Calling all designers! We’re into the final few days to get your entries in for the Western Living Designers of the Year awards! —if you’ve been debating, now is the time to enter.

Your final, drop-dead deadline is this Friday, April 17. Your entry fee includes one ticket to our Designers of the Year event on September 10 in Vancouver at Inform, and a complimentary subscription to Western Living.

Entries not accepted after April 17—no exceptions. The deadline will not be extended past this date.

And there’s so many great reasons to enter, truly. Take it from our 2025 Furniture Designers of the Year, Marrimor Objects:

“Winning the DOTY award significantly elevated our presence within the local market and helped establish our young furniture brand within the design community. The recognition opened meaningful doors, connecting us with talented designers and architects and expanding our professional network.

The awards event itself is always a highlight. In an industry that rarely slows down, it provides a valuable opportunity to pause, reflect on our accomplishments, and celebrate the collective achievements of our community. WL also always makes sure the party is so much fun.” Tanja Breadner & Lauren Bugliarisi, Marrimor Objects, Furniture Designers of the Year 2025

Western Living‘s Designers of the Year competition is an annual celebration of the best designers in Western Canada. Winners are featured in the September issue of the magazine and online at westernliving.ca, as well on our Instagram and Facebook.

We’ll also be live-announcing the finalists at Thermador in Vancouver on June 17—and every finalist is entered into our 2026 Western Living People’s Choice Awards.

Categories include Architecture, Interior Design, Landscape Design, Furniture Design, Industrial Design and Maker, plus our two emerging categories: the Arthur Erickson Memorial Award for an emerging architect or residential designer, and the Robert Ledingham Memorial award for an emerging interior designer.

Any questions? We’ve put together this handy FAQ page, or feel free to drop us a line at [email protected], and we’re happy to help you through the process.

And now: we’re pleased to introduce the esteemed judging panel for our Maker category!

Enter now!

The 2026 Western Living Designers of the Year Landscape Design Judges

Paul Sangha, Paul Sangha Creative

Paul Sangha is the Founder and Principal of Vancouver-based Paul Sangha Creative, an internationally recognized landscape architecture studio established in 1999. The studio’s portfolio spans private gardens and estates, as well as hospitality, institutional, and public projects across the globe.

Over the past 40 years, Paul’s reputation has been built on his landscape-led approach to site planning, with a careful focus on material integrity and a mastery of proportion and scale. An advocate for the art community, Paul’s work also explores the integration of landscape, architecture, and sculpture to create immersive environments rooted in place.

Along Vancouver’s waterfront, the studio has set new precedents for sculptural, nature-based coastal design strategies that address long-term shoreline protection and foreshore habitat restoration. Sangha is a Fellow of the Canadian Society of Landscape Architects and a recipient of the UBC Faculty of Applied Science Dean’s Medal of Distinction. He remains actively involved in mentorship, teaching, and supporting design education through the studio’s annual scholarship program.

 

Joseph Fry, Hapa Collaborative

Founding Principal Joseph Fry is the founding principal of Hapa Collaborative and a contemporary voice for landscape architecture and urban design in Vancouver. With over 32 years of experience, Joe has dedicated himself to deepening the discussion around the economic, societal and environmental values of civic placemaking. He has advocated for these ideals as a member of the Vancouver Advisory Urban Design Panel, the chair of the Richmond Urban Design Panel, a director of the BCSLA, and as an adjunct professor and advisory board member for UBC’s School of Architecture and Landscape Architecture.

Joe is a coach, a parent, a volunteer and a committed participant in our city’s discussion about design and the public realm. Born and raised in northern Ontario, Joseph graduated with a BLA from the University of Guelph in 1994 and immediately settled on the west coast, working in Vancouver. He moved to Seattle in 1998 to study with the late Japanese American landscape architect Robert Murase, developing his technical skills with stone and water features and his appreciation for contemporary Japanese design.

In 2009, Joseph established Hapa Collaborative, which has since flourished as a fresh and agile alternative to traditional practice, with a reputation for creativity, innovation and collaboration. He is the design lead for many of Hapa’s projects, including šxʷƛ̓ənəq Xwtl’e7énḵ Square at the Vancouver Art Gallery, the Foot of Lonsdale Plaza and Shipyards Commons in North Vancouver, the award-winning Sun Hop Park in Vancouver and Sp’akw’us Feather Park in Squamish.

Ready to enter? Head over to our entry page!