The Texas Society of Architects Studio Awards recognize real or theoretical projects that demonstrate excellence in design. Submissions from students and practitioners are judged on equal footing, and projects of all types are considered together. Each year, the jury sifts through the entries, looking for standouts that embody strong ideas critical to contemporary practice — entries that resolve these ideas thoroughly and present them clearly. The 2020 Studio Award jurors, all based in Mexico City at the time of deliberations, met virtually on July 17, selecting six winners from among 63 entries.
Jurors
Tatiana Bilbao, Tatiana Bilbao Estudio
Jose Castillo, Arq 911
Mariana de la Fuente, UNAM
Verónica González Zavala, VGZ Arquitectura
Wonne Ickx, PRODUCTORA
From the Jury
“The competition is very robust in thinking about the issues of our time. It seems in 2020, the distinction between new architects and older architects has flattened. We’re seeing incredibly crafted and well-researched projects from people just out of school or still part of a graduate program — robust academic thinking coming from architectural students in Texas. However, while about 20 entries were powerful projects addressing important topics, a lot of submissions were very developer-like. We were looking for relevant topics — things like architectural heritage, affordable housing, what to do with the idea of split housing, and how to create quality in this. It’s enriching as jurors to see how meaningful transformations can be accomplished in many different ways. It can be done in very specific, well-defined projects, or through very speculative ones — very ‘trying to put an idea out there’ projects — or by proposing ground up, participatory projects. It’s not so much the diversity of topics but the diversity of methodologies in which architecture can act upon in the real world that is really interesting.”
2020 Studio Award Winners
Age of the Anthropocene
Brownie Neighborhood Park
Pedagogy & Space: A Rural Revolution
Performing Poché: A Day in the Life of a House
The Possibility of a Cul-de-sac
Spec House