This informative and educational webinar was presented by AIA Arizona and its COTE Committee. Members heard from architects with deep knowledge of the AIA Framework for Design Excellence, who described why the Framework is important and how firms at all scales can implement it with every client and every project, regardless of size and typology. Presenters included Ashley Mulhall, AIA, Partner, Grace Design Studios; Rachel Green Rasmussen, AIA, Principal, Architekton; and Jonathan Weiss, AIA, Director of Sustainability, Jacobs in Philadelphia.
For the 2025 AIA Arizona Design Awards, entrants in these three categories: Distinguished Architecture, Interior Architecture, and Unbuilt will be required to include project information for at least three of the 10 principles of the AIA Framework for Design Excellence. Those three categories celebrate the best contemporary architecture regardless of budget, size, style, or typology.
The AIA Framework for Design Excellence represents the defining principles of design excellence in the 21st century. Comprised of 10 principles and accompanied by searching questions, the framework informs progress toward a zero-carbon, healthy, just, resilient, and equitable built environment. Learn more about the Framework for Design Excellence at this link.
The 10 principles of the Framework are:
- Design for Integration
- Design for Equitable Communities
- Design for Ecosystems
- Design for Water
- Design for Economy
- Design for Energy
- Design for Well-Being
- Design for Resources
- Design for Change
- Design for Discovery