There is a thrilling moment in every creative endeavor, when an idea has been wholly fleshed out and developed, but not yet realized in physical form. That particular moment of anticipation, of innovation on the cusp, is what the Progressive Architecture Awards celebrate. For 65 years and counting, the P/A Awards has served as a crystal ball for the built environment, revealing the influences, typologies, forms, and techniques of tomorrow. So it is fitting that this year’s winners—selected by jurors Reto Geiser, Florian Idenburg, Intl. Assoc. AIA, and Ingalill Wahlroos-Ritter, AIA—encompass a profound range of progressive ideas. These 10 projects, from firms both well-established and new to the scene, rethink the order of the single-family house, push the conventions of speculative commercial spaces, offer new ways of learning at home and away, and even change how people relate to nature. They are wondrous in their disparity, demonstrating architecture’s undiminished capacity to both improve society and reinvent itself.

The Jury

Reto Geiser, MG&Co. Houston Florian Idenburg, Intl. Assoc. AIA, SO–IL, Brooklyn, N.Y.
Ingalill Wahlroos-Ritter, AIA, Woodbury University, Los Angeles

The Winners

Award: House of Horns, Los Altos, Calif., by WOJR

“I like how it splits into individual elements that come together very well, but also break down the scale. The way it’s established on existing foundations that were extrapolated into something radically different is really powerful.” — juror Reto Geiser

Citation: Glitch House, Playa Grande, Dominican Republic, by Young Projects

“Often, such projects try to blend in with their context. But this is a fresh, graphic, and fun interpretation of siting. It combines a certain digital sensibility with super-simple craft.” —juror Florian Idenburg, Intl. Assoc. AIA

Citation: Helen R. Walton Children’s Enrichment Center + Early Childhood Initiatives Center, Bentonville, Ark., by LTL Architects in collaboration with Scape Landscape Architecture

“For schools in America which need a lot of attention, it deals with many issues quite well, especially the relationship of interior and exterior spaces and the layout, which is quite interesting.”—juror Reto Geiser

Citation: Malawi Library and Master Plan, Llongwe, Malawi, by Steven Holl Architects

“I was super impressed with how much architecture could be derived out of fairly simple means. We need more buildings like this.” —juror Ingalill Wahlroos-Ritter, AIA

Citation: Pioneertown House, Pioneertown, Calif., by Jon Lott / Para Project

“It is formally very interesting: a collage of almost found spaces assembled into a whole. There is also something really elegant about how the interior and exterior blend together.” —juror Florian Idenburg, Intl. Assoc. AIA

Honorable Mention: A Cambridge Gateway, Cambridge, Mass., by NADAAA in collaboration with Perkins+Will

“I think it’s super elegant. It has some intimate moves on the façade, which are a big challenge in a project of this size.” —juror Ingalill Wahlroos-Ritter, AIA

Honorable Mention: Float Lab, Philadelphia, by Höweler + Yoon Architecture

“I think it’s very topical, and I think it’s interesting how it addresses the issue of rising tides. I imagine being there with your head just above the water is a powerful experience.” —juror Reto Geiser

Honorable Mention: [Misfit]Fit, Toronto, by Batay-Csorba Architects

“I like its brutal, rough stack, but it is very systematic at the same time. It is intelligent and gives it a very clear character.” — juror Florian Idenburg, Intl. Assoc. AIA

Honorable Mention: Motherhouse, Denver, by Independent Architecture

“It is playing with the very conventional American idea of home, with the porch and garage in a suburban setting. It’s a very American house.” —juror Florian Idenburg, Intl. Assoc. AIA

Honorable Mention: Restaurant in Los Angeles, Los Angeles, by The Los Angeles Design Group

“I love that it is so compelling in plan, with the floating volumes, and in section, with the tectonics of the masonry. It creates some really beautiful spaces that I want to inhabit.” —juror Ingalill Wahlroos-Ritter, AIA

And see past winners of the Progressive Architecture Awards here.