The Design Awards Jurors were instructed to judge projects on the following criteria:

Innovation, originality and/or vision

Conceptual clarity

Contextual responsiveness

Thoughtful materialization (economy of means, material selection and detailing, craftsmanship)

Incorporation and communication of principles of sustainability

Three levels of awards were given, including:

Award of Excellence

Criteria 1, 2, 3, and 4: The project must demonstrate exceptional performance in three out of four criteria minimum

Criterion 5: The project must demonstrate exceptional performance per COTE rating system (based on Framework for Design Excellence)

Award of Merit

Criteria 1, 2, 3, and 4: The project must demonstrate exceptional performance in one out of four criteria AND above average performance in two out of the remaning three criteria minimum; or, the project must demonstrate above average performance in all four criteria

Criterion 5: The project must demonstrate above average performance per COTE rating system

Commendation for "...":

Criteria 1, 2, 3, and 4: The project must demonstrate exceptional performance in one out of five criteria (to be clarified by the Jury)

Jury's Criterion: The project must demonstrate exceptional performance in a specific area not covered by criteria 1-5 (to be clarified by the Jury)