Kengo Kuma and Toyo Ito have both received it, as have Cape Town’s Zeitz MOCAA and an exhibition pavilion by Australian architect Sean Godsell: for 21 years, the Detail Award has recognised groundbreaking architecture from around the world every two years. In 2027, the storied award enters its 12th edition – with a new name and an additional category.
Five distinguished experts will decide on the winning projects in early January 2027: Inge Vinck of AJDVIV in Ghent, Hiroko Kusunoki of Moreau Kusunoki in Paris, Kasper Pilemand of Dorte Mandrup in Copenhagen, Ludwig Wappner of allmannwappner in Munich, and Jakob Schoof of Detail.
Alongside the main prize, the five-member jury will present the DETAIL Architecture Award for Students & Schools. It recognises completed buildings as well as experimental prototypes from research and teaching. New for 2027 is the Special Prize for Affordable Housing. With it, DETAIL wants to show that outstanding architecture is not the preserve of big names with multimillion-euro budgets.
Entries close on 31 October 2026. Buildings of any type or use completed after 1 January 2023 are eligible. The international jury will select the winners on 11 January 2027. In February, readers can vote for their favourites at detail.de. All award-winning buildings will be featured in DETAIL throughout 2027.
Submissions for the Detail Architecture Award 2027 are open until 31 October. Find all the details at: https://www.detail.de/architectureaward-2027
