The list includes some familiar names to Archinect readers. Past RIBA Stirling Prize winner Allford Hall Monaghan Morris, Bestor Architecture, D.U.S.T, and Waechter Architecture were included. West Coast heavyweights Olson Kundig Architects, Bohlin Cywinski Jackson, and Brooks + Scarpa were joined by the female-owned Santa Monica outfit BA Collective (which is currently hiring) and 25 others from California alone. Firms from northern New England and Louisiana were also well-represented on this year's list, which is the inaugural edition. 

Forbes notes: "To help ensure that geographic inclusiveness, as well as the most equitable process of evaluation possible, we assembled a regionally diverse advisory board of leading experts on the American house. With their input and guidance, we then formulated a singularly rigorous methodology and system of evaluation, the latter giving rise to a new aspirational standard for residential design and construction, the seven-category Forbes Architecture Residential Guiding Principles & Best Practices."