For years, The Architect’s Newspaper has acknowledged the work of industry leaders through its annual Best of Design and Best of Products Awards, but the firms themselves never got the star treatment…until now. With the first-ever Best of Practice Award, AN tips its hat to North American firms excelling at every level of the AEC industry. And we mean every level—from architecture and landscape to interiors and lighting, from construction and fabrication to wayfinding and photography. Honoring firms of all sizes and regions, and spanning 37 categories in all, the award offers a snapshot of what practice looks like today.
In the spirit of the past year, the judging process took place entirely online, with 16 jurors selecting the winners and honorable mentions according to relevant criteria. AN editors also singled out firms for special commendation in nearly all categories. Scroll on to see the winning firms!
The Best of Practice Awards Jury:
Verda Alexander
Founding Partner
Studio O+A
Refik Anadol
Director
Refik Anadol Studio
Sean Canty
Principal
Studio Sean Canty
Katherine Darnstadt
Founder
Design Trust Chicago
Jared Della Valle
CEO
Alloy
Erleen Hatfield
Managing Partner of Hatfield Group
Hatfield Group
Michael Hsu
Founding Principal
Michael Hsu Office of Architecture
Samuel Medina
Executive Editor
The Architect’s Newspaper
David A. Rubin
Principal
DAVID RUBIN Land Collective
Pascale Sablan
Founder
Beyond the Built Environment
Troy Schaum
Partner
SCHAUM/SHIEH
Erica Stoller
Advisor/Former Director
ESTO
Ian Thomas
Art Director
The Architect’s Newspaper
Kim Yao
Principal
ARO
Ann Yoachim
Director
Alberta and Tina Small Center for Collaborative Design at Tulane School of Architecture
Michael Young
Founding Partner
Young & Ayata
Categories:
Architect (XL Firm) – Northeast
![photography depicting a contemporary building with a sloping metal roof, with pedestrians underneath](https://www.archpaper.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/06/26638-09.jpg)
Winner
SHoP Architects
“SHoP Architects has been at the forefront of architectural practice for decades—not just in terms of design caliber, but perhaps more importantly in redefining design process. Their model of practice demands that project tools, methods and modes of delivery evolve, and they expertly wield this arsenal to execute complex, ground-breaking work.” —Kim Yao
Honorable Mentions
Ennead Architects
Editors’ Picks
Behnisch Architekten
Architect (XL Firm) – South
![exterior photograph depicting a contemporary single-story building at dusk](https://www.archpaper.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/06/26673-02-scaled.jpg)
Winner
Callison RTKL
Architect (XL Firm) – West
![](https://www.archpaper.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/06/26613-03.jpg)
Winner
WRNS Studio
Honorable Mentions
RIOS
Architect (Large Firm) – Northeast
![photograph depicting the split-level interior of a major tech office in New York City](https://www.archpaper.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/06/26791-09.jpg)
Winner
Architecture Plus Information (A+I)
“The firm’s portfolio of workplace interiors were exceptionally well detailed and cohesive. These spaces would be a wonderful place to work in both a collaborative environment or more physically distant as we are now. In addition, the firm has a record of gender and pay equity that exceeds industry standards and should be celebrated.” —Katherine Darnstadt
Honorable Mentions
Pickard Chilton
Editors’ Picks
GWWO Architects
Architect (Large Firm) – South
![photograph depicting the interior of a performance hall](https://www.archpaper.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/06/26600-02-1.jpg)
Winner
Trahan Architects
“The diverse and thoughtful work in this portfolio exposed a clear and intense relationship to both client and context. The work was remarkably versatile, showed clear technical capacity, and was tailored in a way that allowed me to see how carefully they tackled each inquiry.” —Jared Della Valle
Honorable Mentions
EskewDumezRipple
Editors’ Picks
HASTINGS
Architect (Large Firm) – West
![photograph depicting the exterior of a vineyard tasting room with a dramatically sloped roof](https://www.archpaper.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/06/26641-02.jpg)
Winner
LEVER Architecture
“The presentation of [LEVER Architecture] was concerned with human scale and accessibility on many levels. While the projects varied in size, there was a consistent sense of humility, not hubris, from concept to design and construction.” —Erica Stoller
Honorable Mentions
Pfeiffer Partners Architects
Editors’ Picks
Montalba Architects
Architect (Large Firm) – Midwest
![photograph depicting the exterior of a wellness campus in Chicago with an orange facade](https://www.archpaper.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/06/26845-03.jpg)
Winner
JGMA
“This practice is able to create buildings that articulate nuanced relationships between form and material. The inventive application of material often produces playful effects that are artfully imagined.” —Troy Schaum
Honorable Mentions
Bailey Edward Design
Editors’ Picks
Pappageorge Haymes Partners
Architect (Small Firm) – Northeast
![photograph depicting the interior terraced courtyard of a Rwandan health center](https://www.archpaper.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/06/26653-07.jpg)
Winner
General Architecture Collaborative
“This non-profit design organization reinvents traditional notions of practice, enabling work that marries direct community engagement with design excellence and impact. Their projects combine research and technological innovation with local building craft and materials, grounding the work in the place and community that it serves.” —Kim Yao
Honorable Mentions
Reiser + Umemoto
Editors’ Picks
Bates Masi + Architects
Architect (Small Firm) – South
![photograph depicting the exterior of a cylindrical education building clad in brick](https://www.archpaper.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/06/26696-09.jpg)
Winner
BLDGS
“Editing work with such extreme efficiency and thought requires diligence. The reward of this portfolio of work comes from a requirement that we patiently experience place as details reveal a story that is complex and unexpected.” —Jared Della Valle
Architect (Small Firm) – West
![photograph depicting a contemporary apartment building clad in cedar vertical boards](https://www.archpaper.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/06/26669-05.jpg)
Winner
Lorcan O’Herlihy Architects (LOHA)
“LOHA is the kind of firm you dreamed of working for in architecture school. They serve a wide range of users, place the community and those served before form-making, and build experience-centered, complex and rich places from simple, elegant systems.” —Michael Hsu
Honorable Mentions
Robert Hutchison Architecture
Editors’ Picks
Signal Architecture + Research
Architect (Small Firm) – Midwest
![architectural drawing depicting a fantastical house](https://www.archpaper.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/06/26880-05.jpg)
Winner
studio:indigenous
Honorable Mentions
PLY+ architecture, urbanism, design
Architect (New Firm) – Northeast
![an exploded architectural diagram depicting the rehabilitation of an old harvesting complex](https://www.archpaper.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/06/26659-10.jpg)
Winner
ASDF
Architect (New Firm) – South
![photograph depicting the exterior of a contemporary mountain retreat outside of Asheville, North Carolina](https://www.archpaper.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/06/26925-08-scaled.jpg)
Winner
Vellum Architecture + Design
Architect (New Firm) – West
![architectural rendering depicting a conceptual alteration of a historic Detroit house](https://www.archpaper.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/06/26750-08.jpg)
Winner
Shin Shin Architecture
Landscape Architect – Midwest
![photograph showing a newly landscaped park near Chicago’s Chinatown](https://www.archpaper.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/06/26826-06.jpg)
Winner
site design group, ltd.
Developer – Northeast
![photograph showing the facade of a waterfront mixed-used development in Brooklyn](https://www.archpaper.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/06/26650-09-scaled.jpg)
Winner
Alloy Development
“One of the impressive aspects of this submission is the high level of attention to design quality across different scales and contexts. This manifests in how the architecture is articulated in both the interior and exterior through subtle detailing and material decisions.” —Michael Young
Honorable Mentions
JDS Development Group
Developer – West
![photograph of a midcentury California home with a wavy roof](https://www.archpaper.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/06/26662-01.jpg)
Winner
Stayner Architects
Developer – Midwest
![aerial photograph depicting a Detroit development of Quonset hut–like homes](https://www.archpaper.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/06/26842-01.jpeg)
Winner
Prince Concepts
Fabricator – Northeast
![photograph depicting a series of metal panels configured in a spiral](https://www.archpaper.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/06/26602-03.jpg)
Winner
Eventscape NYC
“The firm’s portfolio represented a scale of work from interiors to art objects and building facades that was indicative of the exemplary attention to detail and acumen with both digital tools and limitations of materials.” —Katherine Darnstadt
Fabricator – Midwest
![photograph depicting the exterior of a contemporary glass office building at dusk](https://www.archpaper.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/06/26823-05.jpg)
Winner
Erie Architectural Products Inc.
Structural Engineer – Northeast
![collage of photographs depicting a contemporary library that incorporate extensive wood boarding inside and out](https://www.archpaper.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/06/26854-01-1.jpg)
Winner
LERA Consulting Structural Engineers
“Describing complex mathematical impossibilities of architectural and artistic form with lyrical grace and a lightness of being, all while mentoring and empowering the collective consciousness of the studio: these are the characteristics of Best of Practice for a structural engineering firm. LERA’s breadth of impact, both within practice, within discipline, and within a portfolio of excellence elevated their submission to worthy recognition.” —David Rubin
Honorable Mentions
CRAFT | Engineering Studio
Structural Engineer – West
![photograph depicting a rounded living room in a midcentury hillside Los Angeles home](https://www.archpaper.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/06/26911-01.jpg)
Winner
Nous Engineering
Structural Engineer – Midwest
![aerial photograph depicting a playful curvilinear building at night](https://www.archpaper.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/06/26693-06.jpg)
Winner
HDR
MEP Engineer – Midwest
![photograph showing the interiors of a new university science lab](https://www.archpaper.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/06/26621-02.jpg)
Winner
HDR
Photography Studio – Midwest
![photograph showing a domestic interior with a faceted ceiling feature and light-filled hallway](https://www.archpaper.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/06/26572-05.jpg)
Winner
Hall+Merrick Photographers
Honorable Mentions
feinknopf
Sustainability – Northeast
![photograph depicting a shedlike structure with an open garage door and drone in the foreground](https://www.archpaper.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/06/26979-05-scaled.jpg)
Winner
The Living
“I am impressed by the scope of ambitions reflected in work that is seeking to redefine the terms of the conversation around sustainability in design. The continuity of projects that bridge between research and built work is an important model for reimagining the relationships between building practices, material and energy.” —Troy Schaum
Honorable Mentions
Arrowstreet Inc.
Sustainability – Midwest
![photograph depicting the exterior of a contemporary residence featuring prominent wood cladding](https://www.archpaper.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/06/26952-10-scaled.jpg)
Winner
Sol design + consulting
Interior Design – Northeast
![photograph of a restaurant with a prominent brushed mirror feature wall at center](https://www.archpaper.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/06/26645-07.jpg)
Winner
Rafael de Cárdenas, Ltd.
“This submission caught my attention because it was such a curious and unusual portfolio. At once unexpected and familiar, the details and spaces are beautifully poetic, but also challengingly innovative. I see the references to music, film, fashion and design history they mention, and I think it’s this familiar yet futuristic presentation that makes this work so powerful.” —Verda Alexander
Honorable Mentions
Fogarty Finger
Editors’ Picks
Arrowstreet Inc.
Interior Design – South
![photograph depicting a domestic living room filled with plush pink furniture](https://www.archpaper.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/06/26701-07-scaled.jpg)
Winner
BRITTO CHARETTE
Facade Consultant – Northeast
![photograph depicting the exterior of a contemporary office tower with a patterned facade](https://www.archpaper.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/06/26658-04.png)
Winner
CANY
Graphic Design & Wayfinding – Northeast
![diagram showing the translation of patters textures and colors into wayfinding devices](https://www.archpaper.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/06/26686-08.jpg)
Winner
Arrowstreet Inc.
Lighting Designer – Northeast
![A nighttime photograph showing a contemporary monument defined by a wide steel screen with trees and a lawn in the foreground](https://www.archpaper.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/06/26631-01.jpg)
Winner
L’Observatoire International
Honorable Mentions
Fisher Marantz Stone, Inc
Editors’ Picks
TM Light
Lighting Designer – West
![exterior photograph depicting a contemporary California residence that is partly suspended above the ground](https://www.archpaper.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/06/26954-09.jpg)
Winner
Oculus Light Studio
Lighting Designer – Midwest
![photograph depicting an animated feature wall in the lobby of an office building](https://www.archpaper.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/06/26692-01.jpg)
Winner
HDR
Urban Planning – Northeast
![architectural section drawing depicting a city street with a linear greenway down its center](https://www.archpaper.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/06/26588-03-1.jpg)
Winner
One Architecture & Urbanism
Acoustics Consultant/Engineer – Northeast
![picture depicting a floating aquarium bowl with visitors resting underneath](https://www.archpaper.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/06/26803-07-1.jpg)
Winner
ACENTECH
Acoustics Consultant/Engineer – Midwest
![photograph depicting the reading room of a healthcare center](https://www.archpaper.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/06/26772-02-1.jpg)
Winner
HDR