The International Architecture Awards 2027
Awards call brief
The International Architecture Awards 2027 invites architects and architecture firms to submit recent built and unbuilt work across buildings, interiors, landscape architecture and urban planning. The program is organized by The Chicago Athenaeum: Museum of Architecture and Design with The European Centre for Architecture Art Design and Urban Studies and Metropolitan Arts Press.
This is an awards program for recent professional work, not an open design brief or a building commission. The organizers publish recognition, exhibition and catalogue outcomes, but do not announce a cash prize, construction contract or reimbursement of the €395 entry fee.
Key information
| Official title | The International Architecture Awards 2027. |
| Organizer / authority | The Chicago Athenaeum: Museum of Architecture and Design; The European Centre for Architecture Art Design and Urban Studies; and Metropolitan Arts Press. |
| Eligibility | International architects and architecture firms. United States firms may enter projects in the United States or elsewhere. |
| Project age | Built or unbuilt work designed or built after 1 January 2024. |
| Unbuilt work | Eligible only when a client is named. |
| Entry fee | €395 per project, approximately US$443 using €1 = US$1.1225 on 21 October 2026. |
| Registration deadline | No separate advance-registration deadline is stated. Account creation and project submission are handled through the official application system. |
| Submission deadline | 1 December 2026. The official page does not publish a closing hour or time zone. |
| Prize / outcome | Recognition, exhibition and publication. No cash award is stated. |
| Format | Anonymous review of professional project submissions; not a new-project design competition. |
| Implementation | No commission or construction pathway is attached to the award. |
Eligible project types
| Buildings | Commercial, corporate, institutional, healthcare, government, transportation, education, residential, hospitality, retail and industrial projects. |
| Culture and public realm | Museums, cultural buildings, libraries, civic and community centers, monuments, parks, gardens and public spaces. |
| Existing buildings | Interiors, renovations and restorations are eligible. |
| Larger-scale work | Bridges, infrastructure, landscape architecture, urban planning and related spatial categories are included. |
| Exclusions | Projects previously awarded by this program are not eligible. Unbuilt projects without a named client are excluded. |
Application package
| Project description | English text. The organizer recommends 500–700 words and sets a maximum of 1,000 words. |
| Images | Upload 10–12 JPG or PNG images at 300 dpi, maximum 6 MB per file. |
| Aspect ratios | The application page requests 16:9 images at 1920 × 1080 pixels and 1:1 images at 1080 × 1080 pixels. |
| Drawings | One PDF containing plans, sections and elevations, maximum 25 MB. |
| Credits | Complete architect, associate architect, client, developer, landscape architect, planner, contractor and engineering credits where applicable. |
| File naming | Image filenames must use Latin characters. |
| Application session | The form must be completed in one session; leaving before completion may lose progress. |
| Additional material | The organizer allows a public Dropbox folder for additional images, renderings or drawings sent to its curatorial contact. |
Jury, publication, rights and costs
| Jury | The current panel is not named on the official 2027 application page. The organizer describes a jury of recognized design practitioners, business professionals, educators and critics. |
| Anonymity | The official page states that each submission is judged anonymously. |
| Selection criteria | The public page defines eligible categories and dates but does not publish a scored rubric or weighting system. |
| Publication | Selected recipients must prepare exhibition materials; projects may be exhibited and published on the museum website, in a Metropolitan Arts Press catalogue, or both. |
| Use of submitted material | The page states that submitted information is used in online presentations, exhibitions and the award catalogue. It warns that later corrections to credits, images or descriptions may incur costs. |
| Copyright | A complete license or copyright transfer clause is not visible on the public application page. Entrants should review the account and payment terms before submitting. |
| Refunds | The public call does not state a refund policy. The fee should be treated as a participation cost unless the payment interface states otherwise. |
| History | The organizers state that the International Architecture Awards program has run since 2004. |
✦ ArchUp Competition Review
This call is useful for practices seeking international documentation of work completed or developed in the last three years. Its broad category range accommodates architecture, interiors, landscape and planning, and the requirement to name a client for unbuilt projects limits purely speculative entries.
The submission package is publication-oriented: edited English text, carefully formatted images, drawings and complete credits. That can support a clear professional record, but it also makes accuracy important because the organizer says post-submission corrections may carry costs.
The main reservations are economic and procedural. The €395 fee is substantial, the current jury names and scoring weights are not published, and the stated outcome is recognition, exhibition and publication rather than cash or a commission. Firms should therefore evaluate the award as a visibility and archival opportunity, not a route to implementation.
Related competitions — Editorial team selection
For a project-specific cultural brief, see the Design Circle’s Art Gallery Competition. The Persian Garden Suite offers another design-focused format; each has different eligibility, fees and outcomes.
Indicative time remaining
The official application page states 1 December 2026 but does not publish a closing hour or time zone. This countdown uses 23:59 UTC only as an indicative end-of-date display; it is not an organizer-confirmed deadline time. Applicants should submit earlier.
