2027 Design Excellence Awards Invite Outstanding Lab Projects
Lab Design News is accepting entries for its 2027 Design Excellence Awards, recognizing outstanding achievement in the planning, design, and construction of research laboratories. Now in its eighth year, the competition celebrates projects that advance laboratory design through innovation, sustainability, and thoughtful solutions for the people who use these spaces.
Architects, lab planners, engineers, contractors, manufacturers, facility owners, laboratory end users, and other project partners are encouraged to submit completed projects that demonstrate excellence in laboratory design. Entries are welcome from around the world, encompassing new facilities, renovations, and smaller-scale projects.
Eligible projects must have been completed and occupied between January 1, 2025, and January 1, 2027, and must not have been previously submitted to the competition.
Four categories recognize design excellence
The 2027 awards feature four categories highlighting different aspects of laboratory design:
Whole Building/Holistic Design: Recognizes facilities that integrate laboratory spaces, building systems, workplaces, and amenities to support research, collaboration, productivity, and occupant well-being.
Sustainable Design: Celebrates projects that advance energy efficiency and sustainability through building systems, materials, equipment, and other design decisions, emphasizing measurable benefits.
Interior Design: Highlights interiors that support research and occupant well-being through thoughtful selections of furnishings, casework, lighting, flooring, finishes, accessibility features, and other design elements.
Small Project Design: Recognizes laboratory projects costing less than $20 million that make effective use of available resources through creative solutions, efficient layouts, and responses to project constraints.
Projects may be entered in one category or submitted to additional categories when they demonstrate excellence across multiple areas. The entry fee is $350 per project for one category, with additional projects costing $300 each. Entering the same project in another category costs an additional $100 per category.
Tell the real story behind the design
A successful submission should communicate more than the appearance of a finished facility. Judges need to understand the project's goals, the decisions that shaped its design, the challenges the team encountered, and how the completed environment supports its research mission and occupants.
Entrants should be prepared to provide project information, a written narrative, floor plans, photography, image permissions, and complete project team details. Explaining the reasoning behind design decisions and the project's distinctive features can help demonstrate what makes the work noteworthy.
Beyond industry recognition, the awards provide an opportunity for project teams to share their approaches and solutions with the broader laboratory design community. The winners will be recognized in connection with the 2027 Lab Design Conference, scheduled for May 10-13 in Dallas, TX. The annual event brings together architects, engineers, lab planners, facility professionals, laboratory users, and industry partners to discuss the challenges and opportunities shaping research environments. Winning projects receive editorial coverage through Lab Design News and recognition at the Lab Design Conference, along with a plaque for category winners
The deadline for entries is December 4, 2026. Complete submissions and payment must be received by that date.
To review eligibility requirements, explore the categories, and begin a submission, visit the Design Excellence Awards website.
