Login to Complete an Application or to Access Judging Panel
Enter the 2025 Residential Architect Design Awards!
Enter Today!
ARCHITECT has launched the call for entries to its 26th annual Residential Architect Design Awards (RADA) program. RADA recognizes outstanding work and innovations across a wide range of typologies and specialties within residential design. Winning entries of this year's program will be published online on ARCHITECT's website, architectmagazine.com and through the brand's social media platforms in March 2026. Any house or project completed after Jan. 1, 2022, is eligible. You can see the 2024 RADA winners here.
RADA 2025 Deadlines
Regular Submission Deadline: Friday, Jan. 30, 2026, 11:59 p.m. EST
Late Submission Deadline: Friday, Feb. 13, 2026 11:59 p.m. EST (will include a late fee of $50 / entry)
REGISTER HERE TO BEGIN YOUR ENTRY
Registration Guidelines
The Residential Architect Design Awards (RADA) recognize outstanding work in advancing residential design. Judging will take place in February 2026. Winning entries will be notified in March 2026, and published online at Architectmagazine.com in late March 2026.
The entry process for RADA is entirely digital. Use Chrome or Firefox as your browser when registering and completing the forms.
Eligibility
Entries should be submitted by an architect or designer. Other building industry professionals may submit projects on behalf of an architect or designer. Projects outside the U.S. are welcomed. Any home or project completed after Jan. 1, 2022, is eligible.
Standard Entry Categories (Regular Fee: $160 | Late Fee: $210)
Custom Home (3,000 sq. ft. or less)
Custom Home (more than 3,000 sq. ft.)
Renovation / Adaptive Reuse (residential remodeling and additions)
Restoration / Preservation
Multifamily Housing
Affordable Housing
Architectural Interiors (build-outs and interior renovations)
Specialized Housing (SROs, shelters, student housing, etc.)
Outbuilding
Specialty Entry Categories (Regular Fee: $130 | Late Fee: $180)
Kitchens
Universal Dwelling Design
Architectural Design Detail
- New Approaches to Housing and Specialty Homes (built accessory dwelling units, tiny homes, micro-units, multigenerational housing, co-living, co-housing, 3D-printed residences, etc. PLEASE NOTE: submissions in this category must be built.
Individual projects should be submitted in only one Standard Entry Category. Projects may be submitted to a Standard Entry Category and then to one or more Specialty Entry Categories.
For a complete set of the OFFICIAL RULES and REGULATIONS, please click here.
Important Dates
Friday, Jan. 30, 2026, 11:59 p.m. EST → Registration deadline for regular entries (pay for your entry by this date; you will have until the regular deadline to upload and complete your support materials)
Friday, Feb. 13, 2026, 11:59 p.m. EST → Final submission deadline for regular entries, and final registration and submission deadline for late entries
Regular Registration Fees
$160 → Standard Category Entry
$130 → Specialty Category Entry
Late Registration Fees
$210 → Standard Category Entry
$180 → Specialty Category Entry
Note: You will be charged the late fee of $210 per Standard Category Entry and $180 per Special Category Entry for entries registered after 11:59 p.m. EST, Jan. 30, 2026. All entry materials, regardless of when they were registered, must be received by the deadline, Friday, Feb. 13, 2026, 11:59 p.m. EST.
No refunds will be issued.
All materials submitted to the 2025 RADA program become the property of Zonda Media, which will not be responsible or liable for them. Entry fees are non-refundable.
How to Enter
You can register, complete your entry forms, and upload your entry materials (including images, drawings, and plans) by submitting everything through this website in a three-step process.
- STEP ONE: Register your project(s) and pay the entry fee(s).
- STEP TWO: Fill out the online entry forms and upload your entry materials, as outlined in the next section. With your login credentials, you can return to this website to add to or modify your entry at a later date, up until the final deadline.
- STEP THREE: Finalize and submit your application. In order to submit your application, you must go through the payment wall at the end of the submission materials section, regardless of whether you submit a regular or late application. In addition, once you finalize and submit an entry, you will not be able to edit it further.
Entry Materials:
Your entry will consist of an online entry form and supporting documents that can be uploaded to this website. The online entry form will ask for the following:
- Entrant (contact details for the person preparing the entry)
- Firm (contact details for the firm responsible for the project)
- Client (contact details and client description)
- Project (including description, site and zoning constraints, square footage, etc.)
After filling out this information, you will have an opportunity to upload supporting documents for your entry. Files can be .jpg images with a maximum width and height of 2,000 pixels, Microsoft Word .doc files, or .mp4 files. You can upload up to 20 files total, not to exceed 50MB total.
These supporting documents must include:
- Photographs of the completed project in .jpg format
- Site plan, floor plans, and sections in .jpg format
Optional documents include:
- Energy modeling diagrams, drawings, and model photos, in .jpg format
- Performance qualifications and diagrams, in Word .doc or .jpg format
- Videos in .mp4 format
Rules and Regulations
WHO CAN ENTER Entries for the RADA awards should be submitted by an architect or designer resident in the United States, the District of Columbia and Canada (excluding Quebec). Other building industry professionals may submit projects on behalf of an architect or designer. Projects outside the U.S. are welcomed. Any home or project completed after Jan. 1, 2022, is eligible.
PUBLICATION Winners will be featured online at Architectmagazine.com and through ARCHITECT magazine's social media platforms in either late March or April.
(View the winners of the 2024 RADA Awards.)
ENTRY CATEGORIES During the submission process, you will be asked to identify each submission by type (see categories above). Only one category may be selected per submission, and each project may only be entered in one Standard Entry Category. Projects entered in Standard Entry Categories may also be entered in Specialty Entry Categories.
PROCESS DOCUMENTATION Entries should document the design process, as well as its result. Photographs of the completed project and floor plans are required. Sections and detail drawings are optional. ARCHITECT encourages entrants to include copies of preliminary sketches, alternative preliminary schemes, information on context, precedents for the design, and excerpts from working drawings, all of which should be submitted in .jpg format, with a maximum file height and width of 2,000 pixels.
ANONYMITY To maintain anonymity in judging, no names of entrants or collaborating parties may appear on any submission materials except where specifically requested on the online entry forms. Do not, however, conceal the identity or location of projects.
ENTRY FORMS Each submission must be registered online ahead of the submission deadline using this website. Additional materials must also be uploaded to the website prior to the submission deadline.
PUBLISHING RIGHTS All materials submitted to the 2025 RADA program become the property of Zonda Media. Zonda retains the right to consider all non-winning entries for future publication, but entrants will be notified beforehand. Keep a copy of all entry materials for your records. Note that awards are left to the judges’ discretion: An award may not be granted in each category. All entries may also appear online in ARCHITECT's Project Gallery.
REGULAR ENTRY Regular entries must be registered online by Jan. 30, 2026 at 11:59 p.m. EST. The fee is $160 for submissions in Standard Entry Categories and $130 for submissions in Specialty Entry Categories, as outlined above. Entry fees must be paid online by credit card, and are nonrefundable. Upon registering and paying the fee for the submission, entrants will have until the late deadline to complete and upload their submission materials.
LATE ENTRY Entries registered after Jan. 30, 2026, up until the competition deadline, cost $210 per submission in the Standard Entry Category, and $180 in the Specialty Entry Category. Fees must be paid online by credit card, and are nonrefundable. Entrants will have until the late deadline to complete and upload their submission materials. The final deadline is Friday, Feb. 13, 2026 at 11:59 p.m. EST.
QUESTIONS Check out our FAQ or e-mail rada@zondahome.com.