The A’ Design Award & Competition, widely regarded as the premier international accolade across creative disciplines, announced the winners of its 2024-2025 edition in April 2025. Founded to recognize and promote excellence in design, the competition spans over 100 categories, from architecture and interiors to product design and visual communication. It is one of the most comprehensive and respected awards globally.
Each submission was rigorously evaluated by an international jury panel composed of distinguished academics, members of the press, established design professionals, and experienced entrepreneurs. Their collective expertise and critical judgment ensured that only the most innovative and impactful works were recognized.
For designers and architects, awards like A’ Design represent prestige, valuable exposure, industry validation, and an opportunity to contribute meaningfully to contemporary design discourse. More details about the prize and evaluation criteria can be found here.
In this feature, ArchEyes presents a curated selection of 20 outstanding architectural and spatial design projects from the 2024-2025 competition. Each project exemplifies the values we advocate: timelessness, spatial clarity, and design rooted in context. It also reflects the diversity and innovation celebrated by the A’ Design Awards.
Fuma House by Masakatsu Matsuyama
Fuma is a three-story concrete residence in Fukuoka that confronts the harsh realities of its environment, rail noise, urban decay, and past flood trauma through architectural resilience and spatial openness. Designed as a sectional composition of intersecting axes and voids, the home transforms a once inhospitable site into a tranquil, light-filled retreat. Elevated living areas, deep cantilevers, and strategic planting blur the line between inside and out, creating a peaceful, curtain-free lifestyle that celebrates openness amidst adversity.
Village Hall Public Multifunctional Building by Youpei Hu
The building intentionally avoids the vernacular architectural style and applies modern materials and structure. Like a giant open umbrella, a big floating roof unifies the formal and informal spaces. To achieve a floating and light feeling, the big steel roof must overcome the large cantilevers and spans and keep members as slender as possible. With several structural innovations, a hybrid structure that mimics umbrella cantilevers has been formed.
Sreed Ebisu T Office Building by Salhaus
This project is a nine-story office building in Tokyo. The architects created a new prototype for urban timber architecture. The proposal was a hybrid structure of a steel post-and-beam frame and timber seismic frames inserted into it. This timber frame, which they call a “seismic timber lattice shell,” is not only a structural but also an interior element to realize new workspaces where people can work in a more relaxed mode, enjoying the spatial value of the timber construction.
Huai’an Zhongshuge Bookstore by Li Xiang
Huai’an Zhongshuge’s concept is the “universe.” Using traditional wood, it creates a surreal planetary installation that links two floors. The designer achieved large-scale construction within limited space, overcoming the technical challenge through precise 3D modeling and computational simulation. Repeated adjustments and optimizations ensured the balance between structural stability and visual impact. The bookstore’s display, reading, and leisure functions are embedded into astronomical form.
No Footprint Wood House by Oliver Schutte
The No Footprint Wood House is located along Costa Rica’s southern Pacific coast. Its bioclimatic design integrates with the surrounding tropical forests and natural habitats. The project forms part of the ongoing No Footprint House series. Climate-responsive building variations are based on passive design strategies such as site-specific positioning and the use of natural resources. Industrial building techniques are combined with locally harvested and regenerative construction materials.
Deer Chaser Yuchi Resort by Chi Wei Shih
This project concept of the more local, the more international aims to depart from the conventional hostel model by incorporating distinct local characteristics and culture. Its objective is to strengthen the connection between people and nature and people and people.
Valencia House by Lucas Padovani
Located in the countryside of São Paulo, Valencia House is a carefully designed summer retreat to bring the family together amidst the tranquility of the countryside. The project’s central concept is to promote a direct integration between the natural environment and the residence’s interior, achieved through spacious and permeable social spaces.
Single Wall Residence by Suna Arquitetura – Pedro Sunye
A single architectural gesture structures the project: an 80-meter-long bamboo wall that organizes the program separates leisure and service areas, supports the suspended bedroom volume, and conceals technical spaces. The architecture celebrates raw materiality, making exposed concrete, pressed bamboo, and Brazilian marble the protagonists of the space.
Zen House Private Residence by Drew Gilbert
This villa is uniquely immersed in water, creating a serene and luxurious atmosphere. Upon entering, the pool comes into view, centered around a beautiful olive tree, setting the tone for a seamless indoor-outdoor connection. As one moves further into the home, the living space floats within the pool, reinforcing the sense of tranquility and exclusivity.
Aziz House Residential Building by Sara Harhash
Aziz Rest House, a family retreat in Buraydah, Saudi Arabia, seamlessly integrates with its desert surroundings while addressing environmental, social, and cultural needs. The design employs passive cooling, natural ventilation, and strategic shading to enhance comfort. Drawing inspiration from traditional architecture, it reinterprets construction methods and elements to ensure sustainability and privacy. This approach creates a harmonious connection to the local context, fostering a lifestyle.
Essence of Faith Mosque by Ahmed Habib
The Essence of Faith Mosque design emphasizes simplicity, functionality, and spiritual focus. The architecture features clean lines and open spaces, fostering a sense of tranquility. The main prayer hall, often adorned with minimal decor, directs worshippers towards the qibla. Natural light floods the space through strategically placed windows, enhancing the serene atmosphere. Using sustainable materials promotes harmony with the environment, while the overall layout encourages community interaction and reflection, embodying the essence of Islamic values.
Crevice Art Museum by Socal V
Inspired by Confucius’ appreciation of mountains and water, this design merges with Shandong’s terraced landscapes and waterways. The “Crevice” concept, embodying mountainous terrain with giant triangles and fluid waterways, harmonizes with the environment as a natural earth extension. It reinterprets ancient culture contemporarily. This approach shapes visitor experiences, encouraging a dialogue with the space and guiding them toward a culture of inner peace.
Ondsauna Sauna by Taro Shimokawa
In a sauna, strangers sit nearly naked in close proximity, creating potential intimacy. Yet, public saunas haven’t fostered this sense of community in Japan. The architect aimed to create a space that encourages shared understanding without forced intimacy by aligning with Japan’s unique sense of closeness. “Non-intrusive” walls balance connection and separation; their verticality resonates with the forest, while their spacing draws nature in and modulates closeness among neighbors.
Kouunji Kyakuden Reception Hall of Temple by Hiroaki Iwasa
This project was the reconstruction of the reception hall of a Buddhist temple for 140 years. The local community had loved the old reception hall for a long time, but it was beyond the scope of repair. Therefore, architects took on various creative challenges. He aimed to solve these issues by updating it to modern functions, harmonizing it with other facilities, and devising some mechanisms to pass on the memory of local society to the next generation. As a result, this architecture achieved not only a sense of nostalgia but also a presence for the future.
Wedge House Residence by Kiyoshi Sugimoto
The site offers a scenic view but poses significant challenges due to its narrow footprint, steep slope, and a strict building coverage ratio limited to 40% by local regulations. To achieve the required floor area while adhering to these constraints, the architects employed a three-story mixed structural system, two above-ground levels constructed in wood, and a subterranean level built with reinforced concrete. The building is wedge-shaped, with the second floor strategically designated as the main living area to maximize views. Floor areas decrease progressively toward the base to minimize lateral pressure on the retaining wall and reduce structural load.
Aperitio House by Tomohiro Araki
This single-story wooden residence is situated along the Sea of Japan, within the Quasi-National Geopark in northern Tottori Prefecture. Designed with low eaves to harmonize with the surrounding landscape, the architecture seeks a quiet integration with its natural setting. Emphasizing a seamless connection between interior and exterior, the house invites elements such as light, wind, sound, and views to permeate the living spaces, embracing the environmental context as an integral part of daily life.
Yokohama Tsuzuki Housing by Shin Takamatsu and Kei Tamai
This project seeks to create a home where one can live harmoniously with nature, even in densely populated cities. Inspired by traditional Japanese homes, the architect redefines modern living through a deep connection to the sky. At the heart of the design is a large central courtyard, connecting every room and creating a unified space. No matter where one is, the sky is ever-present, offering a sense of being embraced by the open air.
Green Island Urban Power Substation by Xudong Zhu
The power substation uses a double-skin facade to create a “breathing, growing, and energy-storing” Green Island, blending infrastructure with vibrant public space. Solar panels on the south and east maximize energy efficiency, while the north and west feature green walls with planting troughs. The southern facade shields traffic noise and transforms the edge into a lively linear park, connecting neighborhoods and fostering community engagement.
Nesting Plan VII—Formosan Wild Boar by Cheng Tsung Feng
Nesting Plan VII—Formosan Wild Boar is an artwork that reflects the unique ecological characteristics of Forest Park in Hualien. It honors the indigenous species of Formosan Wild Boar and explores its architectural abilities. The piece showcases the boar’s nesting instincts, such as using hay and branches to construct nests while keeping their snouts facing the entrance to remain alert. Additionally, the work integrates native wood and bamboo, harmonizing with the surrounding forest environment.
Slow Bakery Retail Design by Jing Ting Wu
Slow Bakery is a warm, modern space transformed from the owner’s garage. Natural wood tones and textured concrete create an inviting yet professional ambiance. The bread-shaped wooden door and brass handle reflect the brand’s identity, while terrazzo counters and pegboard walls add function and style. Thoughtful spatial planning enhances customer flow and hygiene. Every detail embodies the owner’s passion for artisanal baking, sustainability, and deep connection to his hometown.
These exemplary projects highlight the diverse approaches and innovative solutions in contemporary architecture. They are committed to sustainability, functionality, and aesthetic excellence, aligning with ArchEyes’ worldwide mission to promote timeless architecture.
Registrations for the A’ Design Award are now open for architects and designers aspiring to gain international recognition and showcase their work on a global platform. Submit your projects and join a community dedicated to excellence in design. Learn more and register here: competition.adesignaward.com/registration.php.
To understand what the A’ Design Award entails and how it can benefit your professional journey, visit whatisadesignaward.com or adesignaward.com.
Registration for the A’ Design Award & Competition 2025-2026 is now open.
Results will be announced to the public on April 2025.
