During the opening week of the 19th Venice Architecture Biennale, a consortium of six major architecture awards, including the Aga Khan Award for Architecture, the Holcim Foundation Awards, the EUmies Awards, the Mies Crown Hall Americas Prize, the OBEL Award, and the Ammodo Architecture Award, convened at TBA21–Academy's Ocean Space for a critical discussion titled "Beyond the Prize." This forum aimed to reflect on the role, relevance, and future potential of architecture awards amidst pressing social and environmental challenges. ArchDaily attended the public event and took the opportunity to ask the participants: What would the field of architecture look like if we stopped organizing architecture awards?
In this video, Dirk Denison (Mies Crown Hall Americas Prize), Laura Viscovich (Holcim Foundation for Sustainable Construction), Ivan Blasi (EUmies Awards), Xu Tiantian (DnA_Design and Architecture), Kjetil Thorsen (Snøhetta), Marleen van Driel (Ammodo Architecture Award), Lesley Lokko (curator of the 2023 Venice Architecture Biennale), Farrokh Derakhshani (Aga Khan Award for Architecture), Marina Tabassum (Marina Tabassum Architects), Jesper Eis Eriksen (OBEL Award), and Rozana Montiel (Rozana Montiel Estudio de Arquitectura), share their perspective on this proposed scenario.
Reflecting on the hypothetical if architecture awards were to disappear, several participants believe the field would lose an important source of energy, inspiration, and public recognition. There is agreement on the idea that awards serve as a third-party validation of excellence, offering visibility to projects that might otherwise be overlooked. They help spark critical conversations, build professional communities, and promote emerging architects tackling urgent issues like climate change or social equity. Some speculate that without them, the creative drive and ambition in the field might weaken, and the public would lack a mechanism to identify and celebrate architectural quality and innovation. Most of the participants declare to see awards as essential to maintaining a vibrant and reflective architectural culture.
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Why the 2025 Pritzker Prize Matters: Liu Jiakun and the Shift Toward Socially Responsible ArchitectureProbably there would be a lack of opportunities to actually celebrate architecture, and also to recognize the work that is behind every work that is built, every place that we live in or that we kind of enjoy. There would also probably be a lack—or we would have to find other ways—to open up the debate and the discussion in order to disseminate and communicate about architecture. – Ivan Blasi, EUmies Awards Director
Others suggest that while architecture as a profession would likely continue, the absence of awards would significantly diminish global discourse. Awards often set agendas, elevate smaller voices, and foster cross-cultural knowledge sharing. They are not only about prestige but about creating space for experimentation and artistic growth, often providing financial support and intellectual validation. For many architects, the recognition can reaffirm their purpose and encourage them to persist in challenging or unconventional work. Ultimately, the consensus is that architecture awards act as catalysts for dialogue and a more inclusive global architectural narrative.
Awards connect us through geographies and histories. They are a way of gathering collective intelligence, visions, different points of view, and ways of seeing. I believe it's really important to continue having awards as a means of gaining knowledge, not just as a form of recognition, because they bring us together, no matter where we are; we are all connected. – Architect Rozana Montiel
In other news from the world of architecture awards, Vietnamese architect Trần Thị Ngụ Ngôn has won the 2025 Diversity in Architecture (DIVIA) Award, which includes international recognition and a €10,000 prize. The award honors women architects whose work contributes to cultural diversity and inclusion in architecture. Pakistani architect Yasmeen Lari was also recently announced as the recipient of the 2025 Millennium bcp Lifetime Achievement Award by the Lisbon Architecture Triennale, which also revealed the five finalists for the 2025 Millennium bcp Début Award. Earlier this year, Marianne McKenna and Shirley Blumberg were awarded the 2025 RAIC Gold Medal by the Royal Architectural Institute of Canada, and Anne Lacaton received the 2025 Jane Drew Prize.
