Terms of entry

1. The organiser

The India Architecture Awards (“we”, “us”) are organised by Wesearch Lab, 2A Labanya Apartment, 174/A SN Banerjee Road, Barrackpore, West Bengal – 700120. The 2027 edition is the first.

2. Who can enter

• Architects and interior designers in practice, entering as a firm or as an individual. “Your firm” below covers both.
• The firm that designed the work enters it. Clients, developers, suppliers and agents cannot enter on a designer’s behalf.
• Entrants must be 18 or older. Student work is not eligible.
• Firm of the Year categories are open to practices based in India.
• Our staff, jurors, their practices and their immediate families cannot enter.

3. What you can enter

• Built architecture and interiors in India, completed and handed over to the client between 1 January 2024 and 31 March 2027.
• Architecture Future: designs for sites in India that are not yet complete, including concept designs, unbuilt work, commissions, competition entries and buildings under construction.
• Firm of the Year: a body of work, as set out in the entry guide.
• A project can go in more than one category only in the ways the FAQ describes, and never twice in the same category in one edition.
• A mixed-use project goes in the category of its main use. The jury may move an entry to a category that fits it better, and we will tell you if it does.
• The Housing categories are set by the number of floors above the ground or stilt level: Low Rise up to G+4, Mid Rise from G+5 to G+14 and High Rise above G+14. Basements do not count.

4. Firm size

• Your firm size sets your tier and your fee for every entry: Boutique Practice (10 or fewer people), Mid-sized Practice (11 to 30) or Enterprise Practice (31 or more).
• Count every permanent role on your payroll, partners included, on the day you register. Interns are not counted.
• You give your size once, when you register. It applies to all your entries and cannot be changed after payment.
• We may ask for proof, such as a staff list or a payroll summary. An entry in the wrong tier may be moved to the right one or disqualified.
• The Emerging Firm of the Year awards are open to Boutique and Mid-sized practices founded in 2017 or later, with proof of the founding date.
• Housing Low Rise is open to Boutique and Mid-sized practices, and Housing High Rise to Mid-sized and Enterprise practices. Every other category is open to all three tiers.

5. Fees and payment

• One fee per entry, set by your tier and the day you pay. Early bird runs until 31 December 2026, standard until 31 January 2027, late until 28 February 2027 and extended until 31 March 2027.
• Fees are in Indian rupees, plus 18% GST. There is no discount for several entries, and Project of the Year and Firm of the Year entries cost the same as any other.
• You pay online when you register. An entry is registered once the payment succeeds, and your GST invoice is emailed to you.
• Refunds follow the Refund policy.

6. Submitting your work

• Entries are accepted only through the online form on this website, never by email or post.
• Submissions open on 1 December 2026 and close at 11:59 pm India Standard Time on 31 March 2027. An entry not submitted by then is not evaluated.
• Each entry follows the entry guide: 6 to 12 photographs or renders, a description of 300 to 500 words, and credits. All text must be in English.
• Each image is a single photograph, render or drawing, not a collage.
• Entries are evaluated blind. Keep your firm’s name, logo and any identifying mark off the images and the description.
• We email a confirmation when your payment succeeds, and an acknowledgement for each entry you submit.
• You can edit a submitted entry until entries close.

7. Evaluation

• Entries are evaluated by an invited jury of recognised architects and design professors, on four criteria: idea, response to place, craft, and value to the people who use it.
• Each entry is evaluated only alongside entries from practices in the same tier.
• A juror does not evaluate any entry they are connected with.
• The jury may withhold an award in a category and tier if no entry meets the standard.
• The jury’s decisions are final, and it does not give individual feedback.

8. Results

• The shortlist is published on 30 April 2027 and the winners are announced on 31 May 2027, on this website and by email to every entrant.
• Shortlisted entries and winners are published in our online archive and receive a digital kit.
• The awards are announced online. There is no ceremony, no trophy to collect and nothing to attend.
• We are not responsible for emails that do not reach you because of spam filters or contact details given wrongly. The results are always on this website.
• If a date has to move, we will tell every entrant by email.

9. Your work and our licence to publish it

• You keep the copyright in everything you submit.
• By entering, you give us a non-exclusive, royalty-free, worldwide licence to publish your images, drawings and text, credited to your firm and photographer. We use it on our website and archive, on social media, in press materials and to promote the awards. It covers every entry, whether or not it is shortlisted.
• We may crop images or shorten text to fit a layout, without changing their meaning.
• You confirm that you have the right to submit the material, that its photographer and other rights holders agree, and that your client agrees to the project being published.
• If someone claims that material you submitted infringes their rights, you are responsible for that claim, not us.

10. Using the title

• Winners may use the title, winner seal and badge kit for the winning entry, its category and the year only, as set out in the badge kit.
• Shortlisted firms may describe the entry as shortlisted, never as a winner.

11. Disqualification

We may disqualify an entry at any stage, without refund, and withdraw any title it has won, if it breaks these terms or the Code of conduct, gives false information, infringes someone else’s rights, or contains offensive or defamatory material.

12. Liability

• We are not responsible for entries lost, delayed or incomplete because of technical problems outside our control, such as a failure of your connection, your device or the payment gateway. Please submit early.
• Our liability to you for any entry is limited to the fee you paid for it.

13. Changes and governing law

• We may change the dates, deadlines and fee amounts of the awards at any time. We post every change on this website, and a fee you have already paid is not changed.
• We may add, merge or withdraw a category. If we withdraw one, you can move its entries to another category or have their fees refunded.
• We may pause, shorten or extend the awards for events outside our control, such as a natural disaster, a pandemic or a failure of essential services, and will tell every entrant by email.
• We may update these terms to correct errors or meet new requirements. A change never reduces your rights for an entry you have already paid for.
• These terms are governed by the laws of India, and the courts at Barrackpore have exclusive jurisdiction.