AIA El Paso Chapter's Annual Design Awards recognizes outstanding architectural and urban design by architects, emerging professionals, and students practicing in El Paso, to promote public interest in architectural design excellence.
Winning entries will demonstrate high-quality design solutions that are appropriate and responsive to the needs of the end users, the urban context, and the environment. The jury will look at the projects to understand what criteria were most important to the designers: form, function, sustainability, etcetera.
This year’s design award winners will be announced and recognized at the Annual AIA El Paso Architecture Gala on January 30th 2026 in Downtown El Paso at the Hotel Paso del Norte. Award recipients will present their projects in the PechaKucha 20x20 format at the live event.
Winning entries and presentations from the design awards will be shared in the AIA El Paso chapter's website www.aiaelpaso.org.
Jury Chair and guest speaker
Gretchen Stoecker, AIA, Director at Kevin Daly Architects (KDA) in Los Angles + New York is excited to serve as the 2026 AIA El Paso Chapter Design Awards Jury Chair and guest speaker!
Gretchen brings a refined sensibility and technical expertise to the wide range of buildings and systems that make up the KDA portfolio, from site cast concrete residential projects to innovative terra cotta rainscreens, precast GFRE building envelopes, and ETFE glazing systems. Gretchen has managed multiple projects with unconventional delivery systems, including design/build enclosures and MEP systems at the LEED Platinum Ostin Basketball Center at UCLA.
As project manager, her attention to client needs and ability to coordinate sprawling design teams have enabled the success of several award-winning KDA projects.
Gretchen Stoecker received her Bachelor of Architecture at Syracuse University and Master of Architecture at Yale University. Gretchen’s interest in architectural history and LA modernism continues, as she lives in a historic building designed by a famous postwar architect. She is a registered architect in the State of New York.
KDA is an architectural firm and design studio renowned for its extensive portfolio of residential, civic, and institutional facilities. These projects consistently advance award-winning contemporary design in everyday life. Established in 1990, the practice has a longstanding commitment to driving building technology downstream, bringing high expectations and exceptional design to modest building programs through an unwavering belief in the transformative capacity of good design at every scale.
To learn more about Gretchen and KDA, please visit: https://kevindalyarchitects.com/
SUBMISSION GUIDELINES
A complete submission is composed of the following items:
No firm names or logos permitted.
20 slides formatted as outlined herein into a single PDF file.
A 300-500 word written brief describing the project in a letter format page sized PDF file. No firm names or logos permitted. This brief should include a description of the project indicating the project’s primary design problem and solution(s).
One JPEG image that is 1200 pixels wide x 800 pixels tall to be published on the AIA El Paso website.
Entry Fee Payment per submission via Eventbrite.
Complete Design Award Entry Form, download here.
Once registered, send submissions to Elias Padilla at epadilla@exigoarch.com.
Project Eligibility:
For all architectural projects, construction must have been completed after January 1, 2020.
Projects may be located in any geographical location and be of any size and budget.
Temporary installations and studio projects must have been completed by 2020.
Multiple entries for the same project by successor individuals or firms will not be accepted.
Built projects must be submitted by a member of the architectural team who produced the project and must be an active member of the AIA El Paso Chapter. The Architect of Record must be acknowledged in the submittal if they are not the firm submitting.
Projects completed in collaboration with other firms must recognize all contributing parties.
Student entries will automatically be considered for 2026 scholarship awards.
By submitting an entry, you are agreeing that you or a representative of your firm will attend the Awards Ceremony at the Hotel Paso del Norte and present your project live at the event in the PechaKucha format if your project is selected as an award winner by the jury.
Submission Categories:
Entries may be submitted in any of the following categories:
New Construction – Commercial
New Construction – Institutional
New Construction – Residential
Interiors/Tenant Improvements
Urban Design (Projects may be theoretical or under implementation)
Historic Preservation/Adaptive Reuse
Small Projects under 2,000 SF
Studio Projects (*Students)
Submission Criteria:
Format PDF presentation and images as follows:
Submissions shall be 20 slides per project; each slide may contain more than one image.
The name of the entrant or entrant’s firm shall NOT be visible on any of the images or on any slides of the PDF presentation; if this requirement is not observed, the entry will be disqualified.
Presentations shall be submitted in a single PDF file.
PDF file name shall be “project name.pdf” Do NOT submit powerpoint files.
The slides in the presentation must be formatted in 16 x 9 format.
The first slide of the presentation should include the project title, square footage and location.
Floor plans, site plan or aerial photo/map are required for project context.
Include building sections and elevations if relevant to communicating design intent.
Include graphic scales, directional arrows, and indication of context of preexisting conditions to ensure a complete understanding of the project.
Provide both interior and exterior photos of the project.
Large amounts of text on slides are discouraged. This is the purpose of the 300-500 word written brief document. The PechaKucha format is intended to be a presentation of visual imagery, not a text heavy powerpoint full of bullet points. You may use small amounts of text for labels and captions if required for clarity.