A revitalized canning factory in a coastal Portuguese city, a memorial park in Ethiopia, a small-town Brazilian home, a wooden pavilion evoking Bahrain’s heritage, and 11 other visionary projects comprise the winners of the 2026 ArchDaily Building of the Year Awards. Chosen over three weeks of public voting, the winners are representative of the current architectural landscape, reflecting a diversity of approaches, materialities and aesthetics, while also showcasing common threads across cultures.
In its 17th edition, this year’s Building of the Year Awards received more than 120,000 votes from over 100 countries, marking a record-breaking year for the world’s largest community-driven architecture award. The winners represent 14 different countries, cultures and perspectives, coming from Brazil, Canada, Chile, Colombia, Denmark, Ethiopia, Germany, India, Indonesia, Japan, Portugal, South Korea, United States and Vietnam.
Once again, the architecture community delivered a powerful message of diversity and representation, culminating in a beautiful selection that we are proud to showcase. This is the ultimate reason behind this award: to honor the people behind the projects and the architectural achievements that are making real contributions to the field, chosen by the ArchDaily community.
The 15 Winning Projects: The Architecture of Our Time
“It is perhaps not surprising that this year’s ArchDaily Building of the Year winners emerge from vastly different geographies, scales, and programs, a testament to our global audience. What is striking, however, is the shared sensibility that connects them. As one of the few awards determined through public vote, the results reveal not only what architecture looks like today, but what people want it to be.
Across categories, readers favor projects rooted in material intelligence and defined by substance and depth. The winning works stand out for the clarity of their intention, seamlessly translated into built expression and marking a shift toward human-scaled, socially attuned architecture. The vote operates as a collective force, amplifying emerging and under-recognized practices while expanding the architectural conversation.
Together, these choices reveal broader societal currents: in times of environmental urgency and social reckoning, architectural relevance is defined by the responsibility it demonstrates in responding to challenges, context, and everyday life. Ultimately, in line with ArchDaily’s broader initiatives, this selection embodies a world built with care, not as a slogan but as a shared architectural aspiration.” — Christele Harrouk, Editor-in-Chief, ArchDaily
The ArchDaily Building of the Year Awards is brought to you thanks to Dornbracht, renowned for leading designs for architecture, which can be found internationally in bathrooms and kitchens.
Best Applied Product
The ET-302 Memorial / Alebel Desta Consulting Architects and Engineers | Ethiopia
“The ET-302 Memorial Park serves as a meaningful tribute to 157 individuals worldwide, telling the story of the flight’s final moments. It weaves the narrative of the crash into its design, guiding visitors along paths that lead to the crash site, burial ground, and areas for reflection, healing, and connection, all while integrating naturally into the surrounding farmland.”
Commercial Architecture
Neuhoff District / S9 Architecture | United States
“Abandoned for half a century, the sprawling Neuhoff meat-packing complex is […] an exciting new addition to Nashville’s resurgence. S9’s master plan features a connective network of pedestrian pathways, courtyards, public roof terraces, and cantilevered catwalks that create a series of experiences for visitors. The 1.3-million-square-foot project houses a mix of offices, cultural spaces, residential units, and retail/dining establishments.”
Cultural Architecture
Anatomy of a Dhow, Bahrain Pavilion Osaka Expo 2025 / Lina Ghotmeh Architecture | Japan
“The pavilion reflects Bahrain’s historical connection to the sea, drawing inspiration from the Kingdom’s seafaring heritage and traditional dhow construction, integrating Japanese joinery techniques. Situated in the ‘Empowering Lives’ zone, the pavilion spans 995 square meters and Rises from 13 to 17 meters in height across four levels, overlooking the seafront. […] the structure is made from wood and cooled by coastal winds, making it one of the most sustainable buildings in the Expo.”
Educational Architecture
Faculty of Humanities Building – Industrial University of Santander / taller de arquitectura de bogotá | Colombia
“Located at the main entrance to the central campus of the Industrial University of Santander, the Humanities Building stands as a key element in the institution’s master plan. Its design is based on a structure of stacked lines in architectural concrete, which not only defines an emblematic welcoming image but also provides spaces for academic expansion.”
Healthcare Architecture
OAKV Healthcare Space / Atelier Carle | Canada
“Medical clinics have long been rooted in a tradition of cold, sterile spaces. More recently, and especially among physicians specializing in aesthetic treatments, there has been a shift toward providing care in a warmer, more relaxed environment, reflecting a desire to humanize medical practice. For Atelier Carle, that vision first took shape through a spatial organization strategy based on the site’s constraints. The conceptual approach was thus grounded in the articulation of light and intimacy, establishing a hierarchy between them in dialogue with the programmatic components.”
Hospitality Architecture
Hong Tra Hoa Binh Bui Thi Xuan Cafe / xưởng xép | Vietnam
“This project involves a four-story townhouse, built with a concrete frame that is typical across many Vietnamese cities. Instead of demolishing and starting from zero, [the architects] chose to work with the existing structure, acknowledging its potential and giving it a chance to evolve with its own sense of character.”
Houses
Mom’s House / Studio Zé | Brazil
“Located in Feira Nova, a town of 20,000 inhabitants known for its production of cassava flour in the Pernambuco hinterlands, the residence of the architect’s mother was built by local residents in the 1980s using adobe techniques. The project seeks to meet the needs of the resident considering the history and implementation of the building. […] the project adopts the predominant use of natural and local materials, cross-ventilation, and natural lighting, while prioritizing low construction and maintenance costs. The construction solutions engage with the locally available, minimally skilled labor, valuing popular knowledge and ensuring the viability of execution.”
Housing
Bagsværd Observation Home / JAJA Architects | Denmark
“Originally built as a summer villa for the royal court dentist in the early 1900s, the Bagsværd Observation Home, located by the scenic Bagsværd Lake, serves children and families who need extra support during difficult times. The villa has undergone extensive renovation and expansion, blending historical charm with modern functionality to meet the needs of today’s families.”
Industrial Architecture
Canning Factory / OODA | Portugal
“Near the coastline, the unit builds upon the original industrial feel evoking the nostalgia of a time of production and connection to the sea. This emblematic building, part of the collective memory of the place, had different uses over time, being subject to several interventions that mischaracterized it. By contrast, the proposal aims to fill in the urban fabric with an innovative project that compliments the pre-existing, reconstructing the original building envelope and chimney, withal responds to a very special program: a mixed-use development, which brings together the facilities of a medical laboratory, health clinic, offices, commercial spaces and collective housing.”
Interior Architecture
Signa Sports United High-Rise Tower / Allen Kaufmann Architekten | Germany
“Every part of the project, from the floor plan to the smallest detail, was conceived by the same hand. Allen Kaufmann Architekten designed all 318 custom furniture pieces and objects: desks, meeting tables, plant containers, storage units, and more. This holistic authorship ensures spatial and material coherence, embedding brand identity into both the architecture and the furniture.”
Offices
Energia de Portugal Headquarters / ELEMENTAL | Portugal
“The building’s ultimate purpose is to provide the right environment for people to work. At the workspace, we spend most of our day, so if there is a place where quality of life can be improved (sometimes even more than at home), that is the workplace. [The architects] proposed to verify the 4 forms of work in the building. A double-entry matrix with individual and collective use in one column and formal and informal uses in one row.”
Public & Landscape Architecture
Lattice Creative Garden / RAD+ar (Research Artistic Design + architecture) | Indonesia
“The latticework principle, having been essential in the hot, humid tropical climate of Indonesia for hundreds of years, is a key identity component for essential climate control and a brilliant example of bioclimatic design. Sourced from 4,800 kg of SCBD’s weekly plastic output, this project generates 16,800 units of functional architectural Lattice Plates. By integrating this recycled material system into a prominent site of Jakarta, the structure stands as a testament to waste management issues, reminding the public and policymakers of the 7 million tons of plastic untreated annually in Indonesia.”
Religious Architecture
Raj Sabhagruh Discourse Hall / Serie Architects | India
“The Raj Sabhagruh is an ambitious complex, housing a 5,000-seater auditorium, classrooms, discourse rooms, a 1,000-square-meter museum, a gift shop and a 300-seater meditation hall, stacked within a 40-meter-tall building at the apex of a crescent-shaped 60-meter hillock. Programmatically, one ascends upwards from spaces of the discourse hall at the ground level, to experiential learning within the museum at the second level, deep study within classrooms at the third and finally to introspection within the meditation hall at the apex tier. A journey from speech to silence.”
Small Scale & Installations
SUPRA* Pavilion / SO? Architecture and Ideas | South Korea
“[The architects] propose a simple canopy that provides privacy in public spaces, allowing for relaxation. The canopy’s materials and details create an urban interior feeling, offering privacy without creating enclosed, high-maintenance spaces. When it rains, SUPRA aims to make the movement of water visible, from the air to the soil. When it does not rain, SUPRA provides a space where people can be privately public, as described by Marshall Berman, intimately together without being physically alone.”
Sports Architecture
University Catholic Stadium Modernization Project / IDOM | Chile
“In response to the need to increase capacity from 12,000 to 20,000 spectators and modernize the infrastructure, the club held a competition to transform the stadium into a space in line with contemporary football standards. The project […] proposes a rational, efficient, and sustainable stadium, with attention to climate, energy, and comfort.”
