Buildner Announces Unbuilt Award 2026 with €100K Prize Fund and Reveals 2025 Winners
Buildner has introduced the Unbuilt Award 2026, marking its third annual contest, featuring a total prize pool of €100,000 divided into Small, Medium, and Large categories. This competition invites innovative architectural designs that have yet to be realized from professionals and students worldwide. Registration starts on February 27, 2026, with entries due by October 20, 2026, and the winners will be revealed on December 1, 2026. An international panel, including Manuela Gatto and David Gianotten, will judge the submissions. Each category winner will receive €20,000, while student winners will earn €5,000 per category, in addition to a €10,000 Best Presentation Award. Notable 2025 projects included 'Architecture as Resilient Machine' by Yuanyuan Cao and 'Theseus: A New Housing Typology' by Emma Agnes Sheffer and Joe Robert Russell.
Key facts
- Buildner launched Unbuilt Award 2026 with €100,000 prize fund
- Winners of Unbuilt Award 2025 announced simultaneously
- Competition has three categories: Small, Medium, Large projects
- Registration opens February 27, 2026, closes October 20, 2026
- International jury includes Manuela Gatto, David Gianotten, Carlo Ratti
- Category winners receive €20,000 and Continuum trophy by Germans Ermičs
- 2025 winner 'Architecture as Resilient Machine' by Yuanyuan Cao
- 2025 winner 'Theseus: A New Housing Typology' by Emma Agnes Sheffer and Joe Robert Russell
Entities
Artists
- Yuanyuan Cao
- Tigran Danielian
- Emma Agnes Sheffer
- Joe Robert Russell
- Yoon Daeun
- Heecheol Kang
- Hyeongwon Ryu
- Xavier Arés
- Koh Noguchi
- Juan Pablo Lopez Isabella
- Vagia Dimara
- Shalva Makharadze
- Kelvin Goh Cher Kiang
- Lim Zi Hong
- Yicheng Ren
- Xinyi Wang
- Essamalden Mohamed Mohamed Abdo Alemam
- Aishidha Rajeev
- Nada Gamal Eissa Bakhit
- Hind Altawi
- Xinwei Guo
- Jianing Yang
- Rabee S. R. Alashi
- Manuela Gatto
- David Gianotten
- Melodie Leung
- Amanda Levete
- Jürgen Mayer H.
- Michael Meredith
- Jennifer Newsom
- Carlo Ratti
- Nader Tehrani
- Germans Ermičs
Institutions
- Buildner
- Zaha Hadid Architects
- OMA
- AL_A
- J.MAYER.H und Partner
- MOS Architects
- Princeton University
- Dream The Combine
- MIT Senseable City Lab
- NADAAA
- Harvard Graduate School of Design
- KET Bureau
- Kangwon National University
- BRUT Architecture
- DESIGN DRIVE
- ArchDaily
- OMA (Office for Metropolitan Architecture)
Locations
- Canada
- Armenia
- United States
- South Korea
- Spain
- Greece
- Georgia
- Singapore
- Providence
- Rhode Island
- Australia
- Saudi Arabia
- Somalia
- UK
- Netherlands
- Germany
- Japan
- Kyoto
- Grevena
- Batumi
- Uyuni Salt Flats
- Chelsea
- Massachusetts
- Busan
- West Oakland
- Bosaso
- AlUla
- Huailai
- Port of Chelsea