The AIA St. Louis Design Awards program was founded with the mission to:
Recognize outstanding achievements in all areas of architectural design and construction craft, bring together & celebrate members of the design and construction community, and increase awareness of quality design & its execution in the St. Louis region.
Awards Jury
CATEGORIES: Architecture, Interiors, Small Projects, and Unbuilt
Arthi has led some of our largest and most complex projects. Her work is most often mission-driven, where the architect must weigh social and civic impacts with architectural and environmental considerations. Design, for Arthi, is a compassionate act where elegant solutions align in the cooperative beliefs and systems of organizations. Skillful, adroit, smart, for Arthi, it comes down to her faith in people:
“Humans are a source of infinite potential. Architecture grounded in empathy can advance the ambitions of its users. Buildings and spaces can inspire, bring comfort and even joy. Architecture is an art when it strikes a chord. And it should.”
Arthi has managed our projects for Cummins and for The Women’s Building, and led our project for Princeton University. She has designed all our projects for foundations, including for International Planned Parenthood Federation and the Wallace Foundation. Today, Arthi is leading our project at Smith College.
Arthi serves on the board of the Queens Museum, an institution dedicated to presenting the highest quality visual arts and educational programming for people in the New York metropolitan area, and particularly for the residents of Queens, a uniquely diverse, ethnic, cultural, and international community.
Arthi received her B.S. in Architectural Studies from the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, and an M.Arch. from the University of Pennsylvania. Arthi is a Principal of TenBerke.
Michelle Amt is a licensed architect with thirty-one years of national and international experience covering a wide range of project types. A consistent thread that runs through her work is an unwavering commitment to creating meaningful, beautiful, and regenerative places for this and future generations.
Michelle believes that sustainability is the foundation of design excellence, and that a robust sustainability agenda can deepen the connections between our buildings, their local and global communities, and the natural world. These values rooted her eight-year tenure as VMDO’s Director of Sustainability and Inclusion.
As VMDO’s Co-Managing Principal, she stewards VMDO’s long-term vision by fostering an inclusive internal culture, mentoring the next generation of architects, and ensuring the firm’s business practices serve the best interests of its clients and the natural world.
Michelle has served as Chair of the AIA Committee on the Environment (COTE) and was inducted into the AIA College of Fellows in 2024.
David Whitehill is a principal at Shepley Bulfinch who leads higher education, cultural, and institutional projects. His work focuses on creating mission-driven environments that balance human-focused design, technical performance, and respect for historic context. David has particular expertise in academic libraries, adaptive reuse, and integrating sustainability goals into historic buildings.
CATEGORY: Drawings
Schedule
Call for Entries: June 1, 2026
Submission deadline: Thursday, July 30, 2026 at 5:00pm CT
Design Awards Ceremony: Thursday, October 8, 2026
Enter
2026 Categories
Guidelines
Purchase
Architecture
CLICK HERE to view the Architecture, Small Project, Interiors, and Unbuilt Entry Guidelines
Entry templates will be made available during the entry upload form of the entry process. We will also provide access to the templates for entries below. Entries can be submitted with either the PowerPoint or InDesign.
