2026 Friendly and Inclusive Spaces Awards

The UIA recognises that for architecture to truly benefit and reflect society’s needs it must be inclusive of and empathetic to all who use it,

Friendly and Inclusive and universal design (also sometimes referred to as accessible design or design for all) aims to remove barriers that create undue effort or segregation and to achieve sustainable buildings and places that are user-friendly, accessible and understandable for everyone.

The UIA has launched the 5th edition of the Friendly and Inclusive Spaces Awards organised by its Architecture for All Work Programme.

Key dates

2025-10-21 Award launch du prix 2025-11-21 Deadline for receiving questions 2025-12-19 Responses to questions published 2026-02-24 Deadline for submissions 2026-04-04 Regional Nomination Panels 2026-05-05 International Jury 2026-05-18 Announcement of winners

Prizes

The Jury may award a Medal to the Global Winners in each of the 4 Categories, together with up to 3 Honourable Mentions in each Category.

Global Medal Winners will be invited to present their project in person at a seminar organised by the Architecture for All Work Programme at the UIA World Congress of Architects that will take place on 28 June to 2 July 2026 in Barcelona, Spain.

Reference documents

Award Brief

Theme and objectives

The Awards were established to promote inspiring buildings and sites that have created socially sustainable environments through high quality architectural design.

A research award will also be given for evidence-based design research that makes a significant contribution to improved quality of life through facilitating a better understanding of human centred design and its application to the design of the built environment.

Award categories

• New buildings
• Refurbished existing buildings, including historic buildings
• Public and open spaces
• Research undertaken by architect(s) on the theory or practice of universal design

Key criteria

Categories 1, 2, and 3

Entries will be evaluated on the overall quality of design and how the project has addressed accessibility and inclusive design. In particular, the Jury will consider whether the quality of the architecture:

1. Improves the user experience through use of friendly scale, form, colour, material, light and sensory characteristics
2. Facilitates usability, orientation, navigation, wayfinding, ease of understanding, dignity, respect and safety for all.
3. Exhibits inclusion of the breadth of human diversity. (Submissions should clearly explain and demonstrate the approach and design thinking behind the scheme and how the principles of inclusive design were planned for and integrated.)

Category 4

1. Contributes to improved quality of life through facilitating a better understanding of user centered and inclusive design and its application to the design of the built environment
2. Can be applied widely and used effectively by architects and others to enhance design quality and create friendly and inclusive places

Eligibility

Members of the Organiser’s team, the jury/boards and their associates, business partners, employees, students and close relatives are not allowed to submit entries. Any person who has been involved in the preparation of the award/prize is not eligible to participate or to assist any participant.

Built works must have been completed since 30th November 2020 and may be submitted by the lead architect of the project or by the building owner/client with the architect’s permission. Attribution must be correctly presented and agreed in submission when there are number of architects in a team. Projects that have previously been submitted may be submitted only one additional time.

Research by an architect or architects which advances the theory and practice of friendly and inclusive design must have been completed since 30th November 2020. Projects that have previously been submitted may be submitted only one additional time.

Jury Members

Categories 1-3 (built works)

• Vassilis Sgoutas, Architect, Honorary President UIA, Greece (Chair)
• Vanessa Zadel, Architect, UIA representative, Co-Director AfA, Peru
• Alanah Honey, Architect, RIBA, UK
• Valerie Fletcher, Executive Director, Institute for Human Centered Design, USA
• Olanrewaju Olusola, Architect, AfA Region V Regional Director, Nigeria

Alternate juror

• Eduardo Schmunis, Architect, UIA representative, AfA Member, Argentina.

Category 4 (Research)

• Allen Kong, Architect, UIA representative, Co-Director AfA, Australia (Chair)
• Tom Grey, Architect, Trinity College Dublin, Ireland
• John Zeisel, Sociologist, I´m still here Foundation, USA
• Jasmien Herssens, Architect, Belgium
• Isabella Steffan, Architect, AfA Member, Italy

Alternate juror

• Arina Hayati, Architect, UIA representative, AfA Member, Indonesia

Competition website