The Awards for Emerging Excellence are a suite of prizes that recognizes exceptional talent exhibited by young professionals in architecture, landscape, and craftsmanship. The Awards seek to highlight emerging talent that engages with classical design, demonstrating a thoughtful use of precedents from the past in projects that are forward-looking, creative, and holistically demonstrate their talents.
The relevance and importance of these skills grows each year, as the rise of homogeneous standardization threatens our individual cultures, vernacular design traditions, and historic crafts and trades. Additionally, classical design offers singularly impactful solutions to the most pressing issues facing our built environment at this current moment, from sustainability to preservation, from housing equity to community walkability. The Awards for Emerging Excellence aim to shine a light on exceptional talent and reward young people excelling in their chosen fields.
The Architect’s Prize For Excellence in Architecture, given with the King’s Foundation and INTBAU, is awarded to an emerging architect whose work exhibits a holistic understanding of the principles of classical design, and whose projects show a demonstrable excellence in their design. Awardees’ portfolios will have a clear, individual vision of the role classical design can play in the creation or preservation of our current built environment.
The Bunny Mellon Prize For Excellence in Garden Design is awarded to an emerging designer whose work furthers the ICAA’s mission that design and craftsmanship are vital to lasting and meaningful places. Further, the prize honors emerging professionals that demonstrate skilled knowledge of horticulture in a design that holistically considers the symbiosis between outdoor environments and physical structures and is in the spirit of Bunny Mellon’s “ceaseless interest, passion, and pleasure” in gardens, horticulture, and design.
The Maker’s Prize for Excellence in Craftsmanship is awarded to the emerging craftsperson, artist, or tradesperson whose work demonstrates a wealth of knowledge and excellence in a traditional building art, such as ornamental plaster, decorative painting and finishing, furniture design, masonry, blacksmithing, or any other allied art. Awardees work will demonstrate a care and thoughtfulness about the intersection between the built environment and their work, and their work will demonstrate a thorough understanding of the precedent of their medium and a creative approach to its current day applications.
The Awards for Emerging Excellence are open to applicants from around the world aged 35 or under working in the building crafts, urban design and planning, architecture, landscape architecture, garden design, or any allied arts. Launched in 2017, The Awards began as a collaboration between the Institute of Classical Architecture & Art (ICAA), The King’s Foundation (KF), and the International Network for Traditional Building, Architecture & Urbanism (INTBAU). It has grown to include multiple prize categories and partners, including the Bunny Mellon Prize in Garden Design, The Maker’s Prize for craftsmanship, and The Architect’s Prize given with INTBAU and KF.
The ICAA is grateful to the Richard Hampton Jenrette Foundation for its generous support of the Awards for Emerging Excellence in the Classical Tradition.
The ICAA is very grateful to the Gerard B. Lambert Foundation for its generous support of The Bunny Mellon Prize for Excellence in Garden Design, along with the Curricula's Lead Co-Sponsor HOLLANDER DESIGN LANDSCAPE ARCHITECTS, Film Series Co-Sponsor JANICE PARKER LANDSCAPE ARCHITECTS, Landscape Prize Co-Sponsor HARRISON DESIGN, Continuing Education and Public Programs Co-Sponsor CHARLOTTE MOSS, and Garden Symposium Co-Sponsor Kathryn M. and Ronald J. Herman Charitable Foundation.
Laura Hattrup, winner of the 2023 Architect’s Prize For Excellence in Architecture
“Meyers Pond Retreat,” designed by Bunny Mellon Garden Design Prize winner Daria Szalinska for Araiys Design Landscape Architecture (Photo: Anthony Crisafulli)
“Meyers Pond Retreat,” designed by Bunny Mellon Garden Design Prize winner Daria Szalinska for Araiys Design Landscape Architecture (Photo: Daria Szalinska)
Rodrigo Bollat-Montenegro, winner of the 2022 Architect’s Prize For Excellence in Architecture
Bay detail for a proposed school of decorative arts in Chicago, by Gerald Bauer
Proposed addition to the Milwaukee Art Museum Complex by Gerald Bauer
Work on Frederick Hollow, a solid brick lake home in Carlton Landing, Oklahoma, by Austin Tunnell
Paneled door in custom built home The Franklin, with decorative nails, mortise lock, and unlacquered brass hardware, by Austin Tunnell
Restoration of the Main Square and Palace of Grajal de Campos (León, Spain): Aerial view of the Main Square and Palace of the Earls of Grajal de Campos
Restoration of the Main Square and Palace of Grajal de Campos (León, Spain): View of the restored façade of the palace
Restoration of the Main Square and Palace of Grajal de Campos (León, Spain): South elevation
Restoration of the Main Square and Palace of Grajal de Campos (León, Spain): West elevation
Intervention on the medieval walls and surroundings of the Convent of La Coria (Trujillo, Spain): View of the Gate of La Coria.
Intervention on the medieval walls and surroundings of the Convent of La Coria (Trujillo, Spain): General section through Moritos Square
Intervention on the medieval walls and surroundings of the Convent of La Coria (Trujillo, Spain): Elevation of the Gate of La Coria
Intervention on the medieval walls and surroundings of the Convent of La Coria (Trujillo, Spain): Section I
Intervention on the medieval walls and surroundings of the Convent of La Coria (Trujillo, Spain): Section II
Intervention on the medieval walls and surroundings of the Convent of La Coria (Trujillo, Spain): Plan
Restoration of the Walls of Hondarribia (Hondarribia, Spain): Restored elevation of the walls
Restoration of the Walls of Hondarribia (Hondarribia, Spain): Axonometric view of the gate of San Nicolas.
Cailin Shannon leading a sketching session in Ahmedabad, India
Cailin contributed to master planning and architecture for a new mews project in Daybreak, UT, offering a walkable lifestyle attainable for many first-time homebuyers (Project completed with Opticos Design)
Illustration of placetypes for Kaua’i, to explain compact future island development patterns that promote both better quality of life and protection of precious natural and agricultural lands (Project completed with Opticos Design)
Sketchbook drawing by Cailin Shannon of a typical pol lane and haveli in Ahmedabad, India
Statue of Liberty for Seaside Monument, by Emily Bedard
Bas-relief, Edward M. Kennedy Institute, by Emily Bedard
Plaster molding, by Emily Bedard
Bas-relief portrait of Edward M. Kennedy, Edward M. Kennedy Institute, by Emily Bedard
Plaster Molding, by Emily Bedard
Submissions for the 2024 Awards for Emerging Excellence are now being accepted. The deadline for submissions is October 1st, 2024.
Entrants can be nominated by a professional or academic contact. Nominations should be sent to [email protected] by September 1st, 2024, with the name and contact information of the nominee as well as a brief note in support of their nomination. Entrants do not need to be nominated to apply. While nominations will be considered in the jury review process, all submissions must include a letter of recommendation.
Using the Submission Form, please submit using the following guidelines. Materials requested (required for all prize categories, unless otherwise specified):
• Personal statement (maximum 500 words): In 500 words or less, describe your body of work thus far
• Portfolio: PDF of a maximum of ten pages (must describe your role and others’ roles, if applicable). The portfolio should serve as a summary of the applicant’s body of work to date, and applicants are encouraged to have at least three projects from their career represented in the portfolio. At least one of those projects should be recent or current, allowing the jury to see the current trajectory of the applicant’s work.
• CV (maximum 2 pages)
• One letter of recommendation from an academic or professional contact describing the personal and leadership characteristics that make the entrant deserving of an Award for Emerging Excellence.
Additional Portfolio Requirements for the Architect’s Prize only:
Additional Portfolio Requirements for the Bunny Mellon Prize in Garden Design only:
Additional Portfolio Requirements for the Maker’s Prize only:
Please submit your application materials using this submission form. All materials must be submitted using this form, with the exception of the letter of recommendation, which may instead be sent by the recommender via email to [email protected]. The submission deadline for all applications is October 1st, 2024 by 11:59 PM. Incomplete, hard copy, or late submittals will not be considered.
Architects, garden and landscape design professionals, interior architects, urban planners, building craftspeople, artisans, and interested people from all over the world can participate in this award. All entrants must have been 35 years old or younger by January 1st of the prize year.
In addition to the merits of the personal statement and personal credentials, the jury will look for exceptional skill in the applicant’s chosen field, as demonstrated in their portfolio. Theoretical and practical merit will therefore determine the selected entrant.
Juries are kept confidential, and rotate each year. Each jury will contain a mix of professionals across the fields of architecture Winners are selected after extensive jury discussion, and key characteristics jury will be assessing submissions can include:
Should the jury hope to learn more about a finalists’s work, finalists will be contacted for interviews.
Each prize under the Awards for Emerging Excellence has its own recognitions.
The Architect’s Prize: will receive a $3,500 cash prize, and the winner will be formally honored in conjunction with the ICAA’s planned Arthur Ross Awards weekend with a free ticket for themselves and one guest. The winner is expected to attend. Additionally, the winner's work will be recognized via the ICAA's digital platforms and publications.
The Bunny Mellon Prize: will receive a $3,500 cash prize, and the winner to be formally honored in conjunction with the Bunny Mellon Garden Symposium with a free ticket for themselves and one guest. The winner is expected to attend. Additionally, the winner's work will be recognized via the ICAA's digital platforms and publications.
The Maker’s Prize: will receive a $3,500 cash prize, and the winner will be formally honored in conjunction with the ICAA’s planned Arthur Ross Awards weekend with a free ticket for themselves and one guest. The winner is expected to attend. Additionally, the winner's work will be recognized via the ICAA's digital platforms and publications.
The Institute of Classical Architecture & Art’s (ICAA) mission is to advance the appreciation and practice of the principles of traditional architecture and its allied arts by engaging educators, professionals, students, and enthusiasts. The ICAA is headquartered in New York City with regional Chapters across the United States. It offers a wide array of programs that are designed to promote the appreciation and practice of classical and traditional design, including classes, travel, lectures, and conferences. It publishes an academic journal called the Classicist as well as the acclaimed book series called the Classical America Series in Art and Architecture. The ICAA’s Arthur Ross Award annually recognizes and celebrates excellence in the classical tradition internationally. The ICAA was honored to bestow an Arthur Ross Award on HRH The Prince of Wales in the Patronage category in 1990.
INTBAU was established in 2001, and has since gained 40 chapters and 9,000 members in over 100 countries worldwide. We work under the patronage of our founder, His Majesty King Charles III. INTBAU’s mission is to support traditional building, the maintenance of local character, and the creation of better places to live. We do this through workshops, summer schools, study tours, conferences, awards, and competitions. Our three objectives are to research, educate, and engage as widely as possible on the value and relevance of traditional architecture and urban design. INTBAU is a unique, established resource for global knowledge of traditional architecture and urban design. Our active network consists of individuals and institutions who design, make, maintain, study, or enjoy traditional buildings and places.
The King's Foundation (formerly known as The Prince's Foundation) was created in 2018, as a result of the consolidation of four existing charities, The King's Foundation for Building Community, The King's Regeneration Trust, The Great Steward of Scotland's Dumfries House Trust, and The King's School of Traditional Arts.
The King's Foundation by focusing on three core tiers - Education, Projects, and Attractions - delivers work to improve the built environment, save heritage, and promote culture and education. Through education The King's Foundation aims to create sustainably planned, built, and maintained communities, championing and celebrating the most important part of any community: its people. The charity continues to train a generation of architects, masterplanners, and placemakers, in order to ensure the continuation of the kind of timeless skills which have been developed over generations.
The Gerard B. Lambert Foundation was founded by renowned horticulturalist Bunny Mellon in 1976 in honor of her father, Gerard Barnes Lambert, for his many contributions to the arts and landscape. Today, the Foundation carries on Mr. Lambert’s legacy and Bunny’s vision through supporting organizations such as the ICAA – with this partnership forming the Bunny Mellon Curricula. The grant from the Foundation to the ICAA made it possible for the development of a holistic curriculum in landscape architecture to expand its reach and enhance its programming for designers, students, and enthusiasts, with particular emphasis on the next generation. Together, the programs made possible via the Curricula allow audiences to obtain a deeper understanding of the importance of gardens and landscape as part of the overall built environment.