Celebrating visionary design: the story of the Architecture MasterPrize
Beedier speaks to the organisers about the award’s origins, its evolution from the American Architecture Prize, and how today’s programme champions outstanding architecture, interiors, and landscape design worldwide
The Architecture MasterPrize was launched in 2016 as the American Architecture Prize by the Farmani Group to celebrate exceptional architecture, interior, and landscape design worldwide. Rebranded in 2018 to reflect its global reach, the program continues to honor creativity, innovation, and design excellence across disciplines. Beedier has seen several clients succeed in both building and studio categories in recent years, inspiring us to learn more about the award’s evolution and impact. Read on to the end of the article for an exclusive discount code just for Beedier readers.
Could you tell us about the origins of the Architecture MasterPrize, the inspiration behind its creation, and how the programme has evolved over the years? What is the central mission that continues to guide AMP today??
We began as the American Architecture Prize, created by the Farmani Group with a simple aim, to advance the appreciation of quality architectural design worldwide. In 2018, we reintroduced the award as the Architecture MasterPrize to reflect our global scope and to bring together the best work from every region. That mission still guides us, to celebrate creativity and innovation in architecture, interior design, and landscape architecture, and give outstanding work a platform and an audience. Over time we have expanded into four annual programs, added a large and diverse jury, and introduced celebrations at the Guggenheim Museum Bilbao, all while keeping the focus on design excellence and global reach.
Why should architects and studios consider entering? Beyond the recognition itself, how do the AMP website, the annual Winners Book, international press outreach, and the Bilbao celebration help to raise visibility and connect practices with a wider audience?
Winners receive a dedicated profile in our online gallery, the AMP trophy for top titles, the winners seal, and a year long publicity push. We run press and other campaigns to tens of thousands of design professionals, media, and potential clients, and provide ready materials and tips to help teams amplify their results. Awwardees work is also showcased in the AMP Book of Winners, available as a free digital edition and as a printed volume. Finally, the awards celebration in Bilbao brings winners, jurors, and media together in person, a high visibility moment that consistently leads to new relationships and opportunities.
The AMP is known for its diverse jury network. Who are the jurors, how are they selected, and in what ways do they help shape the awards and amplify the credibility of the winning projects?
AMP jury is a global group of leading practitioners and voices across architecture, interior design, landscape, academia, media, and architectural photography. Recent jurors include architects, educators, curators, and photographers from major firms and institutions. We assign entries to jurors based on expertise and use a multi stage, custom voting system to ensure fairness, initial editorial review, official selection, category winners, Best of Best, then the top Design of the Year titles.
This breadth and rigor are central to the credibility of AMP, they raise the bar for winners and ensure that each project is evaluated by people who understand its context and discipline.
The awards span categories from Design and Firm of the Year to Architectural Products and Photography. How do these categories reflect the diversity of architectural practice today, and have you seen any particularly exciting or unexpected submissions in recent years?
We recognize the field as it is practiced, not just buildings. AMP currently organizes four annual programs, Design of the Year, Firm of the Year, Architectural Products, and Architecture Photography, and within Design alone we offer 41 categories across architecture, interior architecture, and landscape architecture. That structure lets everything from social housing to campus buildings, urban parks, product innovations, and photography be judged on its own terms. Recent highlights include the Johns Hopkins University Bloomberg Center by Rockwell Group and 54 Social Housing in Inca, Mallorca, along with Qin Lake Park and the biomaterial MykoFoam recognized as Product of the Year. Looking back a bit, Sou Fujimoto’s House of Music, Hungary and Turenscape’s Fish Tail Park were standout Design of the Year winners.
How many awards have been given out to date, and how many countries are typically represented each year? Could you also share examples of notable laureates and the impact that winning has had on their careers?
We do not publish a single all time tally, because the number of winners varies by category each year based on jury scores, there can be multiple winners in a category or none if the threshold is not met.
What we can share, in 2024 we received thousands of submissions from 81 countries, a good picture of the programme’s global reach.
Notable recent laureates include Rockwell Group, Fortuny Alventosa and Morell Arquitectes for social housing in Mallorca, Field Operations, Dominique Coulon & Associés, and Mykor for MykoFoam. Earlier headline winners include Sou Fujimoto’s House of Music, Hungary, and Turenscape’s Fish Tail Park. Many winners report tangible benefits, increased media inquiries, new client conversations, and broader recognition, feedback we collect through winner interviews and testimonials. Esteemed past winners also include Zaha Hadid Architects and BIG, Bjarke Ingels Group.
For those thinking about submitting, what does the entry process involve, and when is the next deadline? Finally, in a landscape full of awards programmes, what makes the Architecture MasterPrize stand out – and what is the greatest selling point for architects who are considering applying?
Entry is online. Create an account, choose the program and categories, add a 600 character public description and optional jury notes, upload up to 10 images and one PDF per project for Design entries, supply the requested fields for Products, Firms, or Photography, then submit the fee. We encourage detailed, well documented submissions. The upcoming final deadline for the 2025 cycle is September 30, 2025.
What sets AMP apart is a combination of scope, and visibility. We evaluate work across the full spectrum of practice, we use a multi stage judging process with a diverse expert jury and a purpose built voting system, and we invest in year round promotion, a global winners book, and high profile celebrations. The greatest selling point is that awardees’ work does not just win a prize. It is seen, shared, and connected to a worldwide audience that includes peers, media, and clients.
Learn more about the architecture awards, and enter AMP 2025 to submit your work.
Beedier readers can enjoy 10% off all submissions to the Architecture MasterPrize 2025 Design of the Year Program by using the code BEEDIER_AMP25 at checkout. This limited-time discount is valid during the final days before the September 30 deadline