This was the second year of the TRENDS Awards. And what a year it has been. Almost everything about the awards grew exponentially. Be it the participation and entries from the best of architecture and design talents from around the country, to the number of jury meets that were instated, to the final Awards night at ITC Grand in Mumbai. Chennai-based firm Mancini, headed by Niels Schoenfelder, is the big winner of this year. It was an interesting conversation back in the office when we had to figure out how to best prepare five fragile 3D printed trophies for air travel back to Chennai or how to best design the award pages when Mancini’s was a recurrent entry in almost all categories. Another big winner is Architecture BRIO from Mumbai. Interestingly, the majority of awardees this year are young firms. Clearly, what the jurors looked for was work that showed a fresh point of view. And this is the ethos of the TRENDS Awards. Although we accepted entries in 23 categories this year, not all were awarded by the jury. Although a double-edged sword, I think this speaks most highly of our jury and award process. There was one resounding thought when the jurors met – that a ‘winner’ is sacrosanct in a way – displaying extraordinary work that simply stands apart from the rest. And there was no diluting that. Thus, inside the pages, you will notice quite a few categories with joint winners, an only runner up, joint commendations, or only a commendation sans a winner per category. Once again, thank you for sending in your valuable work. And for your support. Congratulations to the awardees; and a BIG congratulations to the 148 nominees that were selected by our pre-jurors from 1300 entries. Hope you enjoy this special edition. Cheers