Elizabeth Mills Brown Awards

Martin Luther King Jr. Campus | JCJ ArchitectureRobert Benson Photography — Martin Luther King Jr. Campus | JCJ Architecture
Robert Benson Photography

Tudor Home | Saniee ArchitectsPhotos: David Sundberg/ESTO — Tudor Home | Saniee Architects
Photos: David Sundberg/ESTO

Elizabeth Mills Brown Awards

The Elizabeth Mills Brown Awards recognize design excellence in the restoration, rehabilitation, adaptation, and reuse of historic structures.

The award is named after and honors the work of Betty Brown, a prominent Connecticut architectural historian, preservationist, civic leader, and author of the extraordinarily comprehensive and meticulously researched A Guide to Architecture and Urban Design (Yale University Press, 1976).

This award is presented in collaboration with Preservation Connecticut.

2024 Registration Opens: May 6
Registration Deadline: May 31
Submission Deadline: July 5

Eligibility

Projects must be in Connecticut and involve the restoration, rehabilitation, or reuse of historic buildings.

Form-Based Codes for historic areas may be considered.

Projects must have been completed within the past 5 years.

Submission Materials

The submission form will require the following items:

Project name and location
250-word project description that includes:
- Square footage, site information, and context
- A clear and concise narrative that describes specific challenges, goals, and how the project follows the Secretary of Interior’s Standards
- Sustainability features, if any
Maximum of 12, minimum of 8 high resolution photos following these guidelines:
- Maximum of 10MB per photo
- Existing conditions prior to any work
- The completed interior and exterior
- Drawings of plans, sections, evaluations, and details
- All photos must be properly oriented as jurors will not be able to rotate them
- Do not include firm identification in the file names or photos
- All photography permissions and releases are the responsibility of the submitting architect
Photographer’s name/photo release
List of project team members with names and email

Do not include any identifying firm information in any part of your submission. This includes file names because they are visible to jurors. Submissions with identifying information will automatically be disqualified.

Judging Criteria

The jury will be comprised of professionals from the architecture and preservation disciplines, chosen by AIA CT and Preservation Connecticut.

Jurors will take into consideration and acknowledge:

Projects will be judged to the Secretary of Interior’s Standards in one or more of the four preservation approaches recognized by the Standards: Preservation, Rehabilitation, Restoration, or Reconstruction
Design excellence
Clarity of the submission narrative to describe how the project accomplished its goals while complying with the Secretary of the Interior’s Standards

Fees

AIA Connecticut member: $100.00
Preservation Connecticut member: $100.00
Non-Member Registered Architect: $400.00

PAST ELIZABETH MILLS BROWN AWARD RECIPIENTS