The post Time Is Running Out to Enter: The 2025 RD Architecture Awards appeared first on Residential Design.

Some of the winning projects may be familiar to you, and, indeed, a few 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, 2019 were eligible. It is always our goal that all work be considered on its own merits, regardless of media exposure.

Serving on this year’s judges panel were four talented architects with deep expertise in residential architecture: Oonagh Ryan, AIA, ORA; David O’Brien Wagner, AIA, SALA Architects; Wayne Adams, Barnes Vanze Architects; and Matt Fajkus, AIA, Matt Fajkus Architecture. 

The jury reviewed projects at their own pace virtually 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.

Winning projects will appear in our print edition, Volume 3, 2024, and online in an expanded form with even more images and drawings.

Please join us in congratulating these amazing winning firms and consider entering your own best work in our 2025 RDAA competition.

Project of the Year:

Bahamas Cottage

Harbour Island, Bahamas

Architect: Max Levy Architect

Custom Rural or Vacation House

Honor Award

Hale Kiawe

Kailua-Kona, Hawaii

Architect: Walker Warner Architects

_

Citation Award

Tiny Leaf

Mazama, Washington

Architect: GO’C

_

Citation Award

Birdhouse

Apsley, Ontario, Canada

Architect: Superkül

_

Citation Award

Meadow House

Carmel-by-the Sea, California

Architect: Mark English Architects

Custom Urban House

Honor Award 

Meadow House

Eugene, Oregon

Architect: Waechter Architecture

_

Citation Award

Westbrook Residence

Austin, Texas

Architect: Alterstudio Architecture

_

Citation Award

Graoni Beach House

Malibu, California

Architect: Montalba Architects

_

Citation Award

Tonal House

Portland, Oregon

Architect: Observation Studio

Custom Period or Vernacular House

Honor Award

Trellis House

Geyserville, California

Architect: Nick Noyes Architecture

_

Citation Award

Roam Ranch Residence

Fredericksburg, Texas

Architect: Baldridge Architects

Custom Period or Vernacular Renovation

Honor Award

West Lynn Residence

Austin, Texas

Architect: A Parallel Architecture

_

Citation Award

Clauss Haus II

Knoxville, Tennessee

Architect: Sanders Pace Architecture

_

Citation Award

Stone House

Lancaster, Pennsylvania

Architect: Runcible Studios

Renovation

Honor Award

In-Kind House

Seattle, Washington

Architect: GO’C

_

Citation Award

Five Yard House

Austin, Texas

Architect: Miró Rivera Architects

Custom Accessory or Outbuilding

Honor Award

Henry Island Guesthouse

Henry Island, Washington

Architect: Bohlin Cywinski Jackson

_

Citation Award

4015 Studio

Portland, Oregon

Architect: Observation Studio

Residential Special Constraints

Citation Award

Redivivus

Atlanta, Georgia

Architect: Robert M. Cain, Architect

Architectural Interiors

Citation Award

The Overlook

Kingfield, Maine

Architect: Whitten Architects

_

Citation Award

Hillview Cove

Palm Springs, California

Architect: Studio AR&D Architects

Custom Outdoor Living Design

Citation Award

The Roost

Austin, Texas

Architect: Furman + Keil Architects

_

Citation Award

Pivoting

Bethesda, Maryland

Architect: MODE4 Architecture

Architectural Details

Citation Award

Dunelands Cor-Ten Panel

Holland, Michigan

Architect: dSPACE Studio Architecture

Custom on the Boards

Citation Award

Valley House

Santa Barbara, California

Architect: Anacapa Architecture

The post The Winners of the 2024 Residential Design Architecture Awards appeared first on Residential Design.

It was important to provide the family—a couple with two children and their parents—with places to come together and be apart. Says Kevin, “Everyone has 850 square feet to themselves,” including private outdoor spaces in addition to the communal courtyard and pool.

Adding onto your own work is a daunting challenge for architects, and the firm was adamant about extending the language of the first house instead of duplicating it. Expressive screens reappear on the new building, too, but wood is the medium instead of metal. The new building feels more sinuously organic than the older one, tracing the evolution of the firm’s aesthetic. “It was really more pragmatic than sculptural,” says Kevin. “Privacy on small lots can be very compromised. So we used the screens, terraces, trees to keep both houses kind of open. We knew if it works from pavilion to pavilion, it works.” 

“It’s not a kit of parts,” said our jury. “The design is carried through the entire project and feels so cohesive. Even with the materials change between the two phases, it really hangs together.”

Citation

Custom Urban House

Kevin Daly Architects

Palms House II

Venice, California

Project Credits

Architect: Kevin Daly, principal in charge; Gretchen Stoecker, project architect, kevin daly Architects, Los Angeles

Builder: CA Construction, Los Angeles

Landscape Architect: [place], Los Angeles

Structural Engineer: WORKPOINT Engineering, Los Angeles

Project Size: 3,400 square feet

Site Size: 0.123 acre

Construction Cost: $588 per square foot

Photography: Benny Chan; Joshua White

Key Products

Cladding: Thermory White Ash

Countertops: Walker Zanger; Caesarstone; Corian

Doors/Windows/Window Wall Systems: Western Windows

Faucets: VIGO; Speakman

Fireplace: European Home

Flooring: Concrete, ground and polished; Accoya

Heating: Radiant in-floor

HVAC: Mitsubishi mini-splits in bedrooms

Insulation/Housewrap: Tyvek

Kitchen Appliances: Miele

Sinks: Kraus (kitchen); Kohler; Duravit

Skylights: Custom from Sun Valley

Toilets: TOTO

Tubs: Kohler

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Curtain House is indeed an “idea” house, and the concept is simple but resonant. “You go to all the trouble to put all that glass on the front of houses, but then end up putting up curtains,” explains Sebastian Schmaling, AIA. “There’s an inherent contradiction between what you are trying to do—bring in light—and then you want privacy. Why not put in smaller windows, then? Because occasionally you want to open the curtains and the windows.”

The front façade’s louvers are a modern and practical riff on those offending curtains. Fabricated from a sturdy sandwich of wood with an aluminum core, they are pinned only at the top and bottom—in a precise arrangement that acts as a brise soleil for the southern exposure, while filtering views and light. “Had we used just wood, the louvers would look great the day they were installed, but then in disrepair in a couple of years,” he says.  

“Someone had the guts to do something so different here, and to do it very well,” our jury concluded.

Citation

Custom Urban House

Johnsen Schmaling Architects
Curtain House
Milwaukee, Wisconsin

Project Credits

Architect: Brian Johnsen, AIA, and Sebastian Schmaling, AIA, principals in charge; Matt Wendorf, Andrew Cesarz, Ben Penlesky, project team, Johnsen Schmaling Architects, Milwaukee, Wisconsin

Builder: N/A

Interior Designer: Johnsen Schmaling Architects

Project Size: 3.400 square feet

Site size: 0.1 acre

Construction Cost: Withheld

Photography: John J. Macaulay

Key Products

Countertops: Neolith

Door Hardware: Inox

Exterior: StoQuik Silver DrainScreen cement board stucco system

Façade material: Geolam Soleo (louvers)

Faucets: Ruvati (kitchen); Grohe; Kohler

Glass Railing Hardware: C.R. Laurence

Interior Lighting: Juno

Kitchen Appliances: Bosch

Paints: Sherwin-Williams

Sinks/toilets/tub: Duravit

Tile: Crossville

Washer/Dryer: Miele

Windows: Marvin; Western Windows (lift-slide doors)

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“It’s an epic location,” says architect Aimée O’Carroll, ARB. “You have the city, the Sound, and mountains on both sides. But the steep slope restricts the area you can go into, so we had to figure out how to accommodate a family of eight and a lot of cars. Because there was an existing house and an existing garage, we could get a little more footprint than is currently allowed.”

Because the couple loves to cook and entertain, the architects prioritized shared spaces. A central living, dining, kitchen area rises two stories, capturing light and vistas from the slope side of the property. The plan divides an upper level into a children’s wing with pod-sized bedrooms and a kids’ lounge from the primary suite at the opposite end. A lower level provides a plethora of rainy-day activities and access to the pool on pleasant days. Topping off the house is a high-tech and low-tech combination of gardens and solar panels. 

A complex plan on a challenging site, for sure, nonetheless every space is executed with a high level of custom craft and attention to detail. “The stair especially was creatively done,” said a juror. “This is an amazing project for this site.”

Citation

Custom Urban House

GO’C

Sound House

Seattle

Project Credits

Architect/Interior Designer: Aimée O’Carroll, ARB; Jon Gentry, AIA, GO’C, Seattle

Builder: Thomas Fragnoli Construction, Seattle

Structural Engineer: Swenson Say Faget, Tacoma, Washington

Project Size: 5,500 square feet

Site Size: 0.18 acre

construction cost: $1,000 per square foot

Photography: Kevin Scott

Key Products

Cabinetry: Custom by Scott Faulkner

Cladding: T&G cedar with ebony stain; Richlite cladding panels

Cooking Ventilation: Vent-A-Hood

Countertops: Carrara marble

Door Hardware: Emtek; FritsJurgens (entry door pivot hardware)

Faucets: Dornbracht

Kitchen Sink: Julien

Lighting: Rich Willing Brilliant

Range: Lacanche

Refrigerator: True

Fireplace: Isokern; Regency

Windows: Quantum WIndows & Doors

The post 2023 RDAA | Custom Urban House | Sound House | GO’C appeared first on Residential Design.

Designed for entertaining, retreat, and a car collection, the U-shaped Courtyard House faces the original house across a large gravel square. The owner commissioned the main house when he was a bachelor. Now married with a family, he took the opportunity to purchase the adjacent property and make a two-building composition. “Bringing in the car collection, which was formerly housed in a warehouse, was a big part of the design,” Steve says. “He also has a wine collection and a lot of art; this project was all about creating those spaces the house didn’t have, but also to provide an office space, a craft and work room for his kids, and a gym and spa.”

In response to the main house’s site-cast concrete, the new building has concrete walls that screen the neighbors but is far more open and brighter, with floor-to-ceiling glass that focuses the view on the courtyard, and deep, COR-TEN-covered porches that overlook it. The COR-TEN and the gabion stone, with its high iron content, supply dark, rich reds that blend with the earth in that part of Texas and help to warm the concrete. The interior’s quartersawn walnut millwork and oak ceiling slats are equally inviting. “We used wood in places where you touch and interact with it,” Steve says. A curvaceous spa tub was formed from a single piece of sandstone, and the wall behind it is a patinaed bronze panel. “The wall has an undulating quality with built-in lights that throw light up and down the wall at night,” Steve says. An outdoor kitchen, shower, and meditation space commune with the courtyard.

Given El Paso’s arid climate, Courtyard House goes above and beyond its civic duty to harvest the seasonal downpours. Underground stormwater channels in the parking areas and courtyard capture more than the volume of precipitation required by jurisdiction and release it to the water table. And solar arrays on the low roof slope generate about 35 kilowatts of power—enough to feed back to the utility grid. The judges applauded these measures that not only impart an unmistakable sense of belonging, but are beautifully executed.

Honor Award

Custom Urban House

Lake|Flato Architects

Courtyard House

El Paso, Texas

Project Credits

Architect: Partner in charge: Steve Raike, AIA, Lake | Flato Architects, San Antonio, Texas

Builder: The Construction Zone, Phoenix, Arizona

Interior designer: Pamela Dailey and Lake | Flato Architects, San Antonio

Landscape architect: Ten Eyck Landscape Architects, Austin, Texas

Structural engineer: Architectural Engineers Collaborative, Austin

MEP engineer: Collaborative Engineering Group, Houston

Lighting design: Mazzetti, Denver, Colorado

Project size: 11,674 square feet

Site size: 1 acre

Construction cost: Withheld

Photography: Casey Dunn

Key Products:

Cabinetry: Bulthaup

Cladding: COR-TEN steel

Cooktop/Ovens: Wolf

Dishwasher: Miele

Door hardware: Dormakaba 

Faucets: Boffi

Fireplace: Spark Modern Fires

Flooring: Muscanell Millworks

Garage doors: Overhead Door Co.

HVAC systems: Daikin VRV

Icemaker: Scotsman

Lighting: Delray, Lumen, Ingo Maurer, Holly Hunt

Outdoor grill: Kalamazoo

Radiant heating: Bromic Heating

Refrigerator: Sub-Zero

Roofing: Carlisle TPO

Sinks: Franke

Toilets: TOTO

Tub: Stone Forest

Windows and doors: Brombal

Window shading systems: Lutron

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“I love the rhythm of it,” said a judge. That was the idea. “Rather than put a skin on it, we looked at repetition, symmetry, how to make the structural shoring and bracing into beautiful x’s,” says Nicole. “How the fasteners can be countersunk so you don’t see them, and how to sandwich the netting so you don’t see the attachment.” The locally sourced eastern white cedar was left unfinished and flashed with zinc. Rabbit wire wrapping the sides and roof was dug 3 feet into the ground so predators can’t burrow under it, but the 1-inch openings are large enough to admit beneficial insects such as bees. “It’s an original, inspired, humble little uncomplicated project, but very clear, with a high level of craft,” a judge said.

Citation

Custom Accessory or Outbuilding

Nicole Migeon Architect

The Fruit Cage

Western Massachusetts

Project Credits

Architect: Nicole Migeon, AIA, principal; Nicole Scope, project manager; Sebastian Quinn, RA, project architect, Nicole Migeon Architect, New York, New York

Builder: Chris Seaver, Seaver and Sons Custom Builders, Charlemont, Massachusetts

Structural engineer: David Vreeland Structural Engineer, Leyden, Massachusetts

Project size: 520 square feet

Site size: 10 acres

Construction cost: Withheld

Photography: TCS Photography; Paul Teeling Photography

Key Products

Cladding: Eastern white cedar

Structure: Eastern white cedar

Rabbit fencing: Metal 1-by-1-inch wire

Door hinges: Marvin

Fasteners: G.R. Fasteners; TimberLOK

Flashing: Recycled zinc

Foundation: Sonotube

Roof trusses: Custom

Truss connections: Simpson Strong-Tie

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The highly flexible building can open up for a summertime crab feast or hunker down for a soothing cup of tea by the fire on a blustery winter’s day. In a pinch, it makes a fine guest house for a short stay. Yet for all that utility, it “sits so lightly on the landscape,” said our judges. “It seems so weightless. It’s kind of like a dock or a pier that got made into a building.”

And that was the core concept, says Dan Wickline. “Our goal was to make the structure as light as possible. In fact, the entire volume is smaller than what was there before. We had quite a few meetings to go over that—how much space do we want outside our inside? There was never a need to maximize the interior volume. The intent was to stay modest and build only what was really needed.”

Citation

Custom Accessory or Outbuilding

PBW Architects

Boathouse

Coastal Washington

Project Credits

Architect: Dan Wickline, principal architect; Philip Burkhardt, project architect; Kelby Riegsecker, architect, PBW Architects, Seattle, Washington

Builder: Dalgarno Construction, Eastsound, Washington

Interior Designer: LeeAnn Baker, LeeAnn Baker Interiors, Seattle

Landscape Architect: Green Man Landscape & Design, Friday Harbor, Washington

Project Size: 634 square feet

Site Size: 5 acres

construction cost: Withheld

Photography: Andrew Pogue Photography; Taj Howe Photography

Key Products

Cladding: Stained tight knot cedar

Cabinet Hardware: Sugatsune

Countertops: Caesarstone, concrete

Dishwasher: Bosch

Doors/Windows/Window Walls: Dynamic Fenestration

Engineered Lumber: Weyerhaeuser

Faucets: Grohe; Hansgrohe

Fireplace: Element4

Flooring: Carlisle

Insulation/Housewrap: Henry Blueskin

Lighting: Rich Brilliant Willing; Juniper Design

Millwork/Moulding/Trim: Thermory USA

Refrigerator: Sub-Zero

Roofing: Taylor Metal Products

Sinks: Duravit; Elkay

Toilet: TOTO

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“Our client valued design, but she was most concerned with how it would function as a home,” says Ryan Burke, AIA. “Our challenge was to provide a family-oriented front yard and backyard and a big car program without walling off the neighborhood. And we had a very large tree to work around. Our siting and the more austere massing were to make sure the house and garage remained a backdrop to the landscaping.”

To mask the size of the garage, the firm rotated it away from the street and pulled it forward on the lot to create an entry court. The entry and living room behind it maintain the garage’s single-story proportions, while a bedroom and lounge wing to the east rises to two stories. The carefully calibrated front façade of Roman brick, glass, and Thermory wood accents keeps all the volumes in balance.  “It’s so unfussy,” noted a judge. “It’s sculptural without being overbearing. And the composition from the street is beautiful—so serene, quiet, calm.” 

Interiors are equally serene, continuing the delicate orchestration of scale and the restrained palette of materials. The living room hews to just one story, allowing its Roman brick chimney and shimmering, fluted-glass fireplace to convey an understated elegance and intimacy. White oak appears on multiple surfaces—as storage walls, cabinetry, ceilings, doors, and as large-format flooring sourced from Europe. A curved Roman brick and white oak storage wall bends from the entry to the kitchen, subtly leading visitors to the true heart of the house. 

Unlike the more compressed living room, the kitchen rises high with a four-sided clerestory. Without popping its top, the room would have been darkened by the garage and suffered excessive glare from adjacent window walls. “We don’t like making all the ceilings tall,” says Ryan. “Otherwise you feel like you’re always chasing your tail.” 

The kitchen opens to a vast covered porch with screens that can deploy in buggy weather. Organic natural pavers trace a path to an outdoor fireplace, a vertical element that rises above the garden wall. Beyond the walls are rain gardens that capture and channel stormwater runoff. “The shaping of exterior spaces is lovely,” said a judge “There is so much restraint in this house, yet it feels so warm.”

Honor Award

Custom Urban House

A Parallel Architecture

Rollingwood Residence

West Lake Hills, Texas

Project Credits

Architect: Ryan Burke, AIA, and Eric Barth, AIA, principals in charge; Jacob Brown, project designer, A Parallel Architecture, Austin, Texas

Builder: Shoberg Homes, West Lake Hills, Texas

Interior Designer: Polly Hazelwood

Structural Engineer: Steinman Luevano Structures, LLP, Austin

Project Size: 7,169 square feet

Site Size: 0.4 acre

Construction Cost: Withheld

Photography: Chase Daniel; Casey Dunn

Key Products:

Bathroom Ventilation: Panasonic

Cladding: San Selmo brick; Thermory wood cladding

Cooktop/Ovens: Wolf

Door Hardware: Emtek

Faucets: Kohler; Hansgrohe

Fireplace: Spark Modern Fires; Isokern (outdoor)

Flooring: Moncer

Humidity Control: Ultra-Aire

HVAC: Mitsubishi

Lighting: Sonneman 

Lighting Control: Lutron

Outdoor Grill: Lynx Grills

Paints: Benjamin Moore 

Pavers: Holland Stone; Eco-Priora

Refrigerator: Sub-Zero

Roof Windows: VELUX

Shower Enclosure: C.R. Laurence

Sinks: Kohler

Toilets: TOTO

Tubs: Duravit; custom 

Underlayment/Sheathing: ZIP System

Windows/Window Wall Systems: Western Windows

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Conceived as a multifunctional slab-on-grade pavilion set along a service core, the building contains two bedrooms and a bath, a compact kitchen and living space, and a sheltered outdoor cooking area. Folding glass wall systems stack neatly against the charred-wood partial walls, throwing open the building to the wild setting. That openness is balanced by a dark, massive roof with deep overhangs that protect the occupants from the powerful sun. Framed with prefabricated wood trusses—a conventional building system manipulated to creative effect—its floating appearance hints at the rocks’ paradoxical qualities of being heavy and light at the same time. 

The jury was captivated by the concept and execution. “The roofline has a slight bend in it that’s working with the landscape,” a judge observed. “The basalt is an interesting part of it, and it’s very sculptural.”

Citation

Custom Accessory or Outbuilding

S^A | Schwartz and Architecture

Leit House
Sonoma County, California

Project Credits

Architect: Neal J. Z. Schwartz, FAIA, principal in charge; Christopher W. Baile, project architect; Ania Burlinska, project designer,  S^A | Schwartz and Architecture, San Francisco

Builder: Eames Construction, Petaluma, California

Interior designer: S^A | Schwartz and Architecture

Landscape architect: Totem Landscape Services, Sonoma, California

Structural engineer: Framework Engineering, Oakland, California

Project size: 816 square feet

Site size: 39 acres

Construction cost: Withheld

Photography: Douglas Sterling

Key Products

Bath ventilation: Panasonic

Cabinetry: ApplePly maple

Cooktop/range: Bosch

Dishwasher: Bosch

Faucets: Brizo

Home control: Lutron

Refrigerator: Bosch

Roof truss system: All Truss

Sinks: Franke, Nameeks’ Sacarabeo

Tile: Fireclay, Heath

Washer/dryer: Bosch

Windows: Andersen Windows

Window wall systems: NanaWall 

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