Are you interested in news from the world of architecture and design or would you like to find out more about award participants, winners and the award? Then you've come to the right place.

Between constant connectivity and digital overload, the desire for spaces that offer relief is growing. Milan Design Week 2026 demonstrated that the bathroom is taking on a new role. It is no longer understood merely as a functional sanitary space, but as a place where daily routines transition into moments of calm and regeneration. Within a compact footprint, it concentrates everything contemporary interior architecture is expected to achieve: an intelligent interplay of layout, lighting, technology, material and atmosphere. In multi-residential housing, compact and durable solutions are essential. In residential and contract projects, robust materials, carefully considered lighting and intuitive usability stand out. In the private bathroom, spa elements and tactile material concepts are increasingly coming to the fore.

For designers and architects, the bathroom is therefore becoming an increasingly sophisticated space. Water, light, surfaces and acoustics are being considered more consciously. Warm woods, mineral materials, refined metals and calm compositions demonstrate how wellness today is created less through excess and more through quality and spatial balance.

The focus is also shifting for manufacturers. Regulations concerning CO₂ reduction, material transparency, reparability and recyclability are directly influencing development and production. Long-term material and system solutions are now at the centre of attention. They demonstrate how ceramics, stainless steel, fittings, furniture, shower solutions and smart technologies can be seamlessly integrated into architectural concepts. Technology itself is becoming increasingly invisible: systems for water optimisation, hygiene and energy efficiency are now part of a calm architecture of comfort. The new bathroom is becoming a refuge — a space in which material, function and atmosphere come together so naturally that everyday routines are transformed into moments of relief and restoration.

Read the full article here.

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KALDEWEI x ICONIC AWARDS at Milan Design Week 2026

As part of Milan Design Week 2026, KALDEWEI and the ICONIC AWARDS invite you on April 21 to an exclusive evening at the historic Palazzo Crespi in Milan. Under the theme “Bubbles of Time – Architecture of the Intimate”, a high-profile panel will explore the evolution of the bathroom from a purely functional space to a central hub of contemporary living culture.

The panel features Franz Kaldewei, designer Werner Aisslinger, and curators Parasite 2.0 and Forgotten Architecture. The discussion will be moderated by design expert Karianne Fogelberg. After the panel, guests are invited to network over dinner and drinks.

The ICONIC AWARDS warmly invite experts from architecture and design to join this special event. If you are in Milan, we look forward to welcoming you.

Register here: https://gdc.jotform.com/260753191485866

The ICONIC AWARDS, a prestigious award by the German Design Council, today opens the call for entries for a new competition cycle honoring international projects in architecture, interior design, and product design. Leading up to the award ceremony in October 2026, a new series of international networking events will also begin, bringing together industry representatives, planners, architects, and project developers for interdisciplinary exchange. The platform’s goal is to make innovative approaches and architectural excellence visible across borders and to foster impulses for concrete project collaborations. With up to 800 projects from more than 45 nations submitted annually in previous years, the ICONIC AWARDS continue to build on the successes of past editions.

From Mixed-Use to Transformation – New Opportunities for All Stakeholders in the Construction Industry

With five main categories and 50 subcategories, the ICONIC AWARDS 2026 offer a differentiated evaluation system for all stakeholders in the construction industry. Starting in 2026, these categories will be specifically expanded: In the main category ARCHITECTURE, "Mixed-Use Development", "Transformation", "Urban Regeneration and Development", "Industrial and Logistic Development", and "Facade and Surface" will complement the spectrum. In the main category CONCEPT, "Development Concept and Masterplanning" and "Transformation" will strengthen the strategic level of project development. This new focus will specifically address project developers, building groups, developers, as well as private and public clients, who play a key role as initiators and designers of construction and infrastructure projects. New categories like Healthcare, Circular Design, and Office and Workplace reflect current developments in the industry and honor solutions addressing contemporary issues.

You can discover all categories here.

Networking Across the Entire Architecture Value Chain

"The ICONIC AWARDS have created a platform that showcases the entire value chain of the industry," emphasizes Lutz Dietzold, Managing Director of the German Design Council. "The award brings together a wide variety of disciplines that contribute to architectural quality, from design concepts and planning trades to products, materials, lighting, graphics, and branding." Thirty percent of participants are manufacturers from the construction and interior industries. They meet an innovation-driven group of architecture and interior design firms, which make up around 60% of the participants. The discourse focuses on the latest research findings, product innovations, and projects. The unique combination of expertise leads to lively discussion formats, drawing on diverse perspectives and driving business collaborations forward. 

Year-Round Formats Instead of Single Events

With a series of successful networking formats, the ICONIC AWARDS were present wherever the industry gathered in the past year. In addition to a Business Lunch during the 2025 Salone del Mobile in Milan, industry representatives and architects from various countries participated in a guided architecture tour and a subsequent networking evening with media partner DETAIL on the day before the 2025 award ceremony. The 2026 year kicks off with an expert meeting in March during the Light + Building fair in Frankfurt. A panel discussion with Kaldewei during the Milan Design Week in April 2026 will be the next highlight on the ICONIC AWARDS agenda, which each year features industry-specific highlights for fast-developing sectors. Participants in last year’s program report that these networking events provide a low-threshold opportunity for concrete matchmaking.

Award Ceremony as a Meeting Point for the Industry

The award ceremony in October in Munich, held in parallel with the Expo Real trade fair, brings together leading figures from architecture, industry, and real estate. In addition to the festive award show, expert dialogues, presentations, and curated networking opportunities provide greater visibility for participants. Formats like "Pitch & Pulse," a brief presentation format for innovative ideas and projects, allow participants to showcase their companies and innovations directly to a curated audience of professionals. Concrete feedback, questions, and follow-up discussions energize the exchange between industry partners and planners.

The Award for Global Reach and Networking in German Construction

The demand for an integrated platform for architecture, interior design, and product solutions in the German-speaking market is evident from the large number of international participants and the high quality of entries from the DACH region. In particular, the increase in international submissions, which accounted for about 60% of all entries in 2025, demonstrates the importance of the award for international business. Numerous entries come from China, Japan, Italy, the United States, Korea, Portugal, Spain, and France.

Registration Dates at a Glance

Start of submission: February 18, 2026
Early Bird Deadline: March 27, 2026
Registration Deadline: May 15, 2026

Jeanette Kunsmann, Editor-in-Chief of DETAIL, on the ICONIC AWARDS

International awards and regional architecture prizes are always a good way to capture the status quo of the construction world. Taken together, the projects evaluated not only provide a snapshot of current architecture, but also of our society and its development. Which typologies are being implemented? What design language, materials and attitudes emerge as recurring features? Are there unusual and creative solutions that successfully address the pressing challenges of our time?

The 2025 entries are strikingly unconventional and diverse. The era of classic cultural buildings, museums and concert halls seems to be over. A glance at the list of submissions and prizes for the ICONIC AWARDS 2025 underlines this: instead of striking solitary structures designed by star architects, it is above all clever conversion concepts and experimental renovations that stand out – with realistic usage concepts that are individually tailored to the fields of work, health, education or energy. This is new.

The waste recycling plant with photovoltaic power station in Emmenspitz-Zuchwill is a striking example of the ambitious design of a functional building. The Zurich-based firm Penzel Valier has reimagined the existing building as an impressive concrete sculpture and equipped it with a 5,000-square-metre photovoltaic façade. Here, architecture demonstrates more than just the courage to embrace large forms. The power plant has won one of the ‘Best of Best’ awards.

Building after the pandemic

Submissions to the ICONIC AWARDS 2025 must have been designed, planned or renovated within the last five years. It is clear that the global pandemic has also left its mark on architecture and urban planning within this five-year period. Many of the projects submitted for the Iconic Awards 2025 feature high-quality interior and exterior spaces from a variety of contexts and continents. These projects are united by a desire to combine architecture and nature to create spaces for communal use that fulfil individual needs.

The Korneuburg Social Education Centre in Austria, designed by Atelier Thomas Pucher, demonstrates how nature can be successfully integrated with built structures. The timber construction, completed in 2024, is based on a competition design from 2020 that reinterprets the traditional square courtyard as a contemporary round form. The centre forms a green patio, which is framed and protected by the oval building like a nest. This creates spaces that focus on people while promoting both community and privacy.

Commitment to materials

Circular construction methods with reusable elements and natural materials are becoming the new standard and a matter of course for many architectural firms. Construction projects involving existing buildings are a growing field of activity. However, the confident use of natural building materials is also striking. The replacement buildings in Buchs for the Haus der Freunde multi-family residential building are made of wood and clay, and do not use any artificial or composite materials. The pioneering project by Carlos Martinez Architects also impresses with prefabricated rammed-earth walls, which ensure a pleasant indoor climate.

The conversion of an agricultural cooperative into a multifunctional cultural centre by the studio Camps Felips Arquitecturia in Flix, Spain, stands out among the 2025 submissions with its particularly consistent use of materials. The unplastered brick surfaces create an all-encompassing terracotta surface with warm earth tones, both inside and out, supporting the regional economy and preserving building traditions through the use of local materials. Thanks to their excellent insulating properties, the handmade ceramic bricks also reduce the building's energy consumption. For the jury, this renovation is a clear candidate for a ‘Best of Best’ award.

Studio X+Living takes a similar approach in its project for the Tianjin Zhongshuge bookshop in a historic district of Tianjin, China, which brings architecture and interior design together through a deliberate use of materials. A total of 400,000 dark-red bricks form the extravagant façades and spectacularly staged steps, bookshelves and seating areas inside. The repetition of the bricks is effective.

From Europe to the world

Building culture in Asia has its own language and philosophy. The Pritzker Prize is not the only award to look towards Asia this year. After the most prestigious award in international architecture went to Japan for the eighth time in 2024 – to architect Riken Yamamoto – Chinese architect Liu Jaikun was honoured in 2025. The ICONIC AWARDS have also broadened their perspective beyond Europe to include Asia. In previous years, a number of high-quality architectural projects from China, Japan and Thailand qualified for the competition. In addition to the buildings by Vector Architects from Beijing, this year's ICONIC AWARDS were also enriched by elegant buildings from Studio HEMAA in Mexico.

Submissions of buildings and concepts from the African continent should definitely be the next step for 2026 to ensure that the results of this internationally oriented award are of an all-encompassing nature. After all, with the selection of Nigerian architect Mariam Issoufou Kamara (New York City and Zurich) as ‘Creator of the Year’ and Lebanese-French architect Lina Gothmeh (Paris) as ‘Architect of the Year’, the ICONIC AWARDS 2025 are making a clear statement in an industry that is currently reinventing itself.

Jeanette Kunsmann, Editor-in-Chief,DETAIL

German Design Council Unveils the Winners of the ICONIC AWARDS 2025

The German Design Council proudly unveils the winners of the ICONIC AWARDS 2025. This newly designed, cross-disciplinary format celebrates outstanding achievements in architecture, interior design, and product innovation, while reinforcing its position as the leading platform for international exchange across the construction and design sectors. Spotlighting pivotal themes and forward-looking trends – from sustainability and circular economy to digital transformation – the awards not only honour excellence but set new benchmarks for shaping the built environment today and tomorrow.

A Milestone Premiere
With more than 560 submissions from over 45 countries, the ICONIC AWARDS attracted numerous projects from all over the world. Thirty-three projects stood out to the jury and were honoured as “Best of Best”. “This year’s entries impress with their diversity, design quality, and sense of responsibility – from visionary architectural projects and groundbreaking product developments to exceptional interior concepts,” says Lutz Dietzold, CEO of the German Design Council. “With the newly designed ICONIC AWARDS, we are uniting the industry’s innovative power and actively driving international dialogue on the future of design.”

The winning projects can now be explored in the online directory.

Media partnership

With the renowned architecture magazine DETAIL as its media partner, the ICONIC AWARDS promote professional exchange and provide fresh impetus with new networking events.

Elevating Innovation and Responsibility
The ICONIC AWARDS 2025 comprise 5 main and 42 subcategories, making it the central stage for architecture, interior design, and forward-thinking product solutions. New categories such as “Circular Design”, “Healthcare” and “Office and Workplace” spotlight visionary ideas tackling both current and emerging challenges.

The special awards programme also expands, with €10,000 in prize money, to recognise and support exceptional emerging talent in the “Debut Work of the Year” category.

The 2025 jury

An international jury of experts comprising leading figures from the fields of architecture, design and research assessed the topicality, relevance and quality of the submissions. Click here for the jury.

Special and honorary awards

Special award ‘Debut Work of the Year’: Study Pavilion TU Braunschweig by Gustav Düsing and Max Hacke

"With the Study Pavilion at TU Braunschweig, Gustav Düsing and Max Hacke have created a flexible, sustainable debut work that promotes community and participation. The jury honours it as a forward-looking contribution to education and architecture. More information is available here.

Honorary award ‘Architects of the Year’: Lina Ghotmeh – Architecture

Lina Ghotmeh combines cultural identity, history and sustainability to create poetic, responsible architecture. She has been awarded the title ‘Architects of the Year 2025’ for this narrative approach. More information is available here.

Honorary award ‘Interior Designers of the Year’: Lucas Muñoz Muñoz

Lucas Muñoz Muñoz impresses with his experimental design and uncompromising use of recycling and circular principles. His work shows how sustainability and radical design intertwine. More information is available here.

Honorary award ‘Architects' Client of the Year’: Zurich Children's Hospital - Eleonorenstiftung
With the construction of the new University Children's Hospital in Zurich, the Eleonorenstiftung has created a clinic that is a place of comfort and healing. For this people-oriented approach, it has been awarded the title ‘Architects' Client of the Year 2025’. More information is available here.

Honorary award ‘Creator of the Year’: Mariam Issoufou

Mariam Issoufou develops architecture that combines local resources, cultural identity and social responsibility. She is honoured as ‘Creator of the Year 2025’ for this contribution to the global architecture debate. More information is available here.

The renowned architecture competition enters the next round – and raises the bar for 2025. With a new brand identity, new categories and an innovative event concept, the ICONIC AWARDS will strengthen international exchange and make pioneering design and architecture more visible than ever before.

The former formats ICONIC AWARDS: Innovative Architecture and ICONIC AWARDS: Interior Products are merging to create a ground-breaking platform for architecture, interior design and product innovation: the ICONIC AWARDS. In 2025, this new format will bring together even more visionaries and decision-makers from architecture, design and industry – offering global reach, strong networking and valuable knowledge transfer.

New Design & More Categories

The awards will open for entries on 4 March 2025 with a new brand identity: Modern, International, Visionary – this new look emphasises the importance of these qualities in the world of architecture.

In addition to the rebrand, the Awards will also introduce content updates: With the categories ‘Office and Workplace‘, ‘Healthcare’ and the new special category ‘Circular Design‘, the German Design Council as the organiser of the awards is making a clear statement – a stronger focus on sustainability, renovation and the intelligent use of resources. Forward-looking design means thinking ahead, closing loops and shaping change. In addition, a new special award, the ‘Debut Work of the Year’, worth €10,000, will actively support emerging talent.

International Award Ceremony with Added Value

The 2025 Awards Ceremony will also be reimagined as a day-long event packed with inspiration. Expert talks, matchmaking sessions and a speakers’ corner will create space for knowledge transfer and interdisciplinary exchange. Where architecture meets business, innovations are born that shape our living environment and the design of the future.

A distinguished panel of experts will come together to select the best projects, bringing exceptional expertise to the table. Jury members include Stefan Diez, product designer, Jonas Bjerre-Poulsen, co-founder of Norm Architects (Copenhagen), Tina Kortmann, director of UNStudio (Amsterdam), Wei Wu, partner of gmp Architekten (Shanghai) and many more…