Dezeen readers pick 19 winners in 2026 architecture public vote

Readers have chosen 19 winners in the architecture public vote for Dezeen Awards 2026, with projects by Blight Rayner Architecture, Foster + Partners and Schemata Architects topping the ballot. The vote drew on a 392-strong shortlist and ran from 28 September to 16 October, spanning all three of the awards' main category sectors.

Two studios pulled off doubles. French practice Collectif Encore won the majority vote in both of the categories its project competed in — its transformation of a former industrial warehouse into an open civic infrastructure, La Friche d'Oloron-Sainte-Marie, took both Mixed-use project of the year and Sustainable renovation of the year. Tehran-based ZAV Architects also won twice, with readers selecting two of the practice's projects in their respective categories: Golmorad in Tehran and Olive Leaf in Minoudasht.

Who won what?

The full list of architecture public vote winners, as announced by Dezeen:

• House (urban) of the year 2026: House 144º, Barcelona, Spain, by Jaime Prous Architects and Pineda & Monedero
• House (rural) of the year 2026: Casa Plaj, Lourinhã, Portugal, by Extrastudio
• Housing project of the year 2026: La Querola, Ordino, Andorra, by Ribas & Ribas Arquitectos
• House renovation of the year 2026: Fisherman's House in Cadaques, Cadaqués, Spain, by Bea Portabella Arquitectura
• House extension of the year 2026: Golmorad, Tehran, Iran, by ZAV Architects
• Civic project of the year 2026: New Government Quarter, Oslo, Norway, by Nordic Office of Architecture and Haptic Architects
• Cultural project of the year 2026: Glasshouse Theatre, Brisbane, Australia, by Blight Rayner Architecture
• Workplace project (small) of the year 2026: Uchida Shōten New Head Office, Fujisawa, Japan, by Schemata Architects
• Workplace project (large) of the year 2026: Florentia Village, London, United Kingdom, by Turner Works
• Leisure and wellness project of the year 2026: Sanctum, Bezdonys, Lithuania, by Arches
• Education project of the year 2026: Prestige University, Indore, India, by Sanjay Puri Architects
• Heritage project of the year 2026: Pantheon Micro-Architectures for Archaeology, Rome, Italy, by STARTT
• Hospitality project of the year 2026: Perma, Serifos Island, Greece, by Mold Architects
• Infrastructure and transport project of the year 2026: Techo International Airport, Phnom Penh, Cambodia, by Foster + Partners
• Small project of the year 2026: Ring of Bjólfur, Seyðisfjörður, Iceland, by Arkibygg Arkitektar
• Mixed-use project of the year 2026: La Friche d'Oloron-Sainte-Marie, d'Oloron-Sainte-Marie, France, by Collectif Encore
• Landscape and urban design project of the year 2026: Olive Leaf, Minoudasht, Iran, by ZAV Architects
• Sustainable building of the year 2026: Rammed Earth House, Wiltshire, United Kingdom, by Tuckey Design Studio
• Sustainable renovation of the year 2026: La Friche d'Oloron Sainte-Marie, d'Oloron-Sainte-Marie, France, by Collectif Encore

Each winning project has a dedicated page on the Dezeen Awards website with an image and further information.

What does the public vote actually change?

Not the medals. Dezeen is explicit that the public vote is separate from the main judging process, in which entries are assessed by a panel of industry-leading judges. The reader poll measures popular appeal across the 392-project shortlist; the official winners will be decided by that jury and announced at the Dezeen Awards 2026 party on 16 November at the Royal Opera House in London.

So the double win for Collectif Encore and ZAV Architects signals reader enthusiasm, not a verdict. Whether those same projects impress the judges is a question that stays open until November.

The rest of the week and the awards themselves

Dezeen Awards 2026, in partnership with Trimble, will reveal all public vote winners this week. The interiors winners will be published tomorrow, followed by the design winners on Wednesday. This year's architecture category sponsors include Michelmersh and Sanderson.

Tickets for the Dezeen Awards 2026 party are on sale now and, according to Dezeen, selling fast. The event gives everyone who entered this year's awards a chance to celebrate alongside fellow nominees, winners and the awards judges.

Now in its ninth edition, Dezeen Awards is described by the organisation as the ultimate accolade for architects and designers worldwide. The partnership with global technology company Trimble reflects, in Trimble's telling, its ongoing commitment to inspiring and supporting creative excellence across the globe through connected hardware and software solutions.

For the 19 architecture practices on this list, the next date that matters is 16 November — when the reader favourites find out whether the judges agreed with the crowd.