The 2025 Residential Design Architecture Awards (RDAA) received more than 516 entries in 11 categories of residential design—a new record for our program. With such a large number of entries from the top firms in the country and abroad, the competition was fierce, and our judges had some very heavy lifting to do. Ultimately, they selected 32 projects for awards, including one Project of the Year, 7 Honor Awards, and 24 Citation Awards.

Some of the winning projects may be familiar to you, and, indeed, several have appeared previously in this magazine or have been awarded in other national and local competitions. Previous publication or award status are not disqualifications for entry. Residential projects completed after January 1, 2020, were eligible.

Serving on this year’s judges panel were five talented architects with deep expertise in residential architecture: Paul Mankins, FAIA, of Substance Architecture in Des Moines, Iowa; Steve Hoedemaker, AIA, Hoedemaker Pfeiffer, Seattle; Mark English, AIA, Mark English Architects, San Francisco; Katherine Hogan, FAIA, Katherine Hogan Architecture, Raleigh, North Carolina; and Gary Brewer, Gary Brewer Architects, New York, New York.

The jury reviewed projects at their own pace individually before gathering for an intense, two-day deliberation over Zoom of the strongest entries. It was an exhilarating and exhausting process, yielding a body of nationally significant and inspiring residential architecture.

Please join us in congratulating these outstanding winning firms and consider entering your own strongest work in our 2026 RDAA competition.