The best architectural design of 2026
The architectural design category of Fast Company’s Innovation by Design Awards honors buildings, structures, and interior designs that solve problems in the built environment. This year’s winner, University of California, Berkeley—Grimes Engineering Center By Skidmore, Owings, and Merrill , is an adaptive-reuse building that uses a novel seismic-responsive structural system for precedent-setting…
In the prestigious Innovation by Design Awards by Fast Company, the architectural design category recognizes exceptional buildings, structures, and interior designs that tackle challenges within the built environment. This year, the University of California, Berkeley's Grimes Engineering Center, designed by Skidmore, Owings, and Merrill, emerged as the winner. The center showcases an innovative seismic-responsive structural system, marking a significant milestone in earthquake resilience.
Among the finalists were the Gateway Library by Richard Kennedy Architects, the West Conservatory and Waterlily Court by Weiss/Manfredi, and the TCC DAKA Renewable Resource Recycling Center by KPF. The Challenge Program's Gibbs Center Production Studio, designed by Digsau, also secured a place in the final list.
Honorable mentions were given to the Avicii Arena Modernization by HOK, the David Rubenstein Treehouse at Harvard University by Studio Gang, and the Life and Mind Building at the University of Oxford by NBBJ. The Norton Rose Fulbright Tower Skanska USA Commercial Development and the Roig Arena were also recognized in this esteemed competition.
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