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Submissions

2026 IIDA Interior Design Competition

  • Closed
  • Finalists Announced
A modern interior space features elegant furniture, soft lighting, and a wooden dining table adorned with decor, creating a warm ambiance.
The 52 annual competition honors achievement in outstanding interior design/interior architecture that encourages and uses innovative ideas, techniques, and furnishings.

Winners

Jury

  • Mari Balestrazzi idc wc 2026juror HS

    Mari Balestrazzi

    Former Global Director of Architecture and Interior Design, Airbnb

  • DAVID GALULLO idc wc 2026juror HS

    David Galullo

    CEO and Chief Creative Officer, RAPT

  • Patricia Rotondo idc wc 2026juror HS

    Patricia Rotondo, IIDA

    Founder and Design Lead, Archiflux

Guidelines

Submissions Requirements

All submissions must be completed electronically. No hard copy submissions will be accepted. There is no limit to the number of eligible projects a firm may submit; however, each project may only be submitted once. To enter a project into this competition, you will need to prepare and submit the following:

Written Component

  • Your firm's contact information including name, address, phone number, and email
  • Your design project's information including name and location
  • Three Project Statements
    • Project description: a brief project summary (50-word maximum)
    • Challenge statement: a description of your design challenge (250-word maximum)
    • Solution statement: a description of specific solutions to project challenges (250-word maximum)

Please use the following list of categories as a guide regarding the projects we accept. We neither judge nor award based on categories, but we do allow designs to be submitted into a category:

  • Aviation and Transportation (centers, hubs, stations, and transportation-related facilities)

  • Corporate Spaces - Large (1,000 square meters and above)
  • Corporate Spaces - Small (under 1,000 square meters)
  • Education (elementary/secondary educational facilities, colleges/universities)
  • Entertainment (casinos, performing arts centers, theaters)
  • Healthcare (hospitals, outpatient clinics, medical facilities)
  • Hotels (must include at least one (1) guest room image)
  • Institutional (cultural, government/municipal spaces, libraries, religious spaces)
  • Public Spaces and Commercial Lobbies
  • Residences - Large (125 square meters and above)
  • Residences - Small (under 125 square meters)
  • Restaurants, Lounges, and Bars
  • Retail (stores, boutiques)
  • Sales Centers and Show Flats
  • Showrooms and Exhibition Spaces
  • Spas and Wellness
  • Sports (arenas, gymnasiums, fitness centers and facilities)
  • Sustainability/Adaptive Reuse (environmentally responsible interiors)

Images

Please submit color images of your completed project, in JPG or JPEG format with a maximum file size of 2MB. You may submit captions to your images, with a 50-word maximum. Take note of the following image requirements:

  • Submit 7-10 color images total: only one (1) exterior image is permitted.

  • Use numbers to name your image files, in order of uploads (01, 02, 03, etc).
  • Submit a minimum of one (1) floorplan: A maximum of three (3) floorplans are allowed.
  • Please use the following naming format for floor plans: "floorplan1, floorplan2, floorplan3"
  • No composite images allowed - only one photograph per image upload
  • Do not reference or include your design/architectural firm name/logo in the images
  • Images may be edited to improve contrast ratio, color balance, and composition through cropping only
  • Images may not be edited to add, remove, or alter any aspect or element of the project including its context. Images should represent the project as it exists in the built environment
  • Conceptual renderings will not be accepted

Judging

A jury of design professionals will select the finalists and winning design projects. Submissions are judged on excellence in aesthetics, design, creativity, and function, as well as the suitability of the design solution to the project challenge and the successful integration of the elements of design. The jury reserves the right not to select a winner from the entries submitted.

Prize

Winners will be honored at the Chicago-located winner’s celebration, known as the black-tie IIDA event Revel In Design, on June 7, 2026! The winners will be featured on IIDA.org and across Interior Design media platforms. In the event that a previously published entry is selected as the winner, Interior Design reserves the right not to republish that project. The winners will also receive official digital assets, including competition winner logos for self-promotion, coverage, and spotlighted on IIDA’s social media accounts, and published in an official press release distributed to leading industry outlets and media partners.

Past Winners