Header: Courtesy of BLT Awards
The 2026 BLT Built Design Awards have just introduced an international panel of 40 professionals from across architecture, interior design, urban planning, academia, media, development, and construction. Their backgrounds range from university departments and architectural practices to international development firms, design bodies, and publishing outlets. Together, these members bring diverse viewpoints to assess how effectively each entry answers its purpose, environment, and end users.
Distinguished voices across architecture and design
Among those evaluating this year’s entries are Kenneth Tracy, Associate Professor of Architecture at the American University of Sharjah and Co-Founder of Yogiaman Tracy Design; Ross Barney, Architect and Founder of Tumu Studio; Anne Fougeron, FAIA, Principal of Fougeron Architecture; and Yolande Wong, Senior Freelance Journalist, Chief Content Operating Officer of DESIGNKEEPER, and Founder of Beijing Zhijian Cultural Communication Co., Ltd. Joining them is Matteo Cainer, Founder and Design Principal of Matteo Cainer Architecture.
The panel includes Samantha Lassoudry, Founder and Chief Designer of Lassoudry Architects; Christian Brendelberger, Head of Cost Planning and Executive Board Member at Dietziker Partner Baumanagement AG; and Anastasia Ignatova, Urban Planning and Design Expert exploring More-than-Human Participation. Further expertise comes from Muhammad Habsah, Design Director at U+A, part of 10N Collective; Mona Vijaykumar, Associate Urban Designer at Perkins&Will; Cas Esbach, Founder of KANS and Professor at Savannah College of Art and Design; and Tran Ngoc Danh, Vice President of the VDAS Design Association and Founder and CEO of the VMARK Vietnam Design Award. Completing this section of the panel are Christina Chen-Chiao Kuo, Creative Director and Founder of Kuuo Living Limited; Amir Idiatulin, Founder and CEO of IND; Zhou Yi, Chief Designer at Dayi Design; and Rudi Stouffs, Associate Professor and Assistant Dean for Research at the Department of Architecture, College of Design and Engineering, National University of Singapore.
Global insights and multidisciplinary practice
Continuing on the panel are Osaru Alile-Abraham, Founder and Creative Director of CC Interiors Studio; Pal Pang, Chief Creative Officer of Another Design International; Juliet Kavishe, Executive Board Member of the Pan Afrikan Design Institute; and Sandra Baggerman, Architect at Trahan Architects and Tutor. The group also welcomes Des Laubscher, Co-Founder and CEO of the Greenside Design Center, College of Design; Hannah Churchill, Founder and Design Director of hcreates interior design; and Stanislas Helou, Founder of Thinking Luxury. They serve alongside Sonsoles Vela Navarro, Founding Partner of studioVRA, Associate Director of Architecture and Assistant Professor of Architecture at Tulane University; Eason Zhu, Founder and Design Director of Fununit Design; and Ruben Garcia Rubio, Founding Partner of studioVRA, Associate Professor of Architecture and Urbanism, and Director of Sustainable Urbanism at Tulane University.
Additional evaluators for 2026 include Zhiming Xie, Chief Creative and Design Director at Damu Architectural Engineering Design and Vice President of the Architectural Society of China’s Institute of Interior Design; Colleen Cocotos, Senior Lecturer in the Department of Architectural Technology and Interior Design at Cape Peninsula University of Technology; and Steffen Lehmann, Founding Partner and CEO of si_architecture + urban design and Professor of Architecture and Urbanism at the University of Nevada. The lineup features Valeria Senkina, Founder, General Manager, and Chief Architect of Dseesion Interiors; Dan Grimshaw, Founder and Principal of BEAM Development Ltd; Kourosh Salehi, Principal Architect at Killa Design; and Lichen Ding, Founder and Chief Designer of DLCA Architects.
The panel is completed by Dr Anna Grichting, Founder of Solder Bordermeetings and Senior Research Fellow at the University of Vermont; Geoff Wilkinson, Managing Director of Wilkinson Construction Consultants; Murat Soygenis, FAIA, RIBA, Founding Partner of S+ ARCHITECTURE; and Sam Tehranchi, CEO and Principal Architect of Design Core Architects and Urban Designers. They are joined by Lynn Wang, Head of the Overseas Affairs Department at the Asia Pacific Design Center, and Henry Mickleburgh, Founder and Technical Director of Aimeliorate.
This global team will review entries in Architectural Design, Interior Design, Landscape Architecture, and Construction Product Design, drawing on regional awareness, technical competence, and a shared focus on how physical spaces evolve.
“What I value most about this year’s jury is the genuinely different ways its members look at the built environment, as we have architects, designers, academics and industry experts from the United States, China, Switzerland, South Africa, Vietnam and many other parts of the world. This means that every project will be considered from several perspectives, from its purpose and context to its creativity, technical thinking and impact on the people who use it. I am very pleased to welcome this remarkable panel, and especially curious to see which projects will inspire the strongest conversations among them.”
Astrid Hébert, Program Director of the BLT Built Design Awards
Valuable international exposure
Recognised projects gain wide exposure through features on the official BLT website, publication in the annual BLT Awards Book of Design, and distribution across global press networks. Winners are also celebrated at the annual awards ceremony, an event that brings together established practices and emerging talent from around the world.
Submissions for the current program remain open until the 4th of October. The awards accept completed projects, conceptual work, prototypes, and student submissions across architectural design, interior design, landscape architecture, and construction product design. Entries can be submitted directly through the official website at bltawards.com.
