The 13th IDEA-TOPS is currently open for submissions globally and welcomes outstanding designers and design organizations to actively participate. IDEA-TOPS invites designers and architects from all over the world to participate and compete with designers and architects from 70 countries for the best global design award.

IDEA-TOPS Award is a highly influential design award with a broad range of participants and high-value recognition worldwide. It is also one of the most respected design awards among designers today. IDEA-TOPS Award has successfully held 12 sessions, with designers from over 70 countries and regions participating, including a large number of modern top-level architects, designers, and industry resources gathered. IDEA-TOPS Award continues to promote the exchange and cooperation of the world design industry with a global vision, and it is an important bridge for many foreign architects and designers to learn about China and participate in Chinese construction.

In 2022, the 12th IDEA-TOPS Award received 7,461 design entries from around the world, competing for five major categories and 23 professional design awards, including urban design, architectural design, landscape design, interior design, and lighting environment design. During the online Awarding Ceremony held on December 28th of that year, nearly 3.5 million people joined to witness the design success, creating a miracle for the global design awards during the epidemic.

IDEA-TOPS Award advocates for the inexhaustible wisdom of designers, forward-thinking innovative ideas, and kindness towards people and the environment. With a global perspective and top competition, IDEA-TOPS is looking forward to meeting you!

Purpose

Idea-Tops discovers and praises designers and design works, which are creative in the space form, technology application, art performance, and cultural presentation. Idea-Tops Award aims to identify designers and design institutions that have completed outstanding and innovative projects in the fields of urban design, architectural design, interior design, landscape design, and sustainable development in terms of spatial form, technology application, artistic expression, and cultural characteristics. It aims to create the most thoughtful and influential design award in the world and promote the development of the design industry with the highest professional standard, strict professional responsibility, and excellent professional communication.

Our Previous Jury

Meng Jianmin – academician of the Chinese Academy of Engineering, National Architectural Design Master, professor-level senior engineer, first-class registered architect, chief architect of Shenzhen General Institute of Architectural Design and Research Co., Ltd.

Benedetta Tagliabue – a member of the Pritzker Architecture Prize Jury, founder of the famous international architecture firm “Miralles Tagliabue EMBT, and visiting professor of Harvard University and Columbia University. Receiving several international awards regarding public space and design.

Massimiliano Fuksas – famous Italian architect, the head of Studio Fuksas in partnership with his wife Doriana Mandrelli Fuksas, the designer of The 3 terminals of Shenzhen airport.

David Howard – an Associate Professor in Sustainable Urban Development at the University of Oxford, and a Fellow of Kellogg College, Oxford. He is the Director for the DPhil in Sustainable Urban Development and Director of Studies for the Sustainable Urban Development Programme at the University of Oxford.

Cui Kai – Vice President, Chief Architect of the China Architecture Design & Research Group, Academician of the Chinese Academy of Engineering, National Design Master, Principal of Cui Kai Architecture Studio, and Director of Land-based Rationalism D.R.C.

Carlo Ratti – Italian architect, engineer, inventor, educator, and activist. He is a professor at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology where he directs the MIT Senseable City Lab, a research group that explores how new technologies are changing the way we understand, design and ultimately live in cities.

Charrisse Johnston – is the Chair of the African Institute of Interior Design Professions and a former Chair of the American Society of Interior Designers.

Liu Yudong – Doctor of Architectural Design of Harvard University, vice president and chair professor of Asia University, Taiwan, founding professor of NCTU Graduate Institute of Architecture, honorary curator of the Asia Museum of Modern Art.

Award Categories

A.Urban Design

Includes new urban design, town planning, urban renewal, urban village reconstruction, street reconstruction, etc.

B. Architecture Design

1. Cultural Architecture Design: museums, art galleries, libraries, exhibition halls, concert halls, and other cultural and art centers.
2. Educational Architecture Design: all kinds of schools, kindergartens, campus offices, and dormitory buildings.
3. Residential Architecture Design: residential buildings, such as single-family houses, rows, low, middle, and high-rise apartments, etc.
4. Commercial Architecture Design: shopping malls, shopping centers, hotels, restaurants, and entertainment buildings.
5. Public Architecture Design: office buildings, science and technology parks, urban complexes, sports facilities, transportation buildings, exhibition buildings, and other public buildings.
6. Green Architecture Design:  the architectural design that aims to save resources, protect the environment, reduce environmental impact and harm, and provide people with a healthy lifestyle in harmony with nature.
7. Prefabricated Architecture Design: various buildings are built with the help of prefabricated design.

C. Landscape design

1. Urban Landscape Design: urban parks, squares, blocks, and other public environment landscape design.
2. Community Landscape Design: garden landscape, community garden landscape, community open spaces, and other landscape design.
3. Ecological Landscape Design: landscape design of scenic spots, country parks, forest parks, parks, and natural reserves.

D. Interior Design

1. Cultural Space Design: public spaces for cultural and educational functions, such as schools, churches, museums, concert halls, theaters, etc.
2. Office Space Design: all kinds of office premises, including corporate headquarters buildings, financial institutions, business premises, small offices, shared offices, etc.
3. Commercial Space Design: shopping malls, specialty stores, retail stores, hairdressing centers, bookstores, and other commercial spaces.
4. Exhibition Space Design: products of exhibition halls or other products different from retail stores, service publicity, and exhibition venues, including real estate marketing centers, temporary exhibition halls, etc.
5. Dinning Space Design: all kinds of restaurants and dining areas,s such as theme restaurants, taverns, special style restaurants, chain restaurants, etc.
6. Entertainment Space Design:  all kinds of bars, nightclubs, and other entertainment venues.
7. Hotel Design: all kinds of hotels (that should include rooms, lobby, public service space, etc.)
8. Club Design: clubhouses, SPA centers, and other leisure places.
9. Residential Space Design: design of living spaces such as villas, apartments, and collective houses.
10. Display Art Design: interior soft design including furniture, soft decoration, decorative painting, art ornaments, etc.

E. Lighting Environment Design:

1. Urban Architecture Lighting Design: night scene lighting design of external light environment of buildings, as well as squares, parks, public spaces, courtyards, amusement parks, etc.
2. Interior Architecture Lighting Design: lighting environment design inside various public buildings, including culture and art, commerce, entertainment, and exhibition buildings.

Qualification

1. Idea-Tops is open to the global architecture and interior design community. And has no restrictions on ethnicity, religion, region, or nationality.
2. The location of projects is not restricted, but entries submitted must have been completed in the last two years. The submission must provide realistic photos.
3. Works created collectively must be marked with the name of the main creative designer/company.
4. If the entries are cooperative projects, the cooperative units and their respective divisions of labor must be indicated. Entries submitted in an unspecified manner will be disregarded.

Submission Period: December 1, 2022 – July 31, 2023.

Submit

To submit the project please go to the competition’s official website. Sign in (on the top right corner of the page), register, choose “submit your project” and follow the guidance.