Architects Ma Yansong and Omar Degan, interior designer Miminat Shodeinde and designer Jo Barnard, have joined the judging panel for Dezeen Awards 2026.
Dezeen Awards, in partnership with Trimble, champions the world’s best architecture, interiors and design.
So far, the programme has received entries from 75 different countries across the world, underlining its position as the world’s most popular architecture, interiors and design awards programme.
There’s still time to submit your projects. Enter by Wednesday 27 May to avoid late entry fees.
Read on to find out more about who will be judging this year’s entries:
Architect Ma Yansong is one of this year’s architecture judges
Joining this year’s architecture panel is Beijing-born architect Ma, founder of international practice MAD Architects.
The studio approaches architecture with an aim to balance humanity and the natural world, creating spaces that support wellbeing and prompt imagination.
Ma’s practice is behind a number of landmark projects, including an airport modelled on misty landscapes, a pair of giant staircases for Fenix Museum of Migration in Rotterdam and a canopy that reinterprets traditional Chinese paper umbrellas for the 2025 Venice Architecture Biennale.
The architect has accrued numerous accolades, including Dezeen Awards 2025 Architect of the year and was recently named one of the world’s most influential architects by Time magazine.
Jo Barnard will judge this year’s design entries
Founder and creative director of London-based product and packaging design agency Morrama, Barnard will join the design panel for Dezeen Awards 2026.
Morrama specialises in user-focused design, with recent projects including headphones crafted from agricultural packaging waste and a packaging redesign for Kankan featuring a reusable soap pump.
The designer was crowned winner of the Bentley Lighthouse Award 2025, reflecting a strong commitment to environmental responsibility which also underpins her work as co-founder of the not-for-profit Design Declares.
Omar Degan is the founder of DO Architecture Group and the Pan-African Biennale
Joining Yansong on this year’s architecture panel is Somali-Italian architect and curator Degan, founder of DO Architecture Group and the Pan-African Biennale.
Based in Mogadishu, Somalia, Degan’s practice works across fragile and complex contexts, including post-conflict reconstruction, climate-responsive design and community-led urban strategies.
Speaking to Dezeen, Degan explained his vision as head curator for the inaugural Pan-African Biennale, the first continental platform dedicated to architecture, the built environment and spatial futures led from Africa.
Miminat Shodeinde will judge this year’s interiors entries
British-Nigerian artist and designer, and founder of Miminat Designs, Shodeinde will join this year’s interiors panel.
Shodeinde’s studio works across a range of design projects from private residential, hospitality and retail interiors to one-of-a-kind sculptural furniture, lighting and objects.
The designer’s functional art and relaxed elegant spaces have been recognised globally. In 2021, Shodeinde’s work was featured in architect Jane Hall’s Woman Made book celebrating the work of over 200 women designers from the past century.
Enter Dezeen Awards 2026 now
Dezeen Awards 2026 is open for entries. You still have time to submit your projects before our entry deadline on 27 May. Log in or create an account via our entry platform to begin your entries.
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Dezeen Awards 2026 in partnership with Trimble
Dezeen Awards is the ultimate accolade for architects and designers worldwide. The ninth edition of the annual awards is in partnership with global technology company Trimble. Through connected hardware and software solutions, Trimble helps designers to transform the way they shape spaces and buildings as well as drive productivity in the process. Trimble’s collaboration with Dezeen Awards demonstrates its ongoing commitment to inspiring and supporting creative excellence across the globe.