OPEN FOR ENTRIES
DEADLINE 15/08/2025
ENTRY FEES
£60 per submission
Multiple submissions are welcome
A submission is an entry for a single building or project into 1 category.
STEP 1
Purchase an entry - £60.00 per submission
Multiple submissions welcome
Pay via our secure Eventbrite system
You will receive a confirmation email
STEP 2
Your confirmation email will contain a link to our secure entry form (paste the link into your browser).
Please ensure that you remember to complete this form so that your entry can be considered.
AWARDS CATEGORIES
Office/ Commercial/ Industrial/ Retail
Residential
Healthcare
Small Works (under £250,000)
Leisure/ Arts
Education
Note: Images featured above are representative for each category in 2024 and are not part of the GIA Design Awards 2025.
new CATEGORIES for 2025
conservation
interiors
Sustainability
ADDITIONAL AWARDS
All entries will be considered for the following additional awards:
The GIA Supreme Award
The supreme Award can be awarded to any of the shortlisted buildings, the best body of work by an individual or a practice, or for an outstanding contribution to the GIA. This is only awarded when the quality and ambition of the work is truly exceptional and outstanding.
guest judge
Raffaele esposito
City Design Manager, Glasgow City Council
Architect and urban designer, Raffaele is a tenacious problem solver, keen mediator and a sensitive designer.
Traditionally trained in Italy where he gained his degree in 1996, Raff has worked internationally designing buildings, places, spaces and experiences, shaping economic dynamics and political responses. His focus is on the social and environmental responsibilities of any architectural gesture, no matter the scale and nature of the challenge or opportunity.
Over the past 30 years Raff has expanded his field of action. This has included organising international design competitions, working with the EU to create pilot projects for the sustainable development of marginalised areas, helping university students to gain a comprehensive understanding of the complexities that define architectural responses, and exploring co-creation as a resilient place-making tool.
His constant exposure to highly creative, culturally diverse and multidisciplinary environments has allowed Raff to explore design as an open process of ideas and people, aimed at balancing effectiveness, resiliency and beauty.
After years working in the private sector, he has been working in public service with Glasgow City Council since 2012, leading on the design of strategic public places, infrastructures and major regenerative masterplans, whilst advising the planning department on architecture, urbanism and urban design related matters. Raff is also chair of the Glasgow Urban Design Panel.
Rules & Judging
Rules
The awards are open to Chartered Architects, individuals or practices based in the GIA Chapter area and buildings within the UK & Ireland.
For 2025 the interior design category is also open to interior design practices based in the GIA Chapter area and buildings within the UK & Ireland.
They are also open to practices that are not members of the GIA but have completed buildings within the GIA Chapter area.
Buildings should be complete at the time of entry submission – the building’s completion should be in the 18 months preceding September 2025. Clients must be notified of any entry to the awards.
Judging
Entries will be judged by category. Judges will be assessing entries against the criteria of ‘good architecture and buildings, whether new or adapted, which express good design in terms of function and effectiveness as well as aesthetics’.
Judging will take place over October and shortlisted buildings will be visited by the judges. Alternative arrangements may be implemented if visits are unable to proceed.
The GIA reserve the right not to grant an award or commendation in any or all categories. The judges’ decisions will be final.
FAQ
Is my project eligible for entry?
Eligible projects are those that are either:
a) Located within the GIA Chapter area. The architectural practice need not be based within the GIA Chapter Area; or
b) Outside the GIA Chapter area but completed by an architectural practice based within the GIA Chapter Area.
Projects should have been completed within the preceding 18 months.
What do I need to submit?
Submissions for project categories are to include:
Text descriptions addressing the project design, development and sustainability.
Up to 6no photographs
1no plan drawing of the project
Optional: A video of the project (see further FAQ’s below)
How are the awards different this year?
Following a number of years of awarding Sustainability and Conservation as a special award picked from the overall entries it was decided to create these as standalone awards. This reflects the increasing number of entries with incredibly strong conservation and sustainability credentials which have been entered into categories which didn’t quite suit.
In addition to the above, we have also noticed a strong trend of entries whose real focus is the interior design elements. As the GIA our aim is to support and promote architecture in the chapter area, including interior design, and we felt it was time to showcase and award the work of those practices.
Which category should I choose?
Please submit your project for the category that you feel it is best placed and predominantly falls under. Submissions will be moderated internally and if our judges feel that a project should be assigned to a different category, this will be done automatically. The judges retain the right to re-assign projects from one category to another, as well as the right to split categories if this is in the interest of the overall awards process.
Should the architect and/or client be present at the judging visit?
Both the architect and client can attend the judging visit. If a virtual session is to be held in lieu of a physical visit, both parties are invited to attend.
Why am I being asked to submit a video?
This year we are giving entrants the option to submit a video of up to 5 minutes to support their submission. The video is not intended to be of professional quality and will only be used if the judges are unable to visit your project. This is to give the judges a three-dimensional feel of what the project is like to move around. As noted previously, the video will only be used if the project cannot be visited by the judging team so if visits go ahead, it will not be used. If visits are unable to proceed and you have not submitted a video, the judging will take place based on the other information submitted with your entry such as drawings, photographs and the text description.
Videos should be submitted by the overall submission deadline 15/08/25 directly to communications@gia.org.uk with the subject title aligning to your project entry title.
Will there be an awards ceremony or dinner this year?
The awards ceremony this year will take place on Thursday 20th November 2025 at Cottiers.
