The annual Southern California Development Forum Design Awards recognize the contributions and commitment to the business environment and the communities of Southern California. The design awards celebrate built and un-built projects that demonstrate innovation and commitment from both owners and design teams. Award winners will be honored at our in-person 2026 SCDF Design & Philanthropy Awards Gala on Tuesday, December 8th at the Biltmore Hotel in Downtown Los Angeles.

Our organization is comprised of developers, architects, engineers, contractors, planners and other land-use parties, the design awards offer an excellent opportunity to highlight your projects to the business community of Southern California.

PROJECT ELEGIBILITY

• All entries must represent built projects completed between September 1, 2025 through September 1, 2026 and must be located in Southern California (zip codes 90000-93599).  Projects submitted in the “Beyond SoCal” category may be from any zip code in California.
• Unbuilt projects must be submitted under the “Unbuilt Concept | On the Boards | Under Construction” or “Landscape, Urban Design, & Planning” category only and must be located in Southern California (zip codes 90000-93599).
• Projects must be entered in a specific category, but it is at the jury’s discretion to move a prospective project to a category they see most fit for it to be recognized. If a project is submitted multiple times for any reason, separate entry fees must be paid, and entries should reflect the category in which they are submitted.
• Projects associated with any 2026 Design Awards jury members are ineligible.

ENTRY CATEGORIES

• Commercial | Mixed Use (retail, hospitality, corporate, entertainment)
• Healthcare
• Small Project, Big Impact (Healthcare projects of less than 20,000 square feet)
• Large Project (Healthcare projects of over 20,000 square feet)
• Educational
• Civic / Culture (including museums, sports, and government projects)
• Single-Family Residential
• Multi-Family Residential
• Adaptive Reuse | Renovation | Historic Preservation
• Interior Architecture
• Design, Construction, & Engineering Innovation (systems, products, facades, construction techniques, modular / prefab, and other built innovations) -  
• Unbuilt Concept | On the Boards | Under Construction
• Landscape, Urban Design & Planning
• Aviation | Transportation | Infrastructure
• Beyond SoCal (Built projects in California in any zip code other than those listed above)

Notes:

1. In all categories, jury awards may be given in two classifications:  Honor and Citation
2. The jury panel is not required to issue an award for every category and will do so based on their assessment and judgement of all entries

REGISTRATION

Any member or firm associated with a project is eligible to submit an entry for that project.  This includes architects, general contractors, developers, engineers, and specialty consultants. Please consult with your extended team to ensure that duplicate entries have not been submitted (Refunds will not be given for duplicate entries for the same project).  SCDF only uses paperless, digitally submitted entries.  Registrations for all awards must be completed online and are paid at time of final project upload.

DEADLINE       

All submittals are due on or before September 22, 2026 at 9PM PST.

ENTRY FEE

Early Bird Submission on or before August 21, 2026
$250 (nonrefundable) first submission,
$175 subsequent submissions

Submission on or after September 22, 2026
$350 (nonrefundable) first submission,
$275 subsequent submissions

SUBMISSION MATERIALS

The following items will be required as part of your awards submission:

1. Entry Form – This is what the Jury will review to assess merit for your project.
2. Three (3) Project Images – For use in promotional content and gala collateral
3. Submitter / Team / Contact Information – Included separately online when you pay and upload the submission materials identified above.

SUBMISSION RULES:

1. Your final submission must be submitted in PDF format only.  A template has been supplied in both In-Design and Power Point to facilitate ease and consistency of layout. 
2. Your final PDF file must not exceed eight (8) pages total. Only the first eight pages will be judged.
3. Instructions on templates are information and may be deleted prior to submittal.
4. Each pdf entry may not exceed 10MB maximum per file.
5. This is an anonymous awards submission, and any reference to firms and/or team members associated with the submitted project pdf in word or image on the PDF submission will result in disqualification.
• a. Project team, project data & contact information is requested separately from this form.  Please be ready to submit that information online when you pay and submit your final PDF entry.  
• b. Identifying the name of the project and/or client on the PDF submission is permitted.
6. Include three (3) project images
• a. Each should be 300 dpi, in jpg format, uploaded with your registration / entry
• b. Images may be used during the Awards Ceremony and in awards collateral
• c. Images are not included in the 10MB project pdf limit

KEY DATES

Entry Open: July 20, 2026
Early Entries Due: August 21, 2026
Entries Due: September 22, 2026
Awards Ceremony: December 8, 2026

AWARDS CEREMONY

The Awards Ceremony will be held on December 8th, 2026 at a live ceremony and luncheon at the Biltmore Hotel in Downtown Los Angeles.  Shortlisted entries will be notified, and physical awards will be distributed at the live event.

In addition to honoring the SCDF Design Awards winners, our selected 2026 Philanthropy, PVJOBS, and the 2026 William Feathers Award winner will also be recognized at the event. To learn more about PVJOBS, please visit their website: https://www.pvjobs.org/

Tickets for the awards event will be available for purchase through the SCDF website shortly. 

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION

Questions regarding the submission process should be directed via email, with “SCDF Awards” in the subject line, to: designawards@scdf.org.