For more than a decade, the NanaWall NanaAwards have been a snapshot of where both commercial and residential design are headed. This year's impressive submissions gave us a front-row seat to how NanaWall opening glass walls are used by architects, designers, builders, and homeowners every day, to innovate design in the real world. Not just for sweeping openings and view-worthy spaces, but for the hard-working parts of a building: durability, weather performance, acoustic separations, hurricane impact zones, privacy layers, tight footprints, and beyond. Read on to learn more about this year’s commercial and residential design winners and take a look at the myriad ways they put these opening glass walls to work.
Commercial and Residential Designs That Go Above & Beyond with Opening Glass Walls
Explore 13 Silver Award-winning projects that illustrate how architects, builders, and owners use opening glass walls to push the boundaries of performance, durability, and flexibility in commercial and residential design. From a revived 100-year-old barn to a curved wood framed kitchen opening, to a waterfront retreat on the Sunshine Coast, the 2025 NanaAwards Silver winners reveal just how many ways NanaWall systems are designed to perform across diverse applications.
The 2025 Residential Silver NanaAward Winners
Across this year’s residential Silver winners, NanaWall systems play a purposeful role in how these homes function and feel. They reconnect historic homes to long-neglected yards, make compact kitchens feel like part of the landscape, and help mountain, waterfront, and poolside spaces stay comfortable through inclement weather. From a revived barn ADU to a shou sugi ban rear addition in Chicago, these projects demonstrate how opening glass walls can bring daylight, airflow, and year-round circulation to homes.
Silver Winner, Best ADU: Ludington Barn Revival by Marzenie Signature Homes
In Michigan, the Ludington Barn Revival brings a century-old structure into a new chapter. Marzenie Signature Homes honored the patina and proportions of the original barn while quietly upgrading its performance as an accessory dwelling. Opening glass walls anchor the main living zone, blending the rustic interior with the surrounding landscape.
Silver Winner, Best Kitchen/Dining: Hillside Playhouse Designed by Odd Lot Design
Hillside Playhouse in Washington starts with a compact kitchen and turns it into the heart of a bigger, more playful plan. Odd Lot Design shaped the deck as a true extension of the kitchen, then drew a curved wood framed folding glass door along the edge. When closed, the kitchen still feels bright and protected. When open, cooking, conversation, and play spill outside in one continuous flow.
Silver Winner, Best Living Room: Woodland Serenity by Craig Tuttle Construction
Woodland Serenity lives up to its name by treating the living room as a kind of quiet observatory. Craig Tuttle Construction used wood framed bifold doors to frame the tree canopy and surrounding greenery in Nebraska, letting the scenery carry most of the decoration. Inside, finishes stay restrained and warm. Opening glass walls support that calm by controlling glare, temperature, and airflow while keeping the focus on the landscape beyond.
Silver Winner, Best Mountain Home: Gozzer Ranch Estate by Gayteway Custom Homes
At Gozzer Ranch Estate in Idaho, Gayteway Custom Homes designed a home for a climate that swings between snow and high summer. Sleek opening glass walls create a wide portal to the patio and pool, giving the home a direct connection to its setting. A matching pass-through folding window system was incorporated to complement the doors. These systems are built to perform in harsh weather and mountain conditions: strong sun, wind, water, and seasonal temperature shifts.
Silver Winner, Best Patio / Deck: Crescent Beach by Monokrom Studio
Crescent Beach started with a modest bathroom remodel and grew into a complete rethinking of a family home in British Columbia. Monokrom Studio turned the living room toward the water with a disappearing wood framed stacking glass door system, carving out flexible zones that can open and close as the day changes. The system creates multiple “modes” for the house: fully open for gatherings, partially stacked for protected fresh air, and fully closed for storms and cold snaps.
Silver Winner, Best Pool House: Azure Pool Cabana by the 4M Company
Azure Pool Cabana in Ohio reads like a four-season pavilion. The 4M Company lined the structure with three opening glass walls that can effortlessly change between a breezy poolside hangout and an enclosed retreat. Those doors carry a real workload: exposure to humidity, splashes, freeze-thaw cycles, and lots of traffic. Their performance keeps the cabana comfortable year-round.
Silver Winner, Best Remodel: Charred Wood & Glass House by Moss Design
In Illinois, Moss Design took on the challenge of reconnecting a historic home to a tree-filled yard without overwhelming its character. The Charred Wood & Glass House uses opening glass walls to bridge old and new, maximizing daylight, improving circulation, and extending entertaining space to the exterior.
“Dissolving the boundary between the interior family room and exterior terrace is achieved with a 14′ wide x 7′ tall folding glass NanaWall that completely folds away, nesting in the corner of the space, out of the way of circulation paths and furniture arrangements.” — Moss Design, Charred Wood & Glass House (Ravenswood, Chicago)
Silver Winner, Best Waterfront: Sunshine Coast Retreat in British Columbia
Sunshine Coast Retreat, set along the Sechelt Inlet, is a study in immersion. The colors, materials, and folding glass doors all take cues from the surrounding water and forest. When the panels fold aside, scent, breeze, and sound from the landscape pour into the living spaces. When closed, the home remains visually tied to the inlet while gaining the protection and comfort needed for year-round use. Designed by Architect collabor8 in collaboration with HWH Contracting.
The 2025 Commercial Silver NanaAward Winners
Every year, the NanaAwards shine a light on commercial design projects that ask more of their openings: to support versatile space in learning and working environments, survive freeze-thaw cycles, manage crowds in busy venues, maintain cozy commercial interiors regardless of weather, or give a compact storefront the range of a full-size retail space. Read on to see the 2025 Silver NanaAwards commercial design winners!
Silver Winner, Best Arts & Events: Wellfield Botanic Gardens by Arkos Design
At Wellfield Botanic Gardens in Indiana, the Visitor Center is conceived as a threshold between built space and cultivated landscape. Arkos Design leaned into that idea by incorporating frameless opening glass walls in the event rooms, delivering near-invisible structure and a 180-degree garden panorama. The systems let staff tune the building to the day’s events, with wide open continuous glass for receptions and seasonal festivals, closed for more intimate gatherings with uninterrupted views.
“This building is meant to be a transformational experience for our guests when they enter, all the way to when they come into the garden and then exit. The very intentional design of these spaces allows the outside light and color inside the building, providing amazing views. This allows us to really put our best foot forward and be the face of this, our neighborhood.” — Eric Garton, Former Wellfield Botanic Gardens Visitor Center Executive Director.
Silver Winner, Best Education: Susquehannock High School by Beers + Hoffman Architecture
At Susquehannock High School in Pennsylvania, the Commons Area is designed as the heart of campus life. Beers + Hoffman Architecture specified folding glass doors to connect it directly with the media center, giving students a clear line of sight to one of the school’s most important resources. The bifold system maintains visibility and daylight while allowing staff to control noise, access, and environmental comfort.
Silver Winner, Best Hospitality: Marriott Sawgrass Cabana Club by Petrie Construction LLC
The Marriott Sawgrass Cabana Club in Florida, by Petrie Construction LLC, leans into its oceanfront setting without compromising comfort. Multiple folding glass doors knit indoor and outdoor dining into one experience, giving guests consistent access to the beach and sea views.
Silver Winner, Best Office: Universal Design Associates, Inc.
For their own office in Indiana, Universal Design Associates wanted a workspace that reflects how they practice: collaborative, flexible, and visually connected. A bifold door system sits at the center of that strategy, allowing the firm to merge or separate zones quickly for charrettes, client meetings, and quiet focus. Across the glass, the team added a custom graphic film printed with architectural plans, turning the wall into a luminous drawing set that signals what the firm does while softening views between rooms. The result is a meeting suite that can shift from formal presentations to informal gatherings without losing privacy, acoustic control, or a clear sense of the studio’s identity.
Silver Winner, Best Retail: Arhaus Wexford by Onyx Creative
In Wexford, Pennsylvania, Architect Onyx Creative and Contractor Graycor Inc. helped Arhaus craft a retail environment that feels more like an open-air pavilion than a closed box. Opening glass walls line the facade with matching folding glass window systems that build a continuous connection between interior displays and the outdoor setting.
Final Thoughts
The impressive NanaAwards 2025 Silver winners in commercial and residential design form a wide-ranging and impressive portfolio of projects. Some rely on NanaWall systems for extreme weather performance, others for acoustic control, privacy strategies, or the ability to flex between open and closed plans multiple times a day. This year’s projects illustrate how opening glass walls are used as an innovative design solution across different types of commercial and residential design.
To every architect, interior designer, builder, contractor, homeowner, and business that submitted work to 2025’s competition, thank you. These projects push the boundaries of innovation and design excellence using NanaWall systems!
Want to see more projects like this? Visit the NanaWall inspiration gallery to browse residential, commercial, and specialty applications featuring NanaWall systems.
