The IESPR Illumination Award is an annual competition where architects, designers, and engineers in Puerto Rico can show off their lighting design skills through a recently completed project. This document lays out the submissions process and should answer most questions you may have about the award. We look forward to your submissions and wish you all the best of luck!
Entry and Deadline
Entry: October 5, 2026
Deadline: November 6, 2026 at 11:59 PM AST (GMT-4)
Team Registration Fees
IES Members $50 USD / Non-Members $75 USD At least one person on the project design team must be an IES member in order to qualify for the member pricing. Their IES member number will be asked for during the submission.
Eligibility
Entrants
Any person, team and/or organization based in Puerto Rico may enter a project for the Illumination Award, including IES members, non members, and agents, with the exclusion of IES administrative staff, competition judges, and manufacturers.
Projects
- Any permanent lighting installation can be submitted to the IESPR Illumination Award, so long as this project is in Puerto Rico and was completed no more than 5 years preceding the competition submission date.
- Projects may be entered only once using the IESPR Illumination Award form website. The nominator must check with all parties to eliminate duplicate entries.
- Different areas of the same project may be submitted as separate lighting project entries. Each of these entries must have its own distinguishable title and will be judged separately.
Submission Requirements
The project submission will consist of the following items presented in landscaped PDF format. This will be in addition to the nominator’s personal information at the beginning of the document. Refer to the provided template example for more information.
Project Summary
Up to a three hundred (300) word maximum narrative is allowed to present a project.
PLEASE NOTE: The names of the designers, the name of the design firm, equipment manufacturers or specific brands is not allowed anywhere in the narrative. Any reference or endorsement of a commercial product is not allowed. Submittals with this information will be disqualified. However, proper names of places (i.e., Waldorf Astoria, Verizon, Target) in the narrative is admissible.
Images
- Up to 10 high-resolution images (photos, sketches or renderings) per entry will be accepted.1 to 2 images with their respective descriptions per slide, but each image will count towards the maximum allotment of 10.
- All project images must be taken at night or under conditions where natural light contribution is minimal, in order to accurately showcase the architectural lighting design.
- Digital renderings that are identified as such are acceptable—if they are accompanied by a photograph of the actual installation, to demonstrate the actual design and installed results. Each rendering and accompanying photographs will be counted individually.
- Images must be in JPEG format and at least 1024px wide and 768px high.
PROHIBITED: Fill light, modified images, digital enhancement.
Image Narratives
Each image can be described in a 25-word narrative that explains that particular image. This narrative is in addition to the introductory summary for each project.
Award Description
Illumination Award for Lighting Design
This award recognizes an exceptional interior or exterior lighting project that balances the functional illumination of space with the artistic application of light to enhance the occupant's experience. The judging criteria will be based on achievements in aesthetics, applied technical acumen, creative solutions to demanding project conditions and advancements to the industry in lighting applications.
Judging Process
For this competition, all judges are volunteers from external IES sections. All judging is conducted ‘blind’ or anonymously using the program score sheets. Judges do not know any project nominator details at any stage of judging.
Use by IES Puerto Rico Section
IES may use the projects submitted to promote the Society’s programs and services. All entry materials including photos and narratives can be used without restriction by IES Puerto Rico Section. IESPR will have reproduction privileges of photographs and scripts without charge to the Society. The Lead Lighting Designer must inform the owner, and all others involved or associated in the project design of participation in the Illumination Awards program and that the submission may be used by IESPR. The owner’s name and location may be withheld for privacy reasons.
