The 19th Cycle of the
Global Award for Sustainable Architecture™
is Now Open for Entries!
The Scientific Committee of the Global Award for Sustainable Architecture™ Announces the Launch of Its 19th Cycle
The unseen economic, ecological, social, and cultural challenges facing contemporary societies are being addressed by architects and planners as they search for a new definition of progress and the right balance between man and the environment. The understanding of design as a collective process based on shared ethics, methods, and experiments has been rewarded since 2007 by the Global Award for Sustainable Architecture™, an honor created by the architect and scholar Jana Revedin in partnership with international universities as scientific partners. Since 2011, the Global Award Symposium is placed under UNESCO’s patronage. In 2024, the Award received the endorsement of the UIA.
Rather than offering financial rewards, a community based on dialogue and the exchange of knowledge and visions has been created—a think tank that, over time, has become a “do tank” and driver of change.
The purpose of the Award is to honor annually five living architects, urban or landscape designers who are moving toward sustainability.
Their work offers clear insights into the search for an ecologically responsible contemporary architecture which is:
- fully in step with the ethical, civil, and social concerns of today
- innovative in the areas of ecology, energy, materials, and technology
- progressive in its search for new standards for both public and private facilities.
The 2026 Theme: “Architecture Is Transformation”
After having investigated the sources of architectural and urban innovation with “Architecture Is Experimentation” in 2023, the possible transdisciplinary transmission of sustainable design goals with “Architecture Is Education” in 2024, and courageously innovative and adaptive scenarios of building processes with “Architecture Is Construction” in 2025, the Scientific Jury of the Global Award for Sustainable Architecture™ has decided to become even more visionary in 2026. How can architecture welcome, embrace and foster transformation? How can we transform the existing built environment, protected or not, transform urban and rural infrastructures, architectural materialities and immaterialities? How can collective intelligence, cutting edge technological tools and experimental design processes emancipate our clients and users, all in the service of equality?
We invite all architects, designers, urban and landscape designers around the world to submit entries for studied or built projects, for work related to research, writing, and experimentation, which demonstrates innovation and design quality and plays a significant role in the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) defined by the United Nations.
The Global Award for Sustainable Architecture™ recognizes a nominee’s professional, scientific, social, and political engagement, not single projects.
Evaluation Criteria
Innovation: How can architectural research and experimentation innovate our practice and transform the existing? Which “open work” design processes can lead to a conscious and responsible use of data, mappings, surveys and participatory design practices? Can the “situated project”, including nature and all living beings, become the architectural evolution of our times?
Transdisciplinarity: How can architectural transformation promote collaboration among technical and creative explorers, designers, artisans, artists, and scientists from different fields to elaborate innovative and inclusive designs that address complex contemporary challenges efficiently?
Adaptability: How can architectural transformation develop scenarios of flexibility and adaptability, following the changing ways and rhythms of life of our societies?
Regeneration: How can architectural transformation invent the intelligent and joyful re-use of “What is already there”? How can it foster a harmonious coexistence between the built and natural environment, its cultural and environmental identity, and future needs?
Empowerment: How can architectural transformation become an agent of emancipation, fostering design processes “with and by the people”, also through recent 3D and AI tools? Which methods and processes of architectural evolution lead to democratic access to essential services and amenities?
Timeline
- Award launch: World Architecture Day, October 7, 2024
- Deadline for questions: October 28, 2024
- Deadline for answers: November 4, 2024
- Deadline for submissions: January 20, 2025
- Jury meeting: May 5, 2025. Winners will be contacted by May 31, 2025.
- Announcement of winners: Spring 2026 (date to be announced), at the Global Award for Sustainable ArchitectureTM Symposium
Download the Submission Template here
Download the complete Award Description and Requirements here
Once you have completed the submission template, go to the “Submission” tab to complete your application
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