NPO Aoyama Design Forum (ADF) is pleased to announce the “ADF Design Award 2026”, the 16th annual international design award organized by ADF. Award submissions will be accepted from Friday, August 15, 2025, to Friday, December 19, 2025 (JST). There will be a Grand Prize of US,000 and two Awards of Excellence of US,000 from all categories, for approximately US,000. The ADF Design Awards is an excellent opportunity to showcase your design work to the world.

Furthermore, as a supplementary prize, the Grand Prize and Excellence Award winners will be able to exhibit their works at the ADF venue in Fuori Salone during the Milano Salone Internazionale del Mobile, the world's largest furniture trade fair scheduled to be held in April 2026. There will also be a reception party where design professionals will be invited to interact with the winners. The winners will also be given the opportunity to exhibit their work at “COCO WARP”, the Metaverse art museum operated by ADF, and receive one year of PR support. We are looking forward to receiving your wonderful works that can be presented to the world during the Milan Design Week, which attracts worldwide attention.

The mission of the “ADF Design Awards” is to discover and evaluate the latest and most outstanding designs from around the world, and to introduce design to people around the world who do not yet know it. In judging the entries, we will focus not only on the design's aesthetic appeal, but also on how the design was created and the innovative ideas incorporated into the work. We are looking for entries that challenge to break completely new design ground with creative ideas that enrich people's lives and are environmentally friendly.



Award Outline
Application Period: August 15, 2025 (Fri) – December 19, 2025 (Fri) JST
Application URL: https://10561.evalato.com/

Award Categories
・Hospitality: Hotels, Casinos, Theme Parks, Pavilions, etc.
・Commercial & Office: Shopping Centers, Department Stores, Office Buildings, etc.
・Multi-family Housing: Excluding private houses and interiors
・Education & Sports: Schools, Research Facilities, Stadiums, etc.
・Cultural Architecture: Theaters, Libraries, Museums, Art Museums, Galleries, Hospitals, etc.
・Public Architecture: Public Buildings, Airports, Stations, Ports, etc.

Judges: To be announced

Judging Criteria
・Aesthetics: Artistic value in shape, color, detail, and material selection.
・Innovation: Responds to social change, uses new materials, and adopts innovative construction processes and pioneering designs. Takes on the challenge of innovation under limited conditions.
・Usefulness: Beneficial and sustainable for users and the environment.
・Regionality / Culture / Era: Harmonization and differentiation with the region, and aesthetic appeal appropriate to cultural and historical contexts.

Submission Materials
・Design Proposal: Design concept, materials, and details (PDF, landscape A4, max 5 pages, resolution 300dpi+, file size within 10MB, font size 11pt+)
・Designer Resume (PDF, landscape A4, max 5 pages)

Prize Money
・Grand Prize: US,000 (1 work from all categories)
・Awards of Excellence: US,000 (2 works from all categories)
*There may be cases where no work is awarded.

Supplementary Prizes
・Exhibition of winning works at the ADF venue in Fuori Salone during the “Milano Salone Internazionale del Mobile” (exhibition of photos and models, etc.)
・ADF will cover installation costs up to US,000.
・Opportunity to exhibit at “COCO WARP”, ADF’s virtual museum.
・One year of PR support for the Grand Prize winner through ADF’s Business Matching Division.

Announcement of Results: March 10, 2026 (Tue)
Language: English
Eligible Works: Projects completed within the last 3 years
Eligibility: Individuals or groups (1 proposal per group), no nationality restrictions, must be an ADF member (membership is free)
Entry Fee: Free

Contact
For inquiries regarding the ADF Design Award 2026, please contact:
E-mail: award@adf.or.jp

About ADF (NPO Aoyama Design Forum)
ADF is a non-profit organization established in Japan in 2009 with the aim of fostering and raising the status of designers worldwide. Since its establishment, ADF has formed numerous partnerships with designers, architectural associations, and organizations around the world, and has been setting up exhibition venues in the Tortona district during the “Milano Salone” every year since 2013. The “ADF Design Award” has been held since 2013 to support architects and designers, and has grown into an international design competition with numerous submissions from designers belonging to ADF’s partner organizations worldwide.