2026 Urban Guild Awards

presented by

Celebrating Excellence in
Architecture and Urbanism

The Urban Guild Awards honor exemplary projects that advance the art and practice of great design. Selected by a distinguished jury, winning projects represent the highest achievements in creating enduring places, strengthening communities, and elevating the built environment.

To be recognized by the Guild is to join a body of work that defines excellence in architecture and urbanism.

Awards take place November 6th at the Guild Summit.

For questions, please contact us at awards@urbanguild.org

Meet the Jury

  • Marina Khoury FCNU RA NCARB

    Partner, DPZ CoDESIGN

    Marina Khoury is an expert in sustainable urban redevelopment, regional planning, transit-oriented developments, affordable housing and form-based codes. As a partner at DPZ Partners, she has been Director of its Washington D.C. office since 2007. A Florida licensed architect (AR0017145) and fluent in several languages, Khoury has worked on the design and implementation of projects in the US, Canada, Europe and the Middle East including ground-breaking new codes around the world that mandate resilient urbanism. She speaks globally widely on issues related to Smart Growth and affordable, sustainable, and walkable communities. 

    Marina is one of 20 members on the Expert Committee of Global Forum on Human Settlements (UNEP-GFHS) International Green Model City (IGMC) Initiative, under the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP). Marina is also active in Washington area civic groups, including the Congress for the New Urbanism (CNU), where she served as a Board member of the CNU-DC chapter from 2007-2012. 

    She currently serves on the following Boards: Chair of the Executive Board of Smart Growth America’s Form-Based Code Institute (FBCI), and Board Member of the Center for Applied Transect Study (CATS). She is a member of the Urban Guild and a LEED Accredited professional.

  • Louis Nequette

    Founder, Nequette Architecture & Design

    Louis is the founder of Nequette Architecture & Design, a full service architecture firm known for its clever integration of natural materials into beautiful designs that reflect a fresh contemporary approach to traditional architecture. 

    While his work spans a wide range of uses— commercial, industrial and residential— Louis is particularly well known for his design of iconic civic structures such as the Mt Laurel Fire Station, the Silverock Cove Thunderhouse, the Watchtower at Hawk’s Nest, and the Boat House at the Waters.  This talent has also been reflected in large mixed use buildings at Rosemary Beach, Seaside and the Preserve.   

    Louis earned his Bachelor of Architecture, cum laude, at Auburn University.  He is a founding member of the Urban Guild, and his work has received numerous awards including the prestigious Palladio Award.

  • Frank Martinez

    Associate Professor, University of Miami

    Frank Martinez is an Associate Professor at the University of Miami, School of Architecture, with a secondary appointment in the Department of Epidemiology and Public Health, Miller School of Medicine. He holds an undergraduate degree from the University of Miami and a graduate degree from Princeton University. He teaches design, drawing and theory in the core of both undergraduate and graduate programs in the School of Architecture. In the past five years he has lectured and led tours in the Graduate Rome program on Roman Villas and Gardens, with primary interest in Renaissance & Baroque Architecture and Urban Design, as well as the summer traveling course: The Grand Tour.

    Professor Martinez is a member of the Built Environment and Health Research Group, an interdisciplinary research team led by José Szapocznik, chair of Epidemiology and Public Health at UM’s Miller School of Medicine, and is co-author of numerous articles on the impact of the built environment on health. The team, investigates the impact of the built environment on Hispanic elders’ health (funded by the National Institute on Aging, National Institutes of Health), children’s conduct and Hispanic immigrants’ risk for metabolic syndrome, The first results of this work were published in the September 2006 issue of the American Journal of Community Psychology with subsequent publications in journals in public health and architecture, most recently, the 2009 Journal of Gerontology: Social Sciences.

    Professor Martinez is also is a founder and design partner in Martinez & Alvarez Architecture, Inc. in which he works collaboratively with his partner and wife, Ana Alvarez. The work has focused primarily on architectural and urban projects that contribute to the art of making cities. Underlying the teaching and research is an exploration of drawing as a method for acquiring and developing architectural knowledge.

  • Casey Roloff

    Chief Executive Officer, Seabrook Community Foundation

    Casey, CEO and Town Founder, has been a part of Seabrook from its conceptualization to the thriving beach town that it is today. From new construction to the expanding hospitality program, he continues to work with his growing teams through each exciting development that continues to bring new urbanism to life on the Washington Coast.

  • 2025 Design Excellence: Missing Middle Winner - Biltmore Row, de la GUARDIA VICTORIA ARCHITECTS & URBANISTS, Coral Gables, FL

  • 2025 Design Excellence: Residential Winner - VIZI, de la GUARDIA VICTORIA ARCHITECTS & URBANISTS, Coral Gables, FL

  • 2025 Design Excellence: Urban Design Winner - Avenue A, Nequette Architecture & Design Birmingham, AL

  • 2025 Barranco Award Winner: Tom Low

Award Categories

  • This award celebrates built design work that masterfully applies timeless design principles in a manner that refines them and best integrates them into their urban context. Submitted projects may be any type, scale, or program so long as they are successful in directly furthering the mission of the Guild to improve the design of communities. Submitted design work for this category must have been built within the past five years.

    Sub-Categories Include:

    • Accessory Dwelling Unit

    • Civic Project

    • Missing Middle

    • Mixed Use

    • Residential Single Family

    • Urban Design

  • This award celebrates built or unbuilt work that demonstrates visionary innovation within an urban context. Exploration is understood as a conscious attempt to identify new and innovative design strategies for improving the urban built environment and has been designed within the past five years.

  • The Urban Guild’s student award category celebrates emerging talent in architecture and urban design. This category honors student projects that demonstrate a strong understanding of timeless design principles, creativity in solving real-world challenges, and a commitment to shaping places that are beautiful, functional, and enduring. It’s an opportunity to spotlight the next generation of designers who are advancing the future of our built environment.

  • The Barranco Award honors the memory of Jackson, Mississippi architect Michael Barranco. It is awarded to individuals who not only distinguished themselves in design but who also demonstrate a gift for building enduring relationships beyond architecture, and inspiring coalitions for transformative change in the lives of families and communities--- while unselfishly not caring who gets credit.

  • The Stewardship Award is chosen by The Guild Board of Directors and the Awards Task Force to acknowledge a developer, builder, patron, historic foundation, author, or person who has directly influenced the mission of the Guild.

Program Summary

  • The Guild establishes a task force each year to lead the planning for this program, and the task force chair is responsible for driving the process forward--either directly or via delegation to other members of the task force. The 2026 task force members are as follows:

    • Jeremy Sommer (Chair)

    • Jennifer Griffin

    • Megan Brown

    • Sabrina Rugg

  • The Jury will consist of between four and six members, at least two of which must be a Guild member in good standing. The program administration is structured such that the there is some jury member representation on the task force so that the juror perspective can be integrated into the planning process. The task force chair will facilitate the jury deliberation process, and in the event that a jury member is unable to participate as planned the task force chair may join the jury in their absence. Deliberation will occur remotely via teleconference and review of electronic submittals.

    The 2026 jury is composed as follows:

    • Marina Khoury

    • Louis Nequette

    • Casey Roloff

    • Frank Martinez

    *Additional members maybe added

    • June 3rd Call for Entries - Round 1

    • June 22nd Call for Entries - Round 2

    • July 10th Deadline for Awards Submittals

    • Aug Jury Conference Call - Broad discussion, identify finalists

    • Sept Notify award winners individually

    • Sept/Oct Prepare announcement marketing

    • Nov 7th Announcement of Winners- at Guild Summit and then over the course of the following week via e-mail and social media.