Previous Winners
 
In times of stress, new patterns often appear first at the edges — those places both geographic and metaphoric that are far from traditional centers of activity or thought. So it should come as no surprise that a small firm in Vancouver, Canada, is pioneering a form of practice that doesn’t depend solely on clients to generate paying work. Or that a pair of Harvard graduates decided Louisville, Kentucky, offered them the best chance to make a difference. Or that a Chinese firm is doing some of its most innovative work in Tibet and a firm from Switzerland is pushing boundaries in Inner Mongolia. Even in a large city such as London, some architects are working at the edge of the typical project life span, creating works that last just a few days or weeks. By definition, the emerging architects profiled each year in our Design Vanguard stand on the outside— of the profession, the economic system, the power structure — figuring out ways to break in or make the old centers irrelevant.
 
Carmody Groarke

Carmody Groarke
From the ephemeral to the permanent, a London based firm is exploring the means and meaning of architecture in projects both public and private.

Photo © Christian Richters
Chenchow Little Architects

Chenchow Little Architects
A husband-and-wife team brings design out of the bush and into Australia's suburbs, where the great majority of the nation's population lives.

Photo © John Gollings
De Leon and Primmer Architecture workshop

De Leon and Primmer Architecture workshop
A pair of Harvard-educated architects find acceptance in Kentucky while drawing inspiration from the state’s tobacco barns and vernacular buildings.

Photo courtesy de Leon & Primmer Architecture Workshop
HHF Architects

HHF Architects
A trio of young architects just a few years out of school launch a practice with work around the world.

Photo © Iwan Baan
Hiroshi Nakamura & NAP Architects

Hiroshi Nakamura & NAP Architects
A Tokyo-based architect demonstrates a knack for handling materials and fitting buildings into their natural and urban contexts.

Photo © Daici Ano
L.E.FT

L.E.FT
L.E.FT distills politics into design at different scales, using utopian experiments to inform real-world projects from beleaguered Beirut to the turf wars in our own homes.

Photo courtesy L.E.FT
Iván Juárez & Patricia Meneses

Iván Juárez & Patricia Meneses
A pair of designers working from Spain and Mexico explore the intersections between art and architecture, shelter and clothes, and the human body and space.

Photo © Iván Juárez
Molo

Molo
This multidisciplinary design and production studio based in Vancouver integrates architecture, craft, and industrial design with a unique entrepreneurial spin.

Photo courtesy Molo Design, Ltd.
Standardarchitecture

Standardarchitecture
This firm pursues multiple narratives in projects of very different scales, attitudes, and settings.

Photo © Chen Su
W.PA/Works Partnership Architecture

W.PA/Works Partnership Architecture
An Oregon practice thrives by devising design-driven schemes that meet the needs of its developer clients.

Photo © Stephen A. Miller
Past Awards

Design Vanguard ­  2009
Design Vanguard ­  2008
Design Vanguard ­  2007
Design Vanguard ­  2006
Design Vanguard ­  2005
Design Vanguard ­  2004
Design Vanguard ­  2003
Design Vanguard ­  2002
Design Vanguard ­  2001
Design Vanguard ­  2000