Each year, the Residential Architect Design Awards aim to highlight the best in single-family and multifamily architecture—forward-thinking new builds, renovations, and affordable housing initiatives that capture where the field is, and should be, moving. The eight winning projects in the pages ahead, culled from nearly 270 submissions, do just that. Carefully selected by a diverse panel of judges—who looked beyond aesthetic appeal to consider each building’s problem-solving potential, environmental impact, and context within its community—this year’s honorees chart a thoughtful and inspiring course for the homes of tomorrow.
Jury
Barbara Bestor, FAIA, principal, Bestor Architecture, Los Angeles
Melissa R. Daniel, Assoc. AIA, creator and host, Architecture is Political podcast; architectural designer, Maryland
Brian Loughlin, AIA, director of planning and urban design, Magnusson Architecture and Planning, New York
Lindsey Slay Williams, Assoc. AIA, senior planner, community and regional planning, city of Houston
Honor Award Winners
To see more photos and drawings, click on the ARCHITECT Project Gallery links below each project category.
Custom Home / 3,000 Square Feet or Less
Wanaka Wedge House
Queensberry, New Zealand
Actual Architecture Co.
"Whether or not they were trying to make the project an affordable housing type, this is a great approach for how to make design not a luxury.” — Lindsey Slay Williams
Custom Home / More Than 3,000 Square Feet
Six Square House
Bridgehampton, N.Y.
Young Projects
"It’s like an art pavilion that you can live in. I like the high-concept, formal organization that successfully played out in the linked pavilions.” — Barbara Bestor
Restoration/Preservation
The Brenton
Davenport, Iowa
ASK Studio
"A catalyst for revitalization, The Brenton brought renewed life to this historic Midcentury renovation.” — Melissa Daniel
Design Detail
Filigree House
Philadelphia
Moto Designshop
"The detail and layering of the brick façade adds a much stronger and unique presence to this row house than other examples in the same typology. That this was originally a ‘spec house’ makes the result that much more inspiring.” — Brian Loughlin
Affordable Housing
Sister Lillian Murphy Community
San Francisco
Paulett Taggart Architects with associate architect Studio VARA
"I like that urbanistically it’s four buildings with a courtyard inside. If you’ve been in San Francisco, there’s not a lot of outdoor space available to people. This massing model is great as opposed to the kind of generic mega box.” — Barbara Bestor
Specialized Housing
Covenant House
New York
FXCollaborative
“There is a well-balanced juxtaposition between the upper floors—wrapped with smaller windows lending a sense of privacy and intimacy—and the lower floors, filled with wide open common spaces projecting a positive image out onto the streetscape. It is well thought out, and a great example of what supportive housing can mean to its residents and contribute to a neighborhood.” — Brian Loughlin
On the Boards
Xantho Work House
Hawthorne, Calif.
Brooks + Scarpa
"[In] Houston, we have so many buildings that are underutilized and such a dire need for housing. I think this is a good [example] of adding on to existing spaces, especially in industrial areas.” — Lindsey Slay Williams
Merit Award Winner
To see more photos and drawings, click on the ARCHITECT Project Gallery link below the project category.
Custom Home / 3,000 Square Feet or Less
Marfa Suite
Marfa, Texas
DUST Architects
“The intense crispness of the rammed-earth exterior is situated perfectly in the Texan desert.” — Melissa Daniel
Peruse the past winners of ARCHITECT's RADA award and see more forward-thinking residential projects.
