The Davidson Prize 2026
Competition Brief
The Davidson Prize is an annual design ideas competition that asks multidisciplinary teams to rethink the home and its role in contemporary life. The 2026 theme for the competition requires teams to find new methods for including play elements in residential spaces and communal areas. The design process centers on creating housing solutions that deliver joyful and artistic experiences to people from all age groups.
Intent
The prize aims to create architectural concepts which develop playfulness as a fundamental design element for residential spaces. The competition expects participants to incorporate play elements into common areas which include indoor and outdoor staircases and courtyard spaces and rooftop gardens and areas between indoor and outdoor residential zones.
Purpose
The purpose is to promote collaborative thinking across disciplines and to celebrate creative visual communication as an essential part of architectural design. The prize recognizes ideas which establish new standards for housing design to create a wider definition of future living spaces which architects and designers and other professionals will use to envision their work.
Requirements
Multidisciplinary teams must include at least one registered architect to create their entries. Professional team members can come from design and landscape and urban planning and social sciences and engineering and all related disciplines. Theteams must present visual and narrative materials which effectively display their design concepts through a billboard-style image which displays their core project concept. The competition has two stages which establish different requirements for submission materials.
Jury
A panel of experienced professionals from architecture, housing, urban design, journalism, and related sectors evaluates submissions. The jury evaluates entries based on their thematic response and their conceptual clarity and their visual presentation effectiveness. The final decisions depend on both professional evaluation and the design concepts’ advantages.
- Deborah Saunt — Founding Director of an architecture and research studio
- Russ Edwards — Architect and development professional
- Neil Emery — Director of an urban design practice
- Vicky Spratt — Journalist and housing advocate
Fees
| Category | Fee |
|---|---|
| Entry Fee | Free |
Rewards
| Award | Details |
|---|---|
| Finalist Honorarium | Three teams receive £5,000 each for development support |
| Overall Winner Prize | £10,000 awarded to the selected winner |
| People’s Choice Prize | A public choice award decided by audience vote |
Important Dates
| Stage | Date |
|---|---|
| Stage 1 Submission Deadline | 02 March 2026 |
| Stage 2 Shortlist Development Deadline | 21 May 2026 |
| Stage 2 Presentations | May–June 2026 |
| Winner Announcement | June 2026 |
✦ ArchUp Competition Review
The Davidson Prize is organised by a UK based architecture charity that conducts research and public discussions while its operational details and its architect and urban designer and housing journalist jury members who evaluate projects maintain professional transparency. The competition functions as a professional ideas contest which evaluates research work through its maintained presentation standards instead of demanding actual implementations. The awards and project development payments match the project requirements through their submission process which requires multiple phases of evaluation. Participants obtain benefits through portfolio building and research activities and discourse development work which does not lead to actual construction work or project completion.
Conclusion and Final Thoughts
The Davidson Prize 2026 challenges teams to address the often overlooked role of play in housing. The structure of the project promotes interdisciplinary teamwork while its visual presentation elements create interesting experiences that show how people can use their normal spaces to develop social bonds. The main award and honoraria provide financial recognition for the competition, which focuses on developing housing design research through its conceptual framework. The support for finalists development work shows that organizations value both professional development and the process of creating better results.
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