Award Categories

Category A1: Climate-Resilient & Adaptive Design

Buildings and landscaping specifically engineered to tackle climate challenges—such as flooding, salinity, sea-level rise, or extreme heat—through innovative architectural form, site planning, or climate-adaptive structural engineering.

• Common Eligible Typologies: Dwellings (single-family, vacation, farm houses), Residential complexes (multi-unit, mass housing), Commercial & Corporate offices, Industrial facilities, Transport infrastructure, and Urban Landscaping.

Category B1: Green Architecture & Energy Efficiency

Highly functional, aesthetically compelling projects that significantly minimize carbon footprints, maximize passive cooling/day lighting, or integrate renewable energy and circular building systems effectively.

• Common Eligible Typologies: High-rise Residential, Commercial & Corporate (banks, malls, supermarkets), Industrial (factories, mills, warehouses), Hospitality (hotels, resorts), and complex Mixed-Use buildings.

Category C1: Rural, Vernacular & Material Innovation

Projects of any scale showcasing a sophisticated, modern architectural language through the innovative use of local materials (like bamboo, earth, or local brick) or alternative low carbon building technologies.

• Common Eligible Typologies: Dwellings (vacation houses, farm houses), Educational spaces (schools, madrasas), Cultural & Civic buildings, and boutique Hospitality projects.

Category D1: Ecological Landscaping & Urban Ecosystems

Landscape architecture and open system particularly designed for environmental restoration, urban ravine management (sponge city concepts), or biodiversity enhancement.

• Common Eligible Typologies: Public parks, open urban spaces, open grounds of sports facilities, corporate plazas, pedestrian areas, transport infrastructure landscapes, and waterfront developments.

Category A2: Heritage Conservation, Restoration & Adaptive Reuse

Projects dedicated to preserving architectural, historical, or cultural narratives through flawless restoration or creative adaptive reuse that makes the site relevant and functional for contemporary life.

• Common Eligible Typologies: Preservation and restoration of historic structures, and the adaptive reuse of any typology (e.g., heritage home converted into a boutique hotel, or an old warehouse adapted into a vibrant corporate or retail space).

Category B2: Civic, Cultural & Institutional Impact

Purpose-built public or private institutions that anchor communities, deliver essential services, or foster collective identity through inspiring architectural forms.

Common Eligible Typologies:

• Educational & Healthcare: Schools, colleges, universities, madrasas, training centers, hospitals, clinics, diagnostic centers, and rehabilitation centers.
• Cultural & Civic: Libraries, museums, auditoriums, community centers, embassies, government administrative buildings, and memorials.
• Religious: Prayer spaces (mosques, temples, churches), graveyards, tombs, and mausoleums.
• Recreational & Sports: Sports facility grounds (stadiums, gymnasiums).
• Transportation: Stations, ports, and transport terminals.

Category C2: The People’s Habitat & Inclusive Architecture

Architecture created outside the traditional profit-driven or standard client-driven dynamic, focusing on equity, affordability, community empowerment, and dignified spaces for all.

• Common Eligible Typologies: Affordable multi-unit housing, social housing, dormitories, shelter centers, industrial facilities, and participatory community-built spaces.

Category D2: Mixed-Use & Integrated Spaces

Complex, multi-functional projects that masterfully blend diverse programmatic requirements into a single integrated building envelope, enhancing urban efficiency, accessibility, and density.

• Common Eligible Typologies: High-density urban building combining retail, corporate offices, residential units, hospitality, or civic components.

Category E2: Unbuilt Visionary Architecture Award

Conceptual, academic, or unrealized competition entries of any typology that propose bold, forward-thinking, and structurally imaginative solutions to the physical, economic, or social challenges of Bangladesh.

• Common Eligible Typologies: Open to all building, landscaping, or urban design typologies listed above.