Royal College of Art Announces 2026 Grand Challenge Design Winners

The Royal College of Art has revealed the results of its RCA Grand Challenge 2026, a major postgraduate design competition. This year's edition, themed 'Design for Betterment,' focused on addressing sustainability and equity through interdisciplinary collaboration within the School of Design. Judging panels included representatives from the RCA, Holland & Barrett, Tesco, and Arup. In the Sustainability category, first place went to 'Oasis,' a project by Anita Selmani, Cara Lenfestey, Lili Saito, and Qiwen Deng that aims to decrease food waste in Rwanda by adapting vehicles with affordable cooling technology to improve storage and support farmers. Second place was awarded to 'Shhroom,' created by China Saxton, Shubhangi Prasad, Yunjie Zhou, and Caterina Bellisomo, which uses sound mapping and AI to reduce urban noise pollution while enhancing natural sounds. Third place went to 'The Midnight Garden,' a speculative dining and wellness concept by Frances O'Leary, Gemma Chanthawong, Doyeon Lee, and Jiawei Fan that explores nocturnal ecosystems and pollinators. In the Equity category, first place was secured by 'PIN,' a project by Akihisa Ohara, Kate Masters, and Drew King that proposes an accreditation system for schools to promote healthier digital habits among youth. Second place was given to 'Flourish,' designed by Yuntong Deng, Elizabeth McKenna, Daiana Battakova, and Yujia Zhang, offering a home urine test kit to help women manage menopause. Third place went to 'Common Access,' by Taylor Graham, Uttara Chockalingam, Caroline Shujia Wang, and Peter Zhengfeng Fu, which establishes community-based information points for elderly residents in Kensington and Chelsea to access services without digital barriers. Professor Kerry Curtis, Interim Dean of the School of Design and Dean of the School of Communication at the RCA, emphasized that innovation stems from collaboration and engagement with complex issues, noting partnerships with organizations like CBRE, The Sustainable Markets Initiative, The Helen Hamlyn Centre for Design, InnovationRCA, and the Design Council. She highlighted the theme's focus on both large-scale and incremental impacts, praising the students' efforts to create practical solutions for global challenges. The winning projects demonstrate human-centered approaches to bridging systemic gaps in areas such as supply chains, healthcare, digital wellbeing, and urban environments.