AIA San Francisco (AIASF) announced the 2021 AIASF Design Awards recipients on Wednesday, June 30, 2021, in a virtual awards ceremony. This year’s award recipients include YKH Associates, Mark Cavagnero Associates, HGA, JENSEN Architects, Skidmore, Owings & Merrill, David Baker Architects, MAK Studio, Montalba Architects, AÇA, Aidlin Darling Design, ELS Architecture and Urban Design, Kuth Ranieri Architects, Yi -Hsien (Rachel) Wang, and Robert Nebolon Architects.

The 2021 program featured a diverse range of project types that highlighted the Bay Area’s rich history of design leadership and was juried in a full-day virtual session by five esteemed leaders in architecture and design. The 2021 Design Awards jurors included Barbara Bestor, FAIA of Bestor Architecture, Vishaan Chakrabarti, FAIA, of PAU, Annabelle Selldorf, FAIA of Selldorf Architects, Brigitte Shim, Hon. FAIA of Shim-Sutcliffe Architects, and Julie Snow, FAIA, of Snow Kreilich Architects.

The virtual celebration welcomed an insightful lineup of speakers with appearances from AIASF’s Historic Resource Committee, Equity by Design Committee, and Charles Higueras, FAIA on behalf of the Center for Architecture + Design. The ceremony also featured work from Spirit of Space, a group of filmmakers creating stories for architects, designers, and artists that reveal why design matters.

This year, AIA San Francisco launched the inaugural AIASF People’s Choice Awards in Architecture in collaboration with the Center for Architecture + Design. The new People’s Choice Awards expand the AIASF Design Awards program to provide the public the opportunity to recognize excellence in architectural work in and by the San Francisco Bay Area design community.

“2020 was a catalyst for many architects and firm members of AIA San Francisco. In addition, the transformative year shed light on how the built environment plays an important role in our health, justice, and everyday life,” commented AIASF Deputy Director Amy Ress, “By expanding our Design Awards program to include the People’s Choice Awards, we’re pleased to engage the public to recognize a broader definition of design excellence in the built environment.”

The AIASF Design Awards submissions are divided into three main categories—Architecture, Interior Architecture, and Unbuilt Design—with three optional concentrations for commendations that give special acknowledgment to projects that further encompass the values ​​of good design within the context of Historic Preservation, Social Responsibility, and Urban Design. The Design Awards program incorporates the fulfillment of sustainable design principles into all categories.

“The level of design sensitivity that we see in the work, despite the challenges we have collectively faced this past year, demonstrates the resiliency of our community,” noted AIASF Executive Director Stacy Williams. “The projects honored by the AIASF Design Awards address the full range of design excellence from supporting underserved neighborhoods and integrating environmental stewardship to demonstrating an exemplary approach to equitable design,” she added.

This year’s AIASF Design Awards program was made possible by the generous support of sponsors including Sixteen5hundred and Tipping Structural Engineers at the Bronze Level, and XL Construction and Nibbi Brothers General Contractors at the Copper Level, as well as the contribution of v2com as the International Newswire Partner.

About AIA San Francisco

In existence for nearly half a century, AIA San Francisco’s Design Awards program recognizes the outstanding achievements in architecture and design of Bay Area individuals and organizations. It celebrates exceptional architectural design as well as the work of allied professionals from afar who contribute to our local built environment’s framework. The program serves to inform the public of the breadth and value of the architectural practice.

The 2021 Design Award Honorees are featured in an online gallery that includes project images.