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Dear Architects: It’s Time To Fight for Your Craft
Call for entries: The 14th Architizer A+Awards celebrates architecture's new era of craft. For early bird pricing, submit by October 31st.
Since its inception, Architizer has championed architecture that matters. Not just projects that look good in renderings or rack up social media likes, but buildings that make a meaningful impact on the world — for the people who inhabit them, the cities they shape and the cultures they reflect.
For more than a decade, the A+Awards has served as the world’s largest platform for recognizing these works, offering global visibility to architects who push design forward with thoughtfulness and integrity. As we welcome entries for the 14th season of the program, that mission feels more relevant — and more necessary — than ever.
The Stone Pavilions by DODESIGN, Chongqing, China | 13th A+Awards Finalist in the Architecture +Art and Pavilions categories; photo by Arch-Exist.
We live in a moment defined by acceleration. Architects today face a daunting mix of challenges: the urgent need for climate action, economic volatility, geopolitical unrest, social fragmentation and a tech landscape that evolves faster than any one profession can keep up with.
Artificial intelligence, automation and algorithmic design promise to “disrupt” everything — from how buildings are drawn to how they are permitted, built and managed. In response, architects are feeling pressured to be faster, cheaper and more efficient than ever before.
But in this rush toward efficiency, something vital is at risk of being lost: craft. That word — so often misunderstood — is the core theme of this year’s A+Awards.
No Footprint Wood House by A-01 (A Company / A Foundation), Uvita, Costa Rica | 13th A+Awards Popular Choice Winner in the Architecture +Prefab & Modular category.
To be clear: Craft, in this context, is not about nostalgia. It is not purely about traditional joinery, hand-carved finishes or artisanal embellishments, though these can each be part of a winning project.
At its heart, craft is about care — about the decisions architects make at every scale, from the layout of a masterplan to the handrail of a stair. It’s about material intelligence, contextual awareness and the translation of design ideas into built form — all carried out with rigor and clarity. In a world dominated by abstraction, craft returns architecture to its physical roots, reminding us of the skill and expertise needed to make something real. Something that works. Something that lasts.
This renewed focus on craft is not a retreat from technology, but a challenge to use it better. The best architects today are not rejecting innovation by any means. They are merging new tools with age-old principles of detailing, proportion, texture and light.
They are asking not just what a building can be, but how it should be made and why that matters. In doing so, they are redefining what design excellence looks like in the 21st century. These are the projects we seek to celebrate.
Streaming Light Exhibition Hall by Daipu Architects, Wuzhishan City, Hainan, China | 13th A+Awards Popular Choice Winner in the Architecture +Metal category.
The 14th A+Awards is a global call to action: to architects, designers, engineers and makers who still believe that how a building is made matters just as much as what it looks like.
This year, we are looking for projects that demonstrate this ethos, balancing technological sophistication with timeless principles of architectural craft. Whether through new construction, adaptive reuse, renovation or radical innovation, we want to honor buildings that are shaped by intention and brought to life with care.
When you enter the A+Awards, you’re not just competing for a trophy. You’re joining a global movement that affirms architecture’s cultural, social and material value. Projects are recognized by a multidisciplinary jury of leading voices from across design, technology, media and more — and by the public, through our open voting platform.
Winners are featured across Architizer’s global channels, reaching millions of professionals and enthusiasts, and published in The World’s Best Architecture, our annual compendium of exemplary projects from around the world.
RT2 Apartments by Jorge Urias Studio, Ciudad Juárez, Mexico | 13th A+Awards Finalist in the Architecture +Concrete category.
At a time when architecture risks being reduced to a set of outputs — generated, optimized, rendered, approved — this year’s A+Awards poses new questions:
What does care look like in built form? What does detail say about intent? What can architecture become when we refuse to take shortcuts?
If your most recent project reflects those values — if it shows your firm’s commitment to the enduring importance of craft — we want to see it. We want to celebrate it. And we want to share it with the world as a model for what architecture can and should be in this new era.
This is your invitation to join us. Enter the 14th Annual A+Awards and help define the future of architecture — one detail at a time.
Call for entries: The 14th Architizer A+Awards celebrates architecture's new era of craft. For early bird pricing, submit by October 31st.
Top image: Centro DIF Comitancillo by AIDIA STUDIO, San Pedro Comitancillo, Oax., Mexico, 13th A+Awards Finalist in the Architecture +Small Projects category.
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