Dezeen Awards 2026: 15 jurors pick 49 winners in secret
Forty-nine winners have been chosen in secret. You will not hear their names until November.
Fifteen architects and designers met in London to decide the Dezeen Awards 2026, selecting 49 winning projects from hundreds of finalists. The results stay under wraps until a party at the Royal Opera House in London on 16 November.
The final judging round, known as the master jury, took place at the One Hundred Shoreditch hotel in London. The panel weighed 392 shortlisted entries, chosen from more than 4,300 projects entered from 91 countries, according to Dezeen.
The room brought together big practices and small studios. Architects Ma Yansong and Daniel Libeskind served on the master jury, alongside interior designers Wendy Saunders and Jaime Hayon.
They were joined by Martin Lotti, Jo Barnard, Dominique Petit-Frère and Aziza Chaouni to work through the 49 categories and agree each winner. Fifteen jurors took part in total. No notes from the debate have been published.
The master jury is the last step in a long process. More than 60 industry leaders acted as judges in the earlier rounds, which whittled thousands of entries down to the shortlist, Dezeen reported in May.
Entries for this year's edition opened on 11 February and closed on 3 June. The 2026 awards are held in partnership with Trimble, the technology company that signed a three-year agreement as headline sponsor, according to Trimble.
What happens next is public. The shortlists are scheduled to be announced between 21 and 23 September. That is the first chance for readers to see which buildings, interiors and products are still in the running.
What makes this stand out is the wait. Shortlists go public in September. Winners do not. For fans, this means two months of guessing before the November party reveals all.
Six Designers of the Year will also be unveiled at the ceremony. Those awards are shortlisted and selected by Dezeen's editorial team, rather than the master jury, and cover designers across disciplines.
