Design Awards are the validation of the judgements of aesthetics. High quality architecture should stand the test of time, years after it is designed and constructed. It excels in function, fulfills its purpose, is enduring, and enriches the people who come in contact with it. Design award programs serve as the vehicle to honor the creative strengths of building design professionals and to publicize the enduring results of their efforts.
Today, design award programs are also used to raise the standard and expand the definition of design excellence, which has moved beyond just aesthetics to include: awarding new and improved methods of construction, encouraging more socially and environmentally conscious solutions to design problems, and honoring collaboration and cooperation among the various disciplines involved in the design and construction of a building project. Design award programs have also been utilized as a way to gain public support for design, the arts, and other issues through a community-oriented process, while others seek to challenge design standards by a peer review process.
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