News

Louisville, KY (October 3, 2025) – The stage is set for one of the industry’s most exciting competitions: the HNA National Installer Championship. One team will be crowned Champion and lift the prestigious Taylor Cup – the ultimate symbol of excellence in the hardscape industry.

Every year, the HNA Awards shine a spotlight on the projects that define excellence in hardscaping. The 2025 submissions are in, and the response tells an incredible story about the growth, reach, and creativity of our industry.

Hardscape North America (HNA), the leading trade show for the hardscape and landscape industries, has once again sold out all available exhibit space for its 2025 event, set to take place October 22-24 at the Kentucky Exposition Center in Louisville.

Step into the action at the Hardscape House – Hardscape North America’s (HNA) outdoor pavilion – where a different kind of construction site comes to life. It’s not your average job site. This is where sweat meets spectacle, where precision becomes performance, and where top-tier installation teams face off in a high-stakes, high-speed test of skill – the HNA Installer Championship.

You don’t have to take home to top honors to get major value from submitting to the 2025 HNA Awards. Year after year, we hear from first-time entrants who say they waited to submit because they didn’t think they had a shot. But once they entered, they realized they had gained so much more than the potential for an award.

When you think about entering the HNA Awards, it’s easy to focus on the obvious perk of recognition. But while bragging rights are great (and well deserved for our winners!), many past participants say the real value of submitting goes far deeper.

If you think the HNA Awards are only for big-name firms with massive crews and long client lists, think again. Some of the most celebrated projects we’ve seen over the years have come from small teams, solo contractors, and first-time entrants.

Incredible hardscaping projects miss out on top scores every year at the HNA Awards because of missteps in the submission process. Whether you’re entering for the first time or are a seasoned pro looking to improve your chances, understanding what NOT to do is just as important as knowing what makes a winning entry.

Each year, the Hardscape North America (HNA) Awards celebrate the best in hardscaping and behind every winning project is a story of creativity, skill, and purpose. But what exactly makes a submission stand out? We asked a few of our esteemed 2025 HNA Awards judges to share what they’ll be looking for this year and why you should consider submitting your work.

Hardscape North America (HNA) is raising the bar on industry education with an exciting slate of new and expanded learning opportunities at this year’s show, October 22-24 at the Kentucky Exposition Center. From cutting-edge technical sessions to hands-on demos and expert-led roundtables, this year’s lineup is designed to give hardscape and landscape professionals practical tools they can apply immediately to their businesses.

With updated category descriptions and expanded options, it’s easier than ever to find the perfect place for your project to shine in the 2025 HNA Awards! This year, we’ve refined many of the category definitions to make submission more straightforward and the judging more meaningful. You’ll find options broken out by commercial and residential use, by square footage, and even by specialized systems like permeable pavement.

Want to increase your chances of winning an HNA Award? Submit more than one entry. Entrants who stand out often submit different projects across multiple categories or even submit multiple projects in the same category (as long as each one meets the criteria).