Whistling Wind Island by Akb Architects; Photograph by Doublespace
GRAY Media announces the residential architecture finalists for the 7th Annual GRAY Awards.
SEATTLE, December 19, 2023 — Now in its 7th year, GRAY Awards — the international cross-disciplinary design awards program — continues to recognize the outstanding work happening around the world. Finalists have been selected in the fields of ARCHITECTURE, INTERIORS, LANDSCAPE, and PRODUCT DESIGN.
JUDGES CATEGORIES
Designers and manufacturers were invited to submit their projects in nine judges categories plus an editors’ pick Design for Good category. An esteemed panel of international design luminaries will select a winner in each of the initial nine categories. The winning designers will receive print and digital recognition as well as a custom designed trophy by acclaimed glass artist John Hogan.
GRAY CATEGORIES
GRAY encourages designers and manufacturers to create "Design for Good" projects —projects that have made a positive impact through design on a humanitarian, community, or environmental issue — and offers an award dedicated to these works each year.
In 2020, when the GRAY Awards expanded from a regional to international program, GRAY added a Legacy Award dedicated exclusively to a Pacific Northwest-based designer's lifetime achievement, honoring the region where GRAY began and the home to the GRAY Awards Parties. GRAY will name the next Legacy at the Party.
BREAKOUT CATEGORIES
Newly introduced at the 6th annual GRAY Awards last year, GRAY added several Breakout Categories, opening up opportunities to win GRAY Awards in micro-categories from Kitchens to Collaborations.
All winners will be announced at the GRAY Awards Party in Seattle in March, 2024. The party is one of the most highly anticipated design bashes of the year, where all guests are treated like winners.
To purchase tickets, visit the 7th annual GRAY Awards Party page.
JUDGES
It is our privilege each year to welcome an international group of distinguished creatives to the GRAY Awards judging panel. Each working at the top of their game, these professionals now focus a discerning eye on determining the winners of the coveted GRAY Awards trophies.
7th annual GRAY Awards judging panel: Lee Broom, Brigitte Shim, Alessandro Munge, Silvia Tcherassi, Stephen Burks
FINALISTS - ARCHITECTURE, RESIDENTIAL
Photograph by Aaron Leitz
A dream home whose essence is simplicity, Maxon Railway demonstrates how a disciplined program, budget and phasing approach can lead to compelling design solutions that liberate rather than confine.
The site itself – a sustainably managed, 21-acre forest in Carnation, WA – provided constraints that ultimately helped to shape the project. To align with an existing forest conservation plan, a steep edge of the lot was selected for the main house. This slope inspired key design features, including a cantilever that creates space for native plants to grow underneath. The home’s rectangular plan likewise frontloads the site’s most important feature: expansive westward-facing views of the Tolt River Valley.
Photograph by Joe Fletcher
The Moreno Residence, offers a stunning embodiment of multicultural modernism in the heart of Los Angeles. Combining European Minimalism and West Coast Culture, this modern home pays homage to the city's architectural legacy while redefining the contemporary single-family home. Nestled in the Westside neighborhood of Brentwood, Moreno seamlessly integrates into a landscape rich with diverse architectural styles. Drawing inspiration from the city's low-slung bungalows and international style homes, the residence stands as a testament to the marriage of Southern California's climate, a stripped-down aesthetic, and an emphasis on materiality and craft.
Photograph by Alex Herbig
Immersed in the jungle-lined coast of Sayulita, Mexico—a bohemian surf town an hour north of Puerto Vallarta—is NICO, a micro hospitality experience with elevated suites, open-air common spaces, and boutique hotel-style comforts. NICO offers a unique lodging environment where each space has been thoughtfully designed for people to experience the distinctive surroundings and connect with each other in spaces that sit within a varied gradient of privacy and openness.
Photograph by Aaron Kraft
A series of undulating tectonic structures set against an aspen grove near Wilson, Wyoming, this mountain home serves as a creative retreat for a California based couple. The 35-acre property is set at the base of the Tetons and encompasses several ecosystems, with old-growth forest merging into stands of young pine and aspen trees before transitioning into rolling meadows. The homeowners, authors who also own and manage an independent record label out of Mill Valley, California, were looking for a nature-oriented outpost in Wyoming in which to pursue their writing practice.
Photograph by Doublespace
Pointe Au Baril is among the most dramatic freshwater landscapes in Canada. Located three hours north of Toronto, it is known for its many Precambrian rock archipelagoes scattered along the coast of Georgian Bay, forming narrow waterways that even experienced boaters find challenging to navigate. Whistling Wind is one of the furthest islands from the mainland to be inhabited. Surrounded by open waters and expansive sky, it is continually exposed to changing water levels and mercurial weather patterns. The robust wind conditions make Pointe Au Baril ideal for the owner to enjoy his passion for kite surfing.
The cottage comprises a cluster of buildings, each scaled proportionately to the island's one-acre size. Four pitch-roofed structures, harmoniously clad in silver-weathered cedar shingles, appear as though tossed around by the wind. In certain light conditions, they are barely discernible from the brownish-grey rocks surrounding them. The main cottage is at the highest elevation. A bunkie, a sauna, and boat storage containing a small fitness room are located on different outcroppings and reachable via wooden gangways that link to boat landings and fill gaps between rocks.
7th Annual GRAY Awards finalists' announcements began December 18, 2023 and will continue to publish daily until all categories have been announced. For more information, visit our GRAY Awards Party page.
Thank you to our 7th annual GRAY Awards sponsors and industry partners:
