Awards submission process and criteria
Submission process
Who should enter?
The awards are open to international organisations and project teams in the public, private and academic sectors, participating in research, planning, procurement, design, construction and/or operation of healthcare facilities and environments.
Eligibility
Built projects or research programmes completed between 1 January 2024 and 1 June 2025 are eligible to enter. The exceptions are the Future Healthcare Design Award, which only allows submissions of projects currently in design development or under construction; the Design for Sustainable Development Award, which only allows submissions of projects completed before 1 January 2020; and the Health and Life Sciences Award which accepts entries from 1 January 2023 to 1 June 2025. Projects may be entered into multiple categories, provided they are tailored to meet the specific requirements for the judging criteria of each award, but may not be re-entered in the same category in subsequent years.
Evaluation committee
The awards evaluation committee features international researchers, practitioners and policy advisors, who bring specialist multidisciplinary expertise to the specific categories they have been invited to judge. The shortlist and winner of each award are determined by a category chair, supported by two other judges with proven expertise in their field. This robust evaluation methodology ensures a balanced and transparent decision-making process. Any judge associated with any of the entries will withdraw from the relevant part of the adjudication process.
Judging process and criteria
Evaluation Phase 1: The judges will evaluate the submissions consisting of the submission statement and a 10-slide Powerpoint or PDF presentation against a strict methodology and criteria. The judges carry out their evaluations remotely and independently prior to conferring to agree a shortlist.
Evaluation Phase 2: The shortlisted projects will be invited to present virtually to the judges and a live audience in a 10-minute talk followed by questions and answers.
The judges will then finalise their decision prior to the awards ceremony at the main European Healthcare Design 2025 Congress, 9-11 June, when the winners and high commendations will be announced and the awards presented. The specific judging criteria for each award category are available to view below prior to completing a formal online submission.
How to submit
To submit, click here. Choose the award category or categories you are entering, then follow these steps:
Step 1: Choose the award category or categories you are entering
Step 2: Complete the online entry form and the 1250-word submission statement relevant to the category you are entering
Step 3: Upload a maximum of 10 images and 5 plans of the project both as a 15-slide PPT/ PDF format and in high-resolution jpeg format, and, if available, a video link of the project hosted on either YouTube or Vimeo.
Step 4: Complete payment to register your submission
Important notes: The submission statement and associated materials MUST explicitly address the criteria outlined on the submission statement forms. Please refer to the rules of entry for further information on payment and submission requirements.
Rules of entry
Please read the rules carefully. Failure to comply may lead to rejection.
1. Entries must reflect the criteria set out against each award and comprise the following items generated through the online submission process:
i) Completed entry form.
ii) Completed submission statement for the category or categories being entered, providing a project summary and addressing the award criteria in no more than 1250 words in total. Please note that the online form provides more characters than are necessary in each criteria section, which allows for flexibility in the response, but the total word count for the full submission should not exceed 1250 words.
iii) Ten images and five plans of the project, supplied in both a 15-slide Powerpoint or PDF presentation and as high-resolution jpeg images. Submissions for the architectural-based categories should include interior and exterior photographs and any plans and drawings demonstrating key features of the project (eg, a site plan and a floor plan). These illustrations must also be supplied at high-resolution (300+dpi) during Step 3 of the online submission process. Images in the slides may include small text captions, but any text should be removed from the high-resolution images.
iv) The standard fee for each entry is £150 + VAT. Members of Architects for Health, European Health Property Network, Australian Health Design Council and Healthcare Planning Academy are entitled to a discounted submission fee of £125 + VAT. Payment should be made by completing the credit card details in Step 4 of the online submission process. There is no fee for entering the Design Research for Healthcare Design category.
v) Agreement of the commissioning authority, building/project owner or other key authority as appropriate to the project submission.
2. On behalf of the judges, the organisers must be allowed reasonable access to make enquiries or request further information on a shortlisted submission.
3. The judges have absolute discretion to reject any entry that does not comply with the requirements of the rules; to determine the category for which any entry is eligible; and to make or withhold any award to any entry. The judges’ decision is final and binding on all entrants, and no discussion or correspondence relating to the judges’ decisions will be entered into.
4. It is a condition of entry that all written material, plans and images submitted may be reproduced by SALUS Global Knowledge Exchange and Architects for Health at no cost to themselves in such a form and in such media as deemed appropriate in announcing and/or promoting the 2025 and 2026 awards, and associated media and exhibition activities. This includes entry into the SALUS project database at www.salus.global.
5. All information regarding the results will be embargoed for publication until after the Awards Presentation Ceremony.
6. Entries must arrive no later than 20 February using the online submission process here.
Any questions on the submission process should be directed to info@europeanhealthcaredesign.eu and not directly to the judges.
Submission Statement Criteria
Prior to preparing your online submission, please see below the specific criteria you will be required to respond to when entering your project or design innovation. Please note there are three different sets of criteria used for different award categories. Please be sure that you prepare your submission against the correct criteria for the award category you are entering. You are allowed 1250 words in total for the submission. If you are entering for the Design Research Award, you are required to submit the written paper using the online form at www.europeanhealthcaredesign.eu. There is no requirement for this category to complete one of these three criteria-based submission forms.
Awards criteria for:
Healthcare Design (over 25,000 sqm)
Healthcare Design (under 25,000 sqm)
Mental Health Design
Design for Adaptation and Transformation
Future Healthcare Design
Design for Health and Wellness
Design for Sustainable Development
Health and Life Sciences
Project summary
Purpose of project, aims of brief and other background information relevant to the award category
Strategic vision
Describe clearly the contribution the project has made to the wider strategic plan for the delivery of healthcare services in the local and national health economy
Context
Describe how the project makes a positive contribution to its local community, surroundings and environment
Purposeful innovation
Describe how the project provides an effective operational environment through the adoption of service and technological innovation that can flex and adapt over time
Design approach
Describe how the project integrates all aspects of design to create a place that is compassionate and therapeutic and supports wellness for patients and staff
Sustainability
Demonstrate how the project has continued to meet its brief over time, embodying social, economic, human and environmental factors into the design from the start
Awards criteria for:
Interior Design and Arts
Project summary
Purpose of project, aims of brief and other background information
Meaningful intervention
Describe how the project explores a creative narrative that relates the physical setting to its local context and the needs of patients, staff and visitors
Design approach
Describe how the project integrates all aspects of design to create a place that is compassionate and therapeutic and supports healing and recovery
Material and media innovation
Describe how the project explores new ways of using materials and media to communicate the values of the project and the organisation to its patients, staff, visitors and the community
Sustainability
Describe how the project embodies social, economic and environmental factors into the design from the start
Stakeholder engagement
Describe the impact of any consultations with staff, users and the wider community to achieve an inclusive design approach that is meaningful to the project
Awards criteria for:
Design research for healthcare design
To enter this category, you are required to submit the written paper using the online form. There is no requirement for this category to complete one of the criteria-based submission forms.
To be eligible, you are required to submit your full paper, including references in PDF format.
Recommended word count is 3000-5000 words.
