2018 A+Awards: Why Your Vote Matters to Architects Everywhere

The public voting period for the 6th Annual A+Awards ends this Friday, July 20th 2018 — this is your final call! Cast your votes using our free and easy-to-use online ballot:

Cast Your Votes Now

Architizer’s A+Awards grew out of a simple yet firm belief that architecture is for everyone, on both sides of the building equation. On the one hand, we believe in celebrating the tireless work of architects who create remarkable spaces for diverse users. On the other, and perhaps most crucially today, we believe in the idea that every single person must have the equal power to identify what an amazing building looks like, inside and out.

Harkening back to Jane Jacobs and the likes, many of the world’s greatest city-builders and architects have operated under the critical belief that those who understand their city best are the people who live, work and play within them. Call it on-the-ground knowledge, experiential knowledge or really whatever you want; the most important thing to remember is that you (yes, you!) are an expert on architecture. You’re well-seasoned after all — Americans, for example, spend an average of 85% of their days inside buildings.

While these ideas are hardly new and have been percolating for decades, other prominent architecture awards such as the Pritzker Prize fail to hold these tenets true. By trapping voting power within the hands of the elite and rarefied few, they not only collapse any concept of a democratic vote, but also ignore the fact that architecture is shared by everyone. Only through the dynamism of shared usage do buildings truly come to life.

“I see no way in which we can, in good conscience, think of the Pritzker as being anything but a detriment to the profession,” wrote Kazys Varnelis, director of the Network Architecture Lab at the Columbia University Graduate School of Architecture, Planning and Preservation. “Indeed, the entire notion of the Pritzker Prize is testament to the misguided fallacy of architecture as the work of solitary geniuses, ignoring that it is almost inevitably a team product.”

As Architizer continues to occupy a space in which democracy truly matters, we ask you to take this opportunity to cast your ballot. Every single vote holds equal weight, so as you select your favorite project in each category of this year’s incredible shortlist, remember that your voice will be heard just as loudly as anyone else’s. You don’t need to be a Pritzker juror to be inspired by vibrant designs, brilliant spaces and the imaginative people behind them.

With categories that include both built and unbuilt architecture, as well as today’s most cutting edge building products, we can not only collectively celebrate the world as it exists today, but also its future potential. 

Currently in its exciting 6th season, public voting for Architizer’s A+Awards is now open and so, the jury is officially in your hands! Go to our free and simple-to-use online ballot where you will be inspired by today’s very best architecture and vote for your favorite building in each category. Better yet, tell everyone you know to do the same this week.

The more votes cast, the closer we can get to a true reflection of what great design looks like today! Architizer’s A+Awards virtual ballot box is open until July 20th. 

Cast Your Votes Now

Header Image: X HOUSE by Monk Mackenzie — shortlisted in the Unbuilt – Private House (L>3000 sq ft) category