Category Criteria

The Building

The grand prize for the region’s most progressive architecture, The Building, is awarded to the project that marks a new direction in the future of architecture, as well as its capacity to respond to its local place and culture.

The qualities and characteristics under consideration for The Building award include a demonstrated advancement in architectural and/or design practice with regard to the originality and quality of your design; the functionality and/or performance of your design; best practice sustainability principles; innovation through thinking, practice, process and solution.

The project will represent progressive methods of design with consideration given to elements including form, structure, materiality and technology. The design will be distinctive and imaginative in its concept and aesthetic. Importantly, you must demonstrate how this project responds to its unique cultural context and location.

To be eligible for this category your project and your studio must be located in the Indo-Pacific region. Your project must have been completed between 23 February 2024 and 22 February 2025.

Entry Criteria

• A brief summary of your project which will be showcased on our website and portals (max. 200 words.)
• How does your project demonstrate an understanding of the brief and showcase  progressive architecture and design?
• What aspects of your project make it a true stand out in its category?
• How does the project address contemporary sustainability imperatives through its design?
• How did you consult with relevant community and/or cultural groups to ensure the project was sensitive to site/place/environment/culture?
• Images (max. 10 images, 5 plans.)
• Photographer credits.

The Multi-Residential Building

High-density living is about much more than efficiency. We honour a multi-residential building that is designed with equal consideration for community, site, sustainability, human experience and market needs.

The qualities and characteristics under consideration for The Multi-Residential Building award include a demonstrated advancement in architectural and/or design practice with regard to the originality and quality of your design; the functionality and/or performance of your design; best practice sustainability principles; innovation through thinking, practice, process and solution.

The project will represent progressive methods of design with consideration given to elements including form, space, materiality and liveability. The design will be distinctive and imaginative in its concept and aesthetic. Importantly, you must demonstrate how this project responds to its unique cultural context and location.

To be eligible for this category your project and your studio must be located in the Indo-Pacific region. Your project must have been completed between 23 February 2024 and 22 of February 2025.

Entry Criteria

• A brief summary of your project which will be showcased on our website and portals (max. 200 words.)
• How does your project demonstrate an understanding of the brief and showcase  progressive architecture and design?
• What aspects of your project make it a true stand out in its category?
• How does the project address contemporary sustainability imperatives through its design?
• How did you consult with relevant community and/or cultural groups to ensure the project was sensitive to site/place/environment/culture?
• Images (max. 10 images, 5 plans.)
• Photographer credits.

The Living Space

Homestead, shophouse or apartment, to live well is to respond to one’s place. We award the region’s most inspiring home, the architecture, interior and exterior, that dwells thoughtfully and sensitively within its site and place, and responds with intelligence to its local context and culture.

The qualities and characteristics under consideration for The Living Space award include a demonstrated advancement in architectural and/or design practice with regard to the originality and quality of the overall design; the functionality and/or performance of your design; best practice sustainability principles; innovation through thinking, practice, process and solution.

The project will represent progressive methods of design with consideration given to elements including form, space, materiality and liveability. The design will be distinctive and imaginative in its concept and aesthetic. Importantly, you must demonstrate how this project responds to its clients’ needs, cultural context and location. This category recognises all elements that are required for living – architecture, interior architecture, interior and exterior design, landscape architecture and all other auxiliary design.

To be eligible for this category your project and your studio must be located in the Indo-Pacific region. Your project must have been completed between 23 February 2024 and 22 February 2025.

Entry Criteria

• A brief summary of your project which will be showcased on our website and portals (max. 200 words.)
• How does your project demonstrate an understanding of the brief and showcase  progressive architecture and design?
• What aspects of your project make it a true stand out in its category?
• How does the project address contemporary sustainability imperatives through its design?
• How did you consult with relevant community and/or cultural groups to ensure the project was sensitive to site/place/environment/culture?
• Images (max. 10 images, 5 plans.)
• Photographer credits.

The Work Space

The workplace is social and cultural, as much as it is functional. This award honours a workspace design that meets the demands of work and the needs of people.

The qualities and characteristics under consideration for The Work Space award include a demonstrated advancement in architectural and/or design practice with regard to the originality and quality of your design; the functionality and/or performance of your design; best practice sustainability principles; innovation through thinking, practice, process and solution.

The project will represent progressive methods of design with consideration given to elements including form, space, materiality and/or technology. The design will be distinctive and imaginative in its concept and aesthetic. Importantly, you must demonstrate how this project responds to its unique client’s needs, its locality and site.

To be eligible for this category your project and your studio must be located in the Indo-Pacific region. Your project must have been completed between 23 February 2024 and 22 February 2025.

Entry Criteria

• A brief summary of your project which will be showcased on our website and portals (max. 200 words.)
• How does your project demonstrate an understanding of the brief and showcase  progressive architecture and design?
• What aspects of your project make it a true stand out in its category?
• How does the project address contemporary sustainability imperatives through its design?
• How did you consult with relevant community and/or cultural groups to ensure the project was sensitive to site/place/environment/culture?
• Images (max. 10 images, 5 plans.)
• Photographer credits.

The Social Space

Some of the most impressive spaces are those where people interact and play. We honour a hospitality or food and beverage space that tells a relevant story, captures the imagination, and brings people together.

The qualities and characteristics under consideration for The Social Space award include a demonstrated advancement in architectural and/or design practice with regard to the originality and quality of your design; the functionality and/or performance of your design; best practice sustainability principles; innovation through thinking, practice, process and solution.

The project will represent progressive methods of design with consideration given to concept, form, space and materiality. The design will be distinctive and imaginative in its concept and aesthetic. Importantly, you must demonstrate how this project responds to its unique brief and site.

To be eligible for this category your project and your studio must be located in the Indo-Pacific region. Your project must have been completed between 23 February 2024 and 22 February 2025.

Entry Criteria

• A brief summary of your project which will be showcased on our website and portals (max. 200 words.)
• How does your project demonstrate an understanding of the brief and showcase  progressive architecture and design?
• What aspects of your project make it a true stand out in its category?
• How does the project address contemporary sustainability imperatives through its design?
• How did you consult with relevant community and/or cultural groups to ensure the project was sensitive to site/place/environment/culture?
• Images (max. 10 images, 5 plans.)
• Photographer credits.

The Retail Space

Retail takes many guises today, but in physical retail spaces impact and experience are critical. We award a space with mastery over retail’s shifting ground.

The qualities and characteristics under consideration for The Retail Space award include a demonstrated advancement in architectural and/or design practice with regard to the originality and quality of your design; the functionality and/or performance of your design; best practice sustainability principles; innovation through thinking, practice, process and solution.

The project will represent progressive methods of design with consideration given to elements including form, space, and experiential qualities. The design will be distinctive and imaginative in its concept and aesthetic. Importantly, you must demonstrate how this project responds to its brief, locality, site and shifting consumer demands.

To be eligible for this category your project and your studio must be located in the Indo-Pacific region. Your project must have been completed between 23 February 2024 and 22 February 2025.

Entry Criteria

• A brief summary of your project which will be showcased on our website and portals (max. 200 words.)
• How does your project demonstrate an understanding of the brief and showcase  progressive architecture and design?
• What aspects of your project make it a true stand out in its category?
• How does the project address contemporary sustainability imperatives through its design?
• How did you consult with relevant community and/or cultural groups to ensure the project was sensitive to site/place/environment/culture?
• Images (max. 10 images, 5 plans.)
• Photographer credits.

The Learning Space

A spectrum of formal and informal spaces is emerging in the education context. We honour an environment that promotes connection and learning in the ways it needs to happen today.

The qualities and characteristics under consideration for The Learning Space award include a demonstrated advancement in architectural and/or design practice with regard to the originality and quality of your design; the functionality and/or performance of your design; best practice sustainability principles; innovation through thinking, practice, process and solution.

The project will represent progressive methods of design with consideration given to elements including form, space, materiality and technology. The design will be distinctive and imaginative in its concept and resolution. Importantly, you must demonstrate how this project responds to its brief, site and innovative pedagogical methods.

To be eligible for this category your project and your studio must be located in the Indo-Pacific region. Your project must have been completed between 23 February 2024 and 22 February 2025.

Entry Criteria

• A brief summary of your project which will be showcased on our website and portals (max. 200 words.)
• How does your project demonstrate an understanding of the brief and showcase  progressive architecture and design?
• What aspects of your project make it a true stand out in its category?
• How does the project address contemporary sustainability imperatives through its design?
• How did you consult with relevant community and/or cultural groups to ensure the project was sensitive to site/place/environment/culture?
• Images (max. 10 images, 5 plans.)
• Photographer credits.

The Health & Wellbeing Space

The spaces in which we seek health and wellness services are evolving. We honour a place for wellness that gives equal emphasis to procedure and human experience.

The qualities and characteristics under consideration for The Health & Wellbeing Space award include a demonstrated advancement in architectural and/or design practice with regard to the originality and quality of your design; the functionality and/or performance of your design; best practice sustainability principles; innovation through thinking, practice, process and solution.

The project will represent progressive methods of design with consideration given to site, form, space, materiality and technology. The design will be distinctive and imaginative in its concept and resolution. Importantly, you must demonstrate how this project responds to its unique brief, site, location and, importantly, the end-user’s needs with regard to health and wellness services, (as opposed to beauty services alone).

To be eligible for this category your project and your studio must be located in the Indo-Pacific region. Your project must have been completed between 23 February 2024 and 22 February 2025.

Entry Criteria

• A brief summary of your project which will be showcased on our website and portals (max. 200 words.)
• How does your project demonstrate an understanding of the brief and showcase  progressive architecture and design?
• What aspects of your project make it a true stand out in its category?
• How does the project address contemporary sustainability imperatives through its design?
• How did you consult with relevant community and/or cultural groups to ensure the project was sensitive to site/place/environment/culture?
• Images (max. 10 images, 5 plans.)
• Photographer credits.

The Interior Space

This category celebrates excellent interior design crafted for a residential space, where living well is prized, The Interior Space showcases an interior that is nuanced and layered, original and detailed.

The qualities and characteristics that will be considered in this category will be the concept and design, that responds to the site, the client, the location and cultural context, resulting in a design fully resolved at every level. The interior will be expressive of a distinct narrative, deliver functionality and livability, with response to form, structure and materiality key to an exemplary outcome.

In pursuit of design excellence, the best interior spaces will present as timeless and thoughtful interior design that recognises the power to influence and enhance lifestyle. Design and decoration will be front and centre in this category.

To be eligible for this category your project and your studio must be located in the Indo-Pacific region. Your project must have been completed between 23 February 2024 and 22 February 2025.

Entry Criteria

• A brief summary of your project which will be showcased on our website and portals (max. 200 words.)
• How does your project demonstrate an understanding of the brief and showcase  progressive architecture and design?
• What aspects of your project make it a true stand out in its category?
• How does the project address contemporary sustainability imperatives through its design?
• How did you consult with relevant community and/or cultural groups to ensure the project was sensitive to site/place/environment/culture?
• Images (max. 10 images, 5 plans.)
• Photographer credits.

The Influencer

How does design change our world for the better? The Influencer is a project or product that represents how design impacts the region and the world at large. The Influencer demonstrates how progressive design can improve the world.

The qualities and characteristics under consideration for The Influencer award include: demonstrated focus on the needs of people, and the project or product’s ability to serve this in an original and creative format.

The project or product will be distinctive in its concept and purpose and demonstrate real outcomes as a result of its design. This project or product will serve as a shining example of the region’s experimental and visionary approach to architecture and design for the good of people.

To be eligible for this category your project and your studio must be located in the Indo-Pacific region. Your project must have been completed between 23 February 2024 and 22 February 2025.

Entry Criteria

• A brief summary of your project which will be showcased on our website and portals (max. 200 words.)
• How does your project demonstrate an understanding of the brief and showcase  progressive architecture and design?
• What aspects of your project make it a true stand out in its category?
• How does the project address contemporary sustainability imperatives through its design?
• How did you consult with relevant community and/or cultural groups to ensure the project was sensitive to site/place/environment/culture?
• Images (max. 10 images, 5 plans.)
• Photographer credits.

The Photographer – Commercial

The Photographer – Commercial award recognises the immense contribution that photographers bring to the architecture and design community as well as the general community through their work. The image and visual documentation of a project is imperative for storytelling but most importantly, this category showcases the special talent of a photographer in capturing the essence of projects in the commercial realm within our region.

Submissions will be accepted for The Photographer – commercial category where the subject matter comprises projects such as workplaces, education, institution, retail centres, sports centres and libraries, in fact, any building other than residential projects.

The qualities and characteristics under consideration for The Photographer – Commercial award will be the ability to tell the story of the commercial project through the images, exterior or interior images or both, as appropriate to the project. A suite of five to 10 images can be submitted and these should define the project and interpret and represent the architecture and design through the visual medium.

This category celebrates commercial architecture and the photographer who can tell a story in their own particular narrative and style.

To be eligible for this category your project and your studio must be located in the Indo-Pacific region. Your images must have been completed between 23 February 2024 and 22 February 2025.

Entry Criteria

• Was this shoot completed in the last 12 months? (Between 23 February 2024 and 22 February 2025.)
• Project title.
• Photographer name.
• Photographer email address.
• A brief bio of the applicant/photographer.
• Portrait image of the applicant/photographer.
• Architect/Designer and any other collaborators of the project.
• A brief summary of the project.
• A suite of 5 – 10 images (maximum) to be uploaded that visually tell the story of the project.
• The photographer confirms they own copyright in the images entered and, where required, have received permission from building owners to enter awards or have a signed property release for this project.

The Photographer – Residential

Capturing the essence of a home and providing a visual story to the architecture and design, The Photographer – Residential award recognises excellence in residential photography throughout the Indo-Pacific region.

The Photographer – Residential award recognises the talent and expertise of photographers who can capture a residence through images and showcase the story of home.

The subject matter is to be a residence, a new build, alteration and addition or multi-residential project and will include exterior or interior images or both, as appropriate to the project. A suite of five to 10 images can be submitted and these should define the project and represent the architecture and interior design through the visual medium.

Great residential photography goes beyond documenting a house, it tells a story and shares the intention and purpose of architecture and design. The Photographer – Residential will be an exemplar of artistic expression and capture the essential elements of the design in their own particular style.

To be eligible for this category your project and your studio must be located in the Indo-Pacific region. Your project must have been completed between 23 February 2024 and 22 February 2025.

Entry Criteria

• Was this shoot completed in the last 12 months? (Between 23 February 2024 and 22 February 2025.)
• Project title.
• Photographer name.
• Photographer email address.
• A brief bio of the applicant/photographer.
• Portrait image of the applicant/photographer.
• Architect/Designer and any other collaborators of the project.
• A brief summary of the project.
• A suite of 5 – 10 images (maximum) to be uploaded that visually tell the story of the project.
• The photographer confirms they own copyright in the images entered and, where required, have received permission from building owners to enter awards or have a signed property release for this project.

The Object

Not all objects are created equal. We look at how they function, what they signify, and how they respond to the needs of people. Here, we award the region’s most original players in modern industrial design.

The qualities and characteristics under consideration for The Object award include: demonstrated focus on unique user needs, and the product’s ability to address this in an original, creative and functional format.

Conceptually and aesthetically, the object will demonstrate superior industrial design through the making and/or manufacturing process, approaches to materiality and form, and design resolution. The object will serve as a shining example of the region’s progressive approach to industrial design.

To be eligible for this category your project and your studio must be located in the Indo-Pacific region. Your project must have been completed between 23 February 2024 and 22 February 2025.

Entry Criteria

• A brief summary of your product which will be showcased on our website and portals (max. 200 words.)
• How was the design developed with best-practice sustainability principles in mind?
• Was the product completed in the last 12 months? (Between 23 February 2024 and 22 February 2025)
• Please explain your product, its features and unique qualities.
• What aspects of this project make it a true stand-out in its category?
• Images (max 10 images, 5 plans.)
• Photographer credits.

The Graduate

The Graduate award recognises and celebrates a fifth-year architecture student who shows outstanding promise in their chosen course. Through innovation and creativity, the student aspires to make a mark on the profession and break new ground through design. The recipient of this accolade is a future design leader in the making and this award will no doubt become the protagonist for a stellar career.

The subject of the entry can be diverse; a speculative project or an activation that responds to current contemporary architectural discourse. The project should address how architecture is responding to issues in the community today, particularly but not exclusively, within the urban, social, technological, environmental and/or future thinking sectors. It can address habitation and/or living and working conditions and contribute to critical thinking. The project must show originality and imagination and contribute to the debate of the broader issues of the day.

To be eligible for this category the student must attend an architectural school in the Indo-Pacific region. The category is open to fifth year architecture students, the entry must be their own work and is to be the final year examination submission made to their school, university or technical college in 2024.

Exception: For schools that do not follow the January to December school year or do not require a project as the last submission for fifth year architecture, entrants can submit a project from the last year of their studies.

Entry Criteria

PLEASE NOTE: This category is invite only.

Nomination Details Required:

• Full name of student.
• Contact email of student.
• Contact phone number of student.
• School attended.
• Name and title of nominator.
• Contact email of nominator.
• Contact phone number of nominator.

Project Details Required:

• Confirm the project was submitted in the 2024 academic year for the end of the final year of the study of architecture and that this is the student’s own work.
• Please provide a brief summary of the project (max. 200 words)
• How is the project new?
• What is the purpose of the design?
• What aspects of this project make it an exemplar?
• How does the project address contemporary sustainability imperatives through its design, and did you consult with relevant community and/or cultural groups to ensure the project was sensitive to site/place/environment/culture?
• Images (max 10 images, 5 plans.)
• Photographer credits.

The Prodigy

Our INDE. Experts and Indesign Media Editors have their fingers on the pulse of A+D across the region and they’re the first to know and the first to report. That’s why they’re at the vanguard of the tomorrow of A+D and, as such, we cannot think of a more savvy bunch of authorities to collate a shortlist for The Prodigy.

Forget following trends; this award honours someone who sparks them. Seeing no distinction between design disciplines, The Prodigy celebrates the innovation, bravery and forward-thinking of emerging A+D professionals.

Category Criteria

PLEASE NOTE: This category is invite only.

For nomination by our INDE. Experts and Indesign Media Editors, nominees for The Prodigy will demonstrate (but will not be limited to) the following:

• All designers located within the Asia-Pacific region are eligible. Outside of that requirement, the qualities and characteristics under consideration for The Prodigy award include: a demonstrated progressive attitude toward imaginative architectural/design practice with regard to skills and services, their definition of design talent and expertise, their use of technology, materiality, big-picture thinking and so on.
• The awarded A+D emerging professional will be bold and fearless in their practice of architecture/design, colouring outside the lines and questioning accepted industry rules and habits throughout their work. Conceptually and aesthetically, The Prodigy will be distinctive in both the process and outcome of their portfolio, and serve as a shining example of the region’s experimental and rebellious approach.

The Luminary

The Luminary recognises excellence in a career in design and celebrates the contribution of industry icons. Chosen by INDE experts and the Indesign editorial team for their design talent, innovation, imagination and on-going support of architecture and design, The Luminaries possess outstanding ability, a body of exceptional work and have made an indelible and integral difference to their profession.

The four Luminaries are nominated and then showcased within Indesign magazine and across all other Indesign Media platforms. This is our opportunity to pay tribute to four stellar practitioners, individuals or partners, laud their personal journeys and applaud their triumphs. Through understanding of their respective pathways in design, each becomes an inspirational and aspirational force for all.

At the culmination of the year, the four Luminaries are and celebrated at the INDE.Awards Gala party with a video that showcases and honours their outstanding contribution to design.