Brick in Architecture Awards 2025
Celebrating Innovation and Craftsmanship in Clay Brick Design
Since 1989, the Brick in Architecture Awards—organized by the Brick Industry Association (BIA)—have honored the most inspiring uses of fired-clay brick in architectural design. For the 2025 edition, architects and designers worldwide are invited to submit projects that highlight the beauty, durability, and sustainability of clay brick. The deadline for submissions is Friday, August 29, 2025, at 11:59 p.m. EST.
New this year, winners will be honored in person at the inaugural Brick Excellence Gala, taking place on April 9, 2026, at the Hyatt Regency in Orlando, Florida. This exclusive live event will unite leading architects, designers, and masonry professionals to celebrate innovation and craftsmanship in brick construction.
Whether applied to commercial structures or historic renovations, clay brick remains one of the most enduring and versatile materials in architectural design. This competition offers an important platform for showcasing projects that use this material to its fullest creative and structural potential.
Why You Should Participate
- National Recognition: Gain attention through BIA’s website, press releases, media coverage, and social campaigns.
- Peer Validation: All entries are judged by a professional jury of architects and industry experts.
- Craftsmanship Spotlight: Projects are also evaluated for their unique bricklaying techniques and finishes, with a special Craftsmanship Award presented to the best.
- Live Celebration: Finalists and winners will be honored live on stage at the Brick Excellence Gala 2026, a milestone addition that enhances the competition’s prestige.
- Timeless Appeal: Clay brick is a celebrated building material known for sustainability, longevity, and aesthetic range—qualities increasingly valued in modern architectural practice.
Key Highlights
Categories:
- Commercial
- Education – K-12
- Education – Colleges & Universities
- Residential – Single Family
- Residential – Multifamily
- Thin Brick
- Paving & Landscape Projects
- Historic Renovation
- International Projects
Eligibility Criteria:
- Projects must use new clay brick as the primary exterior material (50%+ of visible surface).
- Open to architects and designers working at architectural, landscape architecture, or design-build firms.
- Projects must have been completed on or after January 1, 2019.
- Historic Renovation projects must contain 50%+ renovated brick, not necessarily new brick.
- International projects must be submitted only in the International category.
Entry Fees
| Entry Period | Fee (USD) |
|---|---|
| Standard (Until Aug 29) | Free |
There are no published entry fees for this year, as the BIA aims to encourage broad participation in celebration of the gala’s debut.
Prizes and Recognition
| Award Level | Description |
|---|---|
| Best in Class | Highest honor in each category |
| Gold, Silver, Bronze | Tiered awards recognizing exceptional brick design across categories |
| Craftsmanship Award | Recognizes an individual mason or team for skillful and artistic brickwork |
Winning projects will also:
- Be published on GoBrick.com
- Be featured in BIA’s press releases, media campaigns, and social media
- Receive formal award certificates and national exposure
Submission Details
- Deadline: August 29, 2025, at 11:59 p.m. EST
- Format: All entries must be submitted digitally via the official BIA portal
- Image Requirements: High-quality visuals showcasing the project’s use of brick
- Material Use Rule: Clay brick must make up at least 50% of the visible exterior/paving surface
- Historic Renovation Exception: Brick can be existing/renovated, not necessarily new
- International Projects: Accepted only in the designated “International” category
- Team Credit: Entries must include project team members and collaborators
Important Dates
| Phase | Date |
|---|---|
| Entry Deadline | August 29, 2025 |
| Jury Evaluation | October 2025 |
| Winners Announcement | April 9, 2026 (Live Gala) |
How to Join
To submit your project:
- Prepare high-resolution images and project information.
- Confirm that over 50% of the visible surface uses new fired-clay brick.
- Register and upload your entry at: GoBrick.com
- Complete submission by August 29, 2025.
Judging Criteria
Entries will be reviewed by a panel of architects and designers based on:
- Design Excellence – Innovation, creativity, and architectural integration of brick
- Craftsmanship – Detail, artistry, and technical skill in brick application
- Functionality & Sustainability – Performance and environmental responsiveness
- Aesthetic Value – Harmony, form, texture, and contextual relevance
A blind judging process ensures fairness and impartiality across all entries.
Architectural Analysis
The Brick in Architecture Awards distinguish projects that demonstrate the enduring strength and expressive range of fired-clay brick. Its use in the built environment not only ensures longevity but provides visual texture, warmth, and heritage resonance. Winning projects often explore unexpected forms, patterns, and compositions while remaining grounded in practicality.
Brick, though traditional, is leveraged here as a contemporary medium: textured curtain walls, porous screen façades, and adaptive reuse illustrate how the material continues to evolve. Many entries creatively balance material permanence with design experimentation, often integrating brick with glass, steel, or timber to create contrast and rhythm.
One important critical reflection is the recurring preference for brick’s aesthetic nostalgia—do some entries rely too heavily on its historical connotation rather than challenging its expressive potential? This point invites entrants to explore new structural and visual possibilities for brick in modern contexts.
Nonetheless, the awards continue to validate brick as a design-forward and sustainable material. By celebrating architectural craftsmanship and material honesty, the competition fuels a broader conversation on how tradition and innovation coexist in the built environment.
Project Importance
In a time of increasing concern over durability, sustainability, and regional identity in architecture, brick serves as a powerful material of resistance and resilience. These awards show how it can be both deeply local and profoundly modern. Entrants not only celebrate craftsmanship but also demonstrate how brick supports typologies ranging from public buildings to experimental housing.
Moreover, as cities re-evaluate their architectural strategies amid climate concerns, the reusability, thermal mass, and longevity of brick make it an essential material for future-forward construction. Projects awarded by BIA often model how architecture can express contextual sensitivity while meeting high-performance standards.
The Brick in Architecture Awards thus serve not just as a recognition program but as a think tank for how to use materials both meaningfully and efficiently in our evolving urban environments. They reinforce the need for solutions that are rooted, resilient, and refined.
✦ ArchUp Editorial Insight
These awards offer a compelling snapshot of brick’s evolving role in design—from modest residential textures to bold institutional façades. The visual language ranges from pattern-heavy walls to minimalist gestures, reflecting versatility. While some projects play it safe by mimicking historic forms, others question the limits of material logic. The Brick in Architecture Awards continue to provide fertile ground for designers to engage tradition with contemporary precision.
Conclusion
The 2025 Brick in Architecture Awards are more than just a design competition—they are a celebration of material intelligence, creative ambition, and enduring craftsmanship. By focusing exclusively on clay brick, the awards carve out a unique space in the global design conversation. They remind the architectural community that sustainability, cultural continuity, and expressive design are not mutually exclusive but fundamentally connected.
As architectural practice faces unprecedented demands for sustainability, the time-tested material of brick emerges with renewed relevance. The addition of the Brick Excellence Gala adds a ceremonial dimension to the awards, emphasizing community and shared celebration. Architects and designers participating in this edition gain not only recognition but also contribute to a broader architectural legacy—one that bridges heritage with bold new expressions.
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