Aga Khan Award for Architecture

Review and Selection Procedures

Master Jury
The review of projects and the selection of Award recipients is the responsibility of an independent Master Jury specially appointed for each Award cycle. Each jury is pluridisciplinary, and brings together specialists in such fields as history, engineering, philosophy, architectural conservation, and contemporary arts, as well as practising architects, landscape architects and urban planners.
For the Eleventh Award Cycle, the Master Jury will hold two meetings to arrive at its final decisions. At its first meeting, the jury reviews the submissions enrolled through the nomination programme. The jury examines the documentation on each project and select approximately twenty-five to thirty projects for On-Site Project Review by experts selected by the Award.

On-Site Project Review
The Project Reviewers are architectural professionals specializing in various disciplines, including housing, urban planning, landscape design and restoration. Their task is to examine on site each of the projects shortlisted by the Master Jury, verifying project data and seeking additional information such as user reactions. The Reviewers must consider a detailed set of criteria in their written reports, and must also respond to specific concerns and questions prepared by the Master Jury for each project. To ensure maximum objectivity, Reviewers report on projects located outside their native countries.

Selection of Award Recipients
At the second week-long meeting of the Master Jury, the Project Reviewers make personal presentations on the projects they have reviewed. After evaluating the projects in closed sessions, the Jurors select the Award recipients and determine the apportionment of the US$ 500,000 prize fund. Since the success of a winning project may be the product of efforts by diverse individuals, groups and organizations, the Master Jury apportions prizes among the contributors - architects, other design and construction professionals, craftsmen, clients and institutions - whom it considers most responsible for the success of each project. The decisions of the Master Jury are final.

Passage from: http://www.akdn.org/akaa_review.asp