INSPIRELI Awards 2026 Competition
Competition Brief
The INSPIRELI Awards 2026 represents the 11th edition of the annual renowned international student architecture competition, which is open to full-time and long-distance university students enrolled in architecture, design, engineering, and other related disciplines. Through this contest, students from all over the world will be able to showcase one or more of their academic projects in the categories of Architecture, Interior Design, and Urban Design. Entry is completely free of charge and the submitted works are evaluated by the jury, thus receiving professional feedback. At the same time, the contest is aimed at giving the early-career designers the opportunity to become visible and to develop their skills on a global scale.
The competition format allows the submission of single, representative works instead of whole portfolios which do not make it possible to focus on students’ design output in terms of quality and conceptual clarity.
Intent
The objective of the contest is to motivate young designers to produce daring projects featuring not only technical skill but also high-level ideas. It facilitates mixing and mingling among students drawn from various geographical locations and educational backgrounds, thus helping to develop a more profound comprehension of today’s design issues.
Purpose
INSPIRELI Awards have the function of being both an educational and a competitive platform. In addition to monetary recognition, the winners and participants enjoy international visibility, professional critique, and networking opportunities, which may help to lay the foundations for one’s future professional practice and academic growth.
Requirements
Participation is open for those who are taking undergraduate or graduate courses in the fields of architecture, interior design, urban planning, engineering, or other related creative areas. All contestants will have to submit their original works that were done during the course of their studies. Apart from written narratives, visual documentation like drawings, renderings, and photographs must also be part of the submission. The material submitted must be in the specified file formats and in English so that it can be evaluated in a consistent manner.
Jury
The INSPIRELI Awards jury is an international student design jury that is characterized by it being one of the largest and most diverse in the world. It is made up of a mix of architects, scholars, and the design community who are very actively involved in the global scene. The evaluation process is carried out in several steps, which involve winning rounds of both semi-final and final voting, with the application of anonymous judging to limit prejudice. The jurors give comments too, which are meant to aid the contestants in their continuing progress.
Fees
| Item | Fee |
|---|---|
| Registration & Submission | Free |
Rewards
| Reward | Description |
|---|---|
| Financial Prize | Total prize money of EUR 4,500 distributed among winners |
| “Wings to the Future” Trophy | Traveling trophy awarded to top winners |
| Software Licenses | ARCHICAD Pro and other professional tools |
| Professional Exposure | International visibility and potential career opportunities |
| “Make a Wish” Opportunity | Selected winners can express a design wish that the INSPIRELI community may seek to realise |
Important Dates
| Milestone | Date |
|---|---|
| Start of Registration | 1 October 2025 |
| Submission Deadline | 15 June 2026 |
| Semifinal Voting | 17–23 June 2026 |
| Finalists Announcement | 26 June 2026 |
| Final Voting Period | 26 June – 7 July 2026 |
| Winners Announcement | Autumn 2026 |
✦ ArchUp Competition Review
The INSPIRELI Awards 2026 are conducted by a well-known international student design platform that has been around for a long time and which has transparent information about its jury composed of architects, academics, and other design professionals, who are all practicing and evaluated through a blind multi-stage review. The contest is academic and student-oriented, having free registration and putting more stress on the conceptual clarity than on the technical production. The financial rewards and software licenses are not that much compared to the effort needed, so the benefit is mainly viewed as the development of one’s portfolio, receiving professional feedback, and gaining international visibility. The jury’s vast experience adds credibility but the large international dimension might cause different subjective evaluations across disciplines.
Conclusion and Final Thoughts
The INSPIRELI Awards 2026 have put the young designers to the utmost preference, besides coming up with the educational motive since they have done away with entry fees and have awarded the winners along with providing the jury feedback to the individual entrants. The competition is student-centric; however, the jury process is still huge and comparable in terms of quality to other kids’ design competitions. Therefore, the participants are advised to come up with projects that are not only clearly presented and well-documented but also reacted to the trends in student design competitions such as the Architecture at Zero, Urban Design & Architecture Design Awards, and Architecture International Contest: Emergent Housing to be in line with the world’s broader expectations.
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