The second edition of the Architecture Hunter Awards (AHA) has commenced with a renewed focus on promoting social impact and innovation through design. The awards committee is currently accepting entries, with Early entries having closed on May 9, 2025, Main entries open from May 9 – June 15, 2025 and Late entries from June 15 – July 10, 2025. The awards, initiated in 2024 by international digital media platform Architecture Hunter, aim to spotlight excellence in the field while setting a new benchmark for architectural awards.

For its sophomore year, the design awards are introducing new categories to honour the impact design can create in the world today. They are also a means to strengthen the publication’s commitment to architectural curation for its audience of three million. Speaking with STIR, a distinguished media partner of the awards, Amanda Ferber, founder and editor-in-chief of Architecture Hunter, says, “We refined the categories based on the types of projects we received and the strong engagement from our community. We listened closely to feedback and saw the opportunity to introduce new categories.”

Further, as part of their commitment to fostering social equality, AHA will ensure that five per cent of all the revenue it generates from participation will be donated to Construíde, a Brazilian NGO dedicated to providing housing for vulnerable families, the same as last year. Further, all categories open to students will be free of cost for participants as a way to extend the platform for emerging talent and support the next generation of voices. “We believe students are often in one of the most imaginative and experimental phases of their journey, and we wanted to remove any barriers to participation so they could freely showcase their boldest ideas,” Ferber goes on to note.

The inaugural edition of the awards was launched to celebrate 10 years of Architecture Hunter, and the Brazil-based organisation received entries from all over the world for its 28 categories. The winners highlighted concerns over sustainability, resource efficiency and functionality, with a focus on purposeful design for the community. Some of the winners in various categories in architecture included The Infinite Rise by Earthscape Studio, which won the Small Architecture title; Sarvasva by the Indian architecture studio Spasm Design Architects which won the High Rise Designs title, and Church of the Holy Family by ARQBR Arquitetura e Urbanismo, which was commended for its thoughtful melding of intention and form.

From the Interior Design category, notable winners included Omar Gandhi Architects’ design for Prime Seafood Palace, House on the Sand by Studio MK27, and Terrace Apartment by Estudio Guto Requena. Apart from architecture and interiors, the awards include categories that span not only landscape design, planning and unbuilt architecture, but also exceptional documentation (photography and videography) of projects. In 2025, the pool of entries promises to be bigger and more thought-provoking, with the awards introducing new categories.

The second iteration introduces a category for Product Design, expanding its scope beyond just the built environment. Within the category, product designers will be able to submit projects pertaining to furniture design, lighting design, wellness design, urban product design and small object design—each celebrating how creativity can enhance daily life. The other new category to be unveiled this year is for projects prioritising local communities and social cohesion.

On including a category geared towards social upliftment, Ferber notes, “Our goal was to encourage architects to recognise not just their responsibility, but their potential to engage in projects that generate real social impact. We wanted to give visibility to initiatives that might not rely on large budgets or high-end aesthetics, but that carry a powerful purpose.” For the ‘Social Architecture’ category, architects and designers will be able to submit their entries on housing, healthcare, community spaces, educational and public buildings. The various categories for the prizes span multiple disciplines, covering Architecture, Interior Design, Landscape Architecture, Unbuilt Projects, Image and Video, with a special focus on sustainable design.

Apart from these, studios will be able to enter their practices for consideration. Prizes will be given out for Best New Architecture Firm as a way to spotlight emerging talent. This category will be open for studios established between 2018 – 2025. “The idea was to place these emerging talents right in front of those who hold the spotlight—and who are in a position to redirect that spotlight toward the next generation,” Ferber tells STIR, emphasising the global platform such events provide for new talent. A prize for Firm of the Year will also be awarded to a studio that has demonstrated outstanding contributions to the field, and entries will be nominated by jury members. The final winner will be decided via popular vote.

With an expanded programme and goal for this year’s design prize, AHA has brought together a jury that reflects the programme’s diversity. It includes renowned industry leaders committed to celebrating excellence and highlighting issues in the design world. Some of the notable judges for this year include American architect Deborah Berke, founding principal of TenBerke; Elisabetta Trezzani, partner and director at Renzo Piano Building Workshop; Juan Garcia Aranguren, associate director at Zaha Hadid Architects; Maria Porro, president of Salone del Mobile.Milano; Amit Gupta, founder and editor-in-chief of STIR; British-Nigerian designer Miminat Shodeinde, founder of Miminat Designs; influential Italian designer Piero Lissoni; and Chinese architect Rossana Hu, co-founder of Neri&Hu.