognition of various types of projects. Here are the key updates:

• Institutional Architecture has been divided into three distinct categories:
  • Civic / Cultural Architecture
  • Education Architecture
  • Health Architecture
• Commercial Interiors has been renamed to Interior Architecture, expanding the eligibility to include the interior architecture of all building types—not just commercial spaces.
• Small Project Architecture is a brand-new category, introduced to honor smaller-scale projects that demonstrate creativity and design excellence.

These updates help ensure that more project types are represented and celebrated, and they provide additional opportunities for firms to showcase their work in the most appropriate category. Additional category descriptions can be found on our website.

Shift Back to Pre-Pandemic Award Cycle Timing
Based on your feedback, we’re returning to the pre-pandemic schedule for the award cycle this year. This means submissions will be due in early spring, and the much-anticipated Gala will take place in early summer. We hope the shift in timing will provide a more balanced schedule for major chapter programs and events instead of packing everything into the Fall.

With these updates, the 2025 Design Awards season promises to be an exciting and streamlined experience for everyone involved. We’re confident that these changes will help highlight the incredible talent and innovation within the design community while making the submission process easier for all. We look forward to celebrating your outstanding work this year! Make sure to check the official guidelines for full details and begin preparing your submissions.