As we mark the 70th anniversary of the Progressive Architecture Awards, we celebrate a new class of unbuilt luminaries in the design world. For this year’s winners, three jurors—Carrie Byles, FAIA; DK Osseo-Asare; and Lawrence Scarpa, FAIA—selected 10 projects from a pool of more than 100 submissions. Whether through reimagining housing, health-care facilities, or cultural spaces, the 2023 honorees reinforce the critical role architects play in making our communities more vibrant.
Learn more about each winner by clicking on the project names below.
The Jury
Carrie Byles, FAIA, managing partner, SOM, San Francisco and Seattle
DK Osseo-Asare, co-founder and principal, Low Design Office, Austin, Texas, and Tema, Ghana
Lawrence Scarpa, FAIA, co-founder, Brooks + Scarpa, Hawthorne, Calif.
The 70th Annual P/A Awards jury was moderated by Madeleine D'Angelo and Andrea Timpano.
The Winners
“I appreciate the ambition of taking something as mundane and often overlooked as poché and trying to reimagine it to open up new opportunities for living conditions.” —Juror DK Osseo-Asare
Award
Poché Habitats: 4 Units, 1 Poché
Sharon, Conn.
NADAAA
“It’s quite beautiful. It’s hard to imagine [the project] not being there on that site. It feels like it belongs.” —Juror Lawrence Scarpa
Award
Seattle Aquarium Ocean Pavilion
Seattle
LMN Architects
“I liked the fact that it was so small [but] felt so luxurious at the same time.” —Juror DK Osseo-Asare
Merit
Hollywood Dell ADU
Los Angeles
AAmp Studio
“I feel like we’re going to have a lot more architecture like this that is built to house living things. It’s already happening. I felt like this was an interesting way of doing that.” —Juror DK Osseo-Asare
Merit
Longwood Gardens West Conservatory
Kennett Square, Pa.
Weiss/Manfredi
“This sets a powerful precedent for how we can extend the language of the redesign of contemporary cities to engage with ancient and archaic histories ... creating spatial relations with extremely long time horizons.” —Juror DK Osseo-Asare
Merit
La Brea Tar Pits
Los Angeles
Weiss/Manfredi
“The quality of light and the way it would change throughout the day would make this a beautiful building to experience.” —Juror Carrie Byles
Merit
Don Mills Jamatkhana and Ismaili Community Centre
Toronto
architects—Alliance
“Adaptive reuse is an important format for all of us to be working in. [For this project], they successfully riff off the existing buildings, making them more dynamic and interesting while maintaining their original character.” —Juror Carrie Byles
Merit
Light Grain
Toronto
Ja Architecture Studio
“The basic program of this surgical center is so admirable.” —Juror Lawrence Scarpa
Citation
Kyabirwa Surgical Center Ward
Jinja, Uganda
GKG
"It has a strong environmental agenda, but it also includes a lot of public space. You rarely see [that combination] with these restorative projects.” —Juror Lawrence Scarpa
Citation
Framework Plan for a Riverine Commons and Institute
Fayetteville, Ark.
University of Arkansas Community Design Center
“What I like about this home design is its Zen-like simplicity and how it sits so lightly on the landscape. A poignant reminder of what we don’t need.” —Juror Carrie Byles
Citation
Regietów Chyża
Regietów, Poland
WOJR
Looking for more projects? See coverage of past P/A winners here.
