Prix de Rome in Architecture – Professional

Guidelines

The Canada Council is committed to equity and inclusion, and encourages applications and nominations from individuals, groups and organizations from culturally diverse, Deaf, disability and official language minority communities. The Canada Council is committed to reaffirming and revitalizing its relationship with First Nations, Inuit and Métis peoples in Canada. Measures are in place in all programs to support these commitments.

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The Prix de Rome in Architecture – Professional is awarded annually to either an architectural firm or an architect who has completed their first built works and has demonstrated exceptional artistic potential.

The prize encourages the development of Canadian architecture by supporting the recipient’s travel and research to develop their skills and creative practice, and to strengthen their position in the international architecture world.

Deadline – 5 October 2024

If this date falls on a weekend or statutory holiday, the deadline moves to the next business day.

Your completed application form, required documents, and required support material must be submitted by email on or before the deadline date by 11:59 pm (local time). Incomplete or late applications will not be assessed.

Application limits – you can apply once per year

Notification of results – approximately 5 months after the deadline date

Prize amount – $50,000

Eligibility – Who can apply?

Architects and architectural firms specializing in architecture, landscape architecture and urban design can apply. You must also meet one of the following definitions:

Architect

To be eligible as an architect, you must:

• be registered as an architect in Canada
• have maintained a professional practice for a minimum of 2 years
• have completed a professional body of work
• have published or have presented at least 1 work in a public setting
• be a Canadian citizen or have permanent resident status, as defined by Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada. You do not need to be living in Canada when you apply.

Architectural firm

Architectural firms can apply for projects that examine and present ideas on the Canadian contemporary built environment.

To be eligible as an architectural firm, you must:

• be registered as an architectural firm in Canada by the Canadian Architectural Certification Board
• be incorporated in Canada
• have been in operation at least 2 years
• be at least 75% Canadian-owned
• have your head office and executives in Canada
• have maintained a professional practice for a minimum of 3 years
• have completed a professional body of work
• have been published or have presented at least 1 work in a public setting

Activities – What can I apply for?

You can apply for activities and travel that will support the development and recognition of your practice. The proposal can include multiple trips and destinations over a maximum 2-year period.

Eligible activities include:

• visits to exceptional buildings
• participation in biennales, conferences, seminars, competitions and architectural workshops
• meetings with editors, critics and curators of architecture.

You can’t apply for activities that occur before the deadline date, those that receive funding from another Canada Council program or those on the general list of ineligible activities.

Restrictions

You may apply to the Prix de Rome in Architecture – Professional, and the Ronald J. Thom Award in the same year. Applications to the Prix de Rome in Architecture – Professional will be assessed first. If you are successful in the Prix de Rome in Architecture – Professional competition, your application will be withdrawn from the Ronald J. Thom Award competition.

Application/Nomination Assistance and Access Support

Application/Nomination Assistance contributes to costs for services to help with a prize application or nomination for individuals who self-identify as: 

• Deaf, hard of hearing, having a disability or living with a mental illness
• First Nations, Inuit or Métis facing language, geographic and/or cultural barriers.

To submit a request, contact the Prizes team 1 to 4 weeks prior to the deadline.

Access Support funds individual applicants who self-identify as Deaf, having disabilities or living with a mental illness, as well as groups and organizations that dedicate the majority of their resources towards supporting these communities. This supplementary grant provides a contribution towards costs for specific services and supports required to carry out a project funded through a Canada Council program.

Assessment – How are decisions made?

Peer evaluation is fundamental to the Canada Council’s decision-making process. A peer assessment committee, composed of experienced professionals selected for their expertise in their field of practice, will assess the eligible applications. Committee members will also be selected with consideration to fair representation of artistic specializations, Canada’s 2 official languages, First Nations, Inuit and Metis people, Deaf and disability communities, gender, age and the cultural and regional diversity of Canada.

The peer assessment committee may decide not to award the prize in a given competition.

All peer assessment committee decisions are final.

Assessment criteria

Your application will be evaluated based on the following weighted criteria:

Impact (50%)

The potential of the activities to:

• generate opportunities for professional growth
• advance the overall development of architecture in Canada

Your contributions toward:

• considerations of accessibility and other social factors including environmental sustainability

Merit (40%)

• the artistic quality of your architectural projects
• the quality of the proposed activities

Feasibility (10%)

• a reasonable budget
• your capacity to undertake the proposed activities

Required information and support material – What you need to submit

Please refer to the application form for detailed instructions.

• Curriculum vitae or history of firm (3 pages maximum)
• Description of contributions and proposed activities (4 pages maximum)
• Schedule (1 page maximum)
• Budget (1 page maximum)
• Letters of invitation (5 letters maximum)
• Critical texts, articles or catalogues published about your practice, firm or projects (15 pages maximum)
• Support material
  • digital images (20 pages maximum), OR
  • digital images (15 pages maximum) and 1 video (3 minutes maximum)

Application preparation

• The Canada Council will make decisions about your eligibility based on the information you provide.
• You are responsible for providing all the information and support material requested.
• Submit only the material requested. Extra material will not be shown to the peer assessment committee.
• Carefully choose your support material as committee members have limited time in which to review each application.
• In addition to filling out your contact information in the application form, if you have an account on the Canada Council’s portal, please make sure that the information is up to date.

Personal information

Personal information collected in this application shall be used for purposes related directly to the program, service or activity of the Canada Council.

The Canada Council may share personal information from applications and nominations for awards with officials in other arts and cultural industry funding agencies and government institutions on a confidential basis. Shared information is limited to your name, contact information, field of practice and project description, and is provided to assist with research, reporting, program planning and evaluation, to present networking or economic opportunities, or to respond to federal reviews. For more information on how your personal information is protected, see our Privacy Notice.

Prize terms and conditions

If your application is successful, the terms and conditions will be outlined in a notification letter.

Prize payment

The Canada Council will send you the prize money after it has received your acknowledgement form. Winners cannot receive the prize money until all overdue final reports for Canada Council grants and prizes have been submitted and approved. This prize will not be awarded posthumously.

Tax status

This prize is taxable and a T4A slip will be issued, at the appropriate time, for grants and awards paid to individuals. When determining your project start date, individuals should be aware that according to the Canada Revenue Agency (CRA), expenses incurred in the year immediately before a prize is received are only deductible from the prize if they are incurred after the artist has received notification that the prize will be paid. For more information about income taxes and your prize, please refer to our website. If you have any tax-related questions, please contact the CRA or your provincial or territorial revenue department.

Participation in promotional activities

The winners must agree to allow their photographs and public information to be used for promotion of the prize and in other Canada Council promotional initiatives.

Acknowledgement of Canada Council support

You must acknowledge the support of the Canada Council for the Arts in all promotional material associated with the prize. Details will be included in your notification letter.

Final report

You will be required to submit a final report by the date identified in your notification letter.

Previous winners

Visit the Prix de Rome in Architecture – Professional web page to download a list of past winners.

Instructions – How to submit an application

Send your completed application form, required documents and support material as 1 email on or before the deadline date by 11:59 pm (local time) to architecture-prizes@canadacouncil.ca. Please include the name of the prize in the subject line. The maximum file size including attachments is 25 MB. If you do not receive a confirmation email within 3 business days, please contact us to make sure we received your application.

Contact information

architecture-prizes@canadacouncil.ca

1-800-263-5588 (toll-free) or 613-566-4414, ext. 6004