New architecture and design competitions: Topaz Medallion, KOKUYO Design Award, Best Of Year Awards, and Science Center and Planetarium

For this week's curated picks of architecture and design competitions listed on Bustler, we are featuring four calls seeking individuals who have had a significant impact on architectural education, the most innovative projects, products, and designers, exceptional product designs, and stand-out proposals for a science center and planetarium.

For the complete directory of newly listed competitions, click here.

2026 AIA/ACSA Topaz Medallion for Excellence in Architectural Education
Registration/Submission Deadline: Thursday, August 7, 2025

"The AIA/ACSA Topaz Medallion for Excellence in Architectural Education is awarded jointly by the American Institute of Architects (AIA) and the Association of Collegiate Schools of Architecture (ACSA) to an individual who has had significant impact upon architectural education and the discipline and practice of architecture. It is the highest award the organizations make to an educator, and reflects their joint commitment to recognize service to the profession, academy, and society. The individual’s impact should be evident from peer recognized, broadly influential achievements, including but not limited to architectural projects, research and publication, and teaching."

INTERIOR DESIGN's 20th Annual Best Of Year Awards
Registration/Submission Deadline: Friday, September 19, 2025

"The Best of Year Awards is INTERIOR DESIGN’s iconic awards program, honoring the most innovative projects, products, and designers from around the globe. This year is extra special—it’s the 20th anniversary of Best of Year! For two decades, we’ve celebrated groundbreaking achievements that shape the present and future of design. Join us as we mark 20 years of design excellence and spotlight the visionaries defining what’s next."

KOKUYO DESIGN AWARD 2026
Registration/Submission Deadline: Wednesday, October 8, 2025

"The KOKUYO DESIGN AWARD is an international competition for product design that aims to co-create with talented designers and support their activities. It all begins with someone's experience. There are things you can understand—and social issues you can perceive—precisely because of who you are. When you create a design by examining an idea born from your unique, lived experience from various angles and digging deeper, it can spread through society by rippling outward and resonating with others. What we seek to discover this year is the "future standard" born through that kind of spirit. A design that emerges from the micro self toward the macro society. We look forward to the ripple your unique stone might create."

Science Center and Planetarium
Registration/Submission Deadline: Friday, October 10, 2025

"The center aims to increase interest in science and technology through informal education, not only for the youngest children but also for adults and seniors. In synergy with the Zoological Garden (Zoo), they will serve to educate, inform, and raise public awareness about nature, research, development, and innovation."

Would you like to contribute competitions, award programs, or calls for submissions that aren't listed on Bustler yet? Send them directly to our team to review. We may include them in our next roundup.