First Brick Excellence Gala to Honor Winners On Stage in 2026

The Brick Industry Association (BIA) has opened entries for the 2025 Brick in Architecture Awards, the premier international design competition featuring fired-clay brick. Entries are due by Friday, Aug. 29 at 11:59 p.m. EST.

New this year, the 2025 winning projects and teams will be honored live at the Inaugural Brick Excellence Gala on April 9, 2026 at the Hyatt Regency in Orlando, Florida. The premier event will unite architects, designers and masonry professionals to celebrate outstanding brick design and craftsmanship.

“The winners showcase brick’s virtually unlimited flexibility to achieve any aesthetic with exceptional durability for sustainable design,” said BIA President and CEO Tricia Mauer.

Projects will compete for a Best in Class, Gold, Silver or Bronze award and an overall Craftsmanship Award. The winners will be judged by peers in October.

Per the competition rules, all submissions must feature new clay brick products as the primary exterior building or paving material comprising over 50% of the visible surface. Entrants must be architects or designers employed by an architectural, design-build or landscape architecture firm. Projects must have been completed on or after January 1, 2019.

Entries must be submitted through the awards website in one or more of these categories:

1. Commercial*
2. Education – K-12
3. Education - Colleges & Universities (Higher Education) **
4. Residential – Single Family
5. Residential – Multifamily
6. Thin Brick
7. Paving & Landscape Projects***
8. Historic Renovation****
9. International (Projects outside of the US, Canada or a U.S. territory must be entered in this category)

* If a Commercial subcategory receives fewer than 10 entries, submissions will be combined and judged within a General Commercial category

** Includes residence halls and academic/administrative buildings

***At least 50% of the project must include clay pavers

****Does not need to meet the 50% or more new brick requirement but project must have 50% or more renovated brick

Winning projects will be featured through BIA’s website, press releases, the media and social media campaigns.

For questions, contact Megan Pace at mpace@bia.org or 703-674-1542.

The Brick Industry Association (BIA) is the nationally recognized authority on clay brick construction representing the nation’s distributors and manufacturers of clay brick and suppliers of related products. GoBrick.com. 703-620-0010.

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The 2025 Brick in Architecture Awards are now open for entries through August 29.