
For the past four decades, NAHB’s Best in American Living Awards (BALA) have celebrated the value and importance of good home and community design.
Over the next several months, BALA will celebrate its significant 40-year milestone by showcasing memorable trends and award-winning projects, as well as celebrating its esteemed BALA Hall of Fame inductees who helped set the stage for today’s design creativity and innovation.
Although trends and best practices in home design have evolved through the years, NAHB’s commitment to driving innovation and improving the places where we live, work and play remains steadfast. NAHB is proud to once again recognize and honor the architects, builders and designers who have become part of the BALA community and made their mark in defining excellence in residential design.
Join us on our journey into the past, and celebrate the evolution of design!

40th Anniversary
2010 Community of the Year: Daybreak
The master planned community of Daybreak exemplifies the possibilities of Smart Growth development at the...
2013 Remodel of the Year: Squaw Creek Ranch
Squaw Creek Ranch, Doss, Texas Photography by Richard Laughlin Architect: Laughlin Homes & Restoration, Inc.,...
Multifamily Spotlight: The Place at Fifth + Broadway
The Place at Fifth + Broadway is a 34-story residential building at the west end...
Home Design in the 1990s
The ’90s were a time of change, moving away from the boldness of the ’80s...
2009 Home of the Year: Neathermead Residence
In 2009, the Neathermead residence in Asheville, N.C., was not only deemed worthy of BALA’s...
2002 Home of the Year: The Sentinels
The Sentinels is 10 clusters of hilltop detached homes in San Diego. Plan One of...
BALA Celebrates Inductees Bloodgood, Eggerts & Habitat for Humanity
Jack Bloodgood, Class of 2008* Perhaps more than any other architect of the late 20th...
BALA Celebrates Inductees Danielian, Dreyfus & DeWalt
Gene C. Dreyfus, Class of 2013* Founded in 1963, The Childs Dreyfus Group (CDG) provides...