Competetion - Categories

Three judged categories. Open to new and recent work.

Evaluated by a jury of practitioners who have spent their careers thinking seriously about design and material. Direction: What did design make the material do? These categories are not defined by entry format or building type. They are defined by design thinking. What was the practitioner trying to do with the material, and did they succeed.

Category One - Terracotta Facades

Facade design where terracotta is the primary material of the building's external skin. Any typology: public, private, or residential. The measure is whether terracotta is doing genuine design work in how the building presents itself, performs climatically, and relates to its context.

Eligible
  • Residential facades
  • Commercial and office facades
  • Public and institutional facades
  • Hospitality and mixed-use
  • Any built typology where the facade is the primary site of terracotta design thinking
What Strengthens Your Submission?
  • Terracotta is integral to the facade design, not applied as a finish
  • The facade shapes the building's identity, climate performance, or spatial experience
  • Considered material logic: how terracotta responds to sun, wind, light, and view
  • Quality detailing and execution at the level of the joint, module, and surface
  • The design responds to local climate, regional craft traditions, or its specific context
  • Environmental claims are supported by documentation or measurable data
  • Work that is kind to the earth is stronger when it can show how

Recognition Begins with Registration.

Category Two - Terracotta Futures

Unbuilt work that explores new possibilities for terracotta through design thinking. The project does not need to be built. It needs to show where the material could go in daring design hands.

Eligible
  • Residential concepts
  • Commercial concepts
  • Urban ideas
  • Systems thinking
  • Speculative design proposals
What Strengthens Your Submission?
  • Strong original idea with clear material logic
  • Terracotta used intelligently, with clear reasoning behind the choice
  • Future relevance and potential for scalability
  • Credible design logic, even if speculative
  • A fresh design language that expands how the material is understood
  • The proposal addresses an emerging or existing need
  • Regional or climatic relevance considered in the design logic
  • Work that is kind to the earth is stronger when it can show how
In this category, drawings and diagrams carry as much weight as renders. Include at least one image that explains how the material is being used, not only what the project looks like.

The Stage Is Set. Register Your Best Work Today.

Category Three - Terracotta Reimagined

Product and element design that expands what terracotta can do, in form, system, or application. Work that treats the unit, not just the building, as the site of invention.

Eligible
  • Jaali systems
  • Brick innovations
  • Surface systems
  • Screens
  • Modular systems
  • Interior and exterior components
What Strengthens Your Submission?
  • A new or expanded use case for terracotta
  • Smart and considered relationship between form and function
  • Repeatable, manufacturable, and real-world thinking
  • Useful at an actual project level
  • Innovation in unit and system logic, not only appearance
  • Elegant detailing and resolution
  • Sustainability and material efficiency considered in the design
  • The design balances innovation with constructability and maintenance logic
  • Work that is kind to the earth is stronger when it can show how
Include at least one image showing the product or element in use or in context, not only as an isolated object. Technical drawings strongly encouraged.

Join the Best in Terracotta Design. Register Now.

We're happy to assist with your submission.

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awards@nuvocotto.com