2026 seaw seattle awards

SEAW Seattle Chapter is proud to announce the inaugural SEAW Seattle Awards (SEAW SA). This will be an annual event that celebrates the significant structural engineering achievements of its members. The award ceremony is an opportunity for SEAW Seattle Chapter to recognize the successful work of its members. Members of the SEAW Seattle Chapter are encouraged to submit eligible projects to the annual awards program for consideration.

Applicants shall submit:

1. Complete the online application found on the events page.
2. A digital image of a 30” x 42” presentation board (Details under ENTRY INSTRUCTIONS)
3. 3-6 high resolution digital images of the project
4. $75 entry fee

ENTRY SCHEDULE

• Solicitations Open: 1/21/2026-3/31/2026
• Jury Review: April 2026
• Finalists Announced: May 2026
• The SEAW SA will take place at the SEAW Seattle June Social

AWARDS CATEGORIES

Entries are submitted in one (and only one) of the categories below. At the discretion of the Jury, awards may or may not be given in each category. The jury is encouraged to focus on the structural engineering aspects of the project and not the aesthetic appearance. The jury may consider multiple awards in each category.

Entries shall be submitted by a representative of the Firm responsible for the project, and/or the Engineer of Record, the Engineer in Responsible Charge, or Principal Investigator. Where the role of other engineers was significant to the project’s success, such as a Bridging Document Engineer or the specialty engineer for a specific component, entrants are strongly encouraged to recognize these individuals and/or submit the entry in conjunction with these engineers. For projects that utilize an alternative delivery method, such as design-build, the Entrant shall clearly state their project role in the Project Description.

1. New Construction: Excellence in the structural engineering analysis, design and/or construction of a new construction project.
2. Retrofit/Alteration/Historic Preservation: Excellence in the structural engineering analysis, design and/or construction of an evaluation and/or design of a seismic retrofit project or alteration of an existing structure. This category includes seismic analysis, seismic strengthening, additions, tenant improvements and other structural building alterations.
3. Infrastructure: Excellence in the structural engineering analysis, design and/or construction of an infrastructure project, including but not limited to, bridges, tunnels, transportation facilities and dams.
4. Special-use Structures: Excellence in the structural engineering analysis, design and/or construction of a special-use project. Examples include non-building structures such as a temporary movie set, an artificial rock-climbing wall or a sculptural work of art.
5. Study/Research/Guidelines: Outstanding achievement in the development of structural engineering practice, standards, research documents or design guidelines. This category is intended to encompass projects or efforts that may not result in a constructed project.

Size and Scale of Projects: For consideration, project awards may be sub-divided into small, medium, and large project categories based on construction cost and/or height as follows:

• Small/Low-Rise Projects: Less than $20 Million Construction Cost and/or Less 5 Stories
• Medium/Mid-Rise Projects: Between $20M and $150 Million Construction Cost and/or Between 5 C 10 Stories
• Large/High-Rise Projects: Greater than $150 Million Construction Cost and/or Greater than 10 Stories

Additionally, projects may be selected by the jury for a Community Impact Award (Project must be located in Washington).

All finalists will be eligible for the People’s Choice Award which will be voted upon by all SEAW Seattle Chapter members. Note if a project is selected as a winner of one of the 5 main categories, it cannot also win the Community Impact Award or Peoples’ Choice Award.

JUDGING CRITERIA

Judging of entries will consider the following:

• Creativity: Judged on how the project applied conventional or new ideas and systems, in a manner not typically seen in projects of similar type and scale, with a focus on structural engineering and the challenges therein.
• Technical Innovation: Judged on how relevant innovative structural engineering solutions contributed to project success, weighted by the complexity of the solved structural engineering challenges.
• Efficiency: Judged on how well the project promotes an economical outcome by balancing the efficiency of the structural system(s) with the costs associated with integrating that system within the overall project framework.
• Sustainability: Judged on the extent to which structural engineering and the result of unique structural engineering solutions advances or promotes sustainability within the built environment.
• Constructability: Judged on how well the structural engineering considered and contributed to improved constructability of the overall project.
• Execution: Judged on the efficacy of the structural engineering and its effect on the project.
• Public Impact: Judged on the extent to which the structural engineering will evoke reaction from the public and increase awareness of the structural engineering profession.
• Juror Judgment: Not all judging criteria can be objectively defined, like the application of “engineering judgment” this scoring category recognizes a juror’s discretion to subjectively evaluate a project, with focus on the value of the structural engineering presented, described and executed.

JURY SELECTION

The SEAW Seattle Board will act as the jury for the inaugural year. A committee will be selected to act as a jury starting in 2026. If you are interested in participating in or would like to nominate someone for the jury, please contact seaw.sc.awards@gmail.com.

Note: Jury members will recuse themselves from voting for an awards category if there is a conflict of interest.

ELIGIBILITY

At least one member of the design team, research team, or a principal of the firm responsible for the entry, shall be a SEAW Seattle Chapter PE or SE Member.

Projects may be of any size, type, or location (not Washington specific).

The project entry must have completed construction (building) or completed (research) between Jan 1, 2023 and Dec. 31, 2025.

Entrants may submit more than one project, but no more than three projects from a single firm total.

A project must be entered under one category only. If the Jury feels a project was submitted under the wrong category, they have the right to reassign the project. A single project can not be submitted under multiple categories.

Projects previously submitted are eligible for resubmission except for previous award winners.

Each entry is required to include approval of the project Engineer-of-Record, Responsible Engineer, or Principal Investigator before entry will be considered by the Awards Jury.

The entrant is solely responsible for any matters regarding confidentiality agreements related to the project.

ENTRY INSTRUCTIONS

Each entry must include the following:

1. Complete the online Application found on the events page.
2. Payment of Application fee.
3. Display Board Graphic (*.pdf). High-resolution image that will allow the printing of a 30” tall x 42” wide (landscape orientation) presentation board. The board may include photographs, drawings, graphics, and text as appropriate to summarize and illustrate significant aspects of the project. The display will be used by the Awards Jury as part of their evaluation.
• The display should focus on the unique structural engineering aspects of the project, with text and graphics supporting images and presentation techniques that help the observer recognize the importance of structural engineering in the project success.
• For project awards, the following shall be displayed somewhere on the board:
• Name of Project
• The names of the Structural Engineer(s), Firm, Architect, Contractor, and Owner/Client (if applicable). Include additional names receiving recognition as appropriate.
• The wording “SEAW Seattle Awards 2026” displayed prominently.
• For study/research/guidelines awards, the following shall be displayed somewhere on the board:
• Name of Project
• Authors
• Executive Summary
• The wording “SEAW Seattle Awards 2026” displayed prominently.
4. High-resolution Digital Images: Three (3) to six (6) high-resolution images (TIFF or JPEG) representing the project must be submitted. These might include images of the completed project, individual features, construction photos highlighting the structural engineering, and engineering drawings. Photos may be used for promotional material.

All entries shall become the property of SEAW and SEAW reserves the right to use or publish some or the entire entry material in publications. By entering, the Entrant grants a royalty- free license to SEAW to use any copyrighted material submitted. Such right includes publication of photographs and names of award recipients without compensation to Entrants.

SUBMISSION PROCESS AND DEADLINES

Please fill out the online application form by March 31st, 2026. If you have any questions regarding the application process, feel free to contact seaw.sc.awards@gmail.com.

*The SEAW Seattle Awards (SAs) are independent of other SEE awards and are not a prerequisite for the NCSEA SEE awards.