Archiprix 2026. Image: Sabine van der Vooren

Twist and Shout | Archiprix 2026 presents the five award-winning projects

On June 13th, 2026, the Archiprix 2026 Awards Ceremony was held at the Keilepand in Rotterdam. For this year’s edition, Twist and Shout formed the common thread. According to the jury, Twist and Shout reflect the complexity which emerged in the 26 nominated projects: on the one hand, the twist of stretching and breaking the boundaries of the design disciplines, and on the other, the shout calling for systemic change and social engagement with the field.  

The jury awarded first prizes to Magdalena Salinas (With Salt it Hurts, With Salt it Heals) and Robin van Vemde (Cabinet of Curiosities), and second prizes to Helena Fernandes De Raeymaeker (Kikanzu Cambamba), Lilli Malou Selcho (Of Water and Matter), and Cédric Dries (BX Nord). 

Read the Dutch jury report here
Read the English jury report here

First Prizes  

Magdalena Salinas | With Salt it Hurts, With Salt it Heals | Royal Academy of Art, The Hague
With Salt it Hurts, With Salt it Heals investigates the impact of lithium extraction on Salar de Rincón, a salt flat in the Argentine Puna region within the so-called Lithium Triangle. Based on in-depth field research, Magdalena’s project makes the ecological and social consequences of this extractive industry visible. In particular, the study highlights water consumption, salt waste, and the effects on local communities. Magdalena translates this complex issue into a poetic landscape installation that renders the hidden extraction processes tangible while also collecting and reusing water. The jury is particularly impressed by the way rigorous research has been transformed into a powerful and aesthetic design that connects nature, culture, and landscape. As a result, the project contributes to the debate on the geopolitical, ethical, and ecological challenges surrounding the energy transition. 

Image: Magdalena Salinas

Robin van Vemde | Cabinet of Curiosities | ArtEZ, Academy of Architecture
Cabinet of Curiosities explores how architecture, through narrative, fiction, and imagination, can offer a counterbalance to the rational and functional approach that dominates the contemporary built environment. Inspired by magical realism, surrealism, and mythology, Robin develops an alternative design vision in which wonder, sensory experience, and the subconscious are central. In Brussels, the symbol of European regulation and bureaucracy, the design imagines a fictional, metaphysical world in which reality and fantasy merge. The jury praises the exceptional quality, consistency, and richness of the design research, as well as the playful approach to a politically charged site. With its emphasis on imagination and mental space, the project makes a valuable and courageous contribution to the contemporary architectural debate. 

Image: Robin van Vemde

Second Prizes 

Helena Fernandes De Raeymaeker | Kikanzu Cambamba | Academy of Architecture, Amsterdam
Kikanzu Cambamba explores Luanda as a dynamic city where informal urban structures and everyday street life form a strong spatial and social force. The Cambamba River, as a central lifeline, brings both vitality and climate challenges such as flooding, heat stress, and pollution. Within this context, Helena focuses on climate adaptation and strengthening local communities in the Cassequel district. She does so by reimagining riverbeds as productive landscapes with small-scale fields that stimulate food production and play an important role for women in particular, as well as local schools. This new green infrastructure connects existing river corridors with surrounding neighbourhoods and parks, while also functioning as a climate buffer and a driver of a resilient urban economy. The jury is impressed by the careful preliminary research, the consistent visual language, and the organisational approach of the designer, which not only convincingly grounds the project but also firmly embeds it in the local context of Luanda. 

Image: Helena Fernandes de Raeymaeker

Lilli Malou Selcho | Of Water and Matter | Delft University of Technology
Of Water and Matter views post-extractive landscapes, such as the former lignite mining region in Western Germany that is transforming into a lake landscape, not as ecological loss but as dynamic systems of chemical and geological processes. Rather than isolating or remediating pollution, Lilli explores how contaminated soil and water flows shaped by mining form new relationships. The resulting chemicals, groundwater flows, and residual materials such as fly ash and clay are used as building blocks for landscape installations and new ecological structures. This approach sees pollution as an active driver of an alternative, contemporary nature that evolves through cycles of transformation and exchange. The jury values the consistent material research and its speculative strength. Of Water and Matter challenges conventional notions of nature and restoration and does not erase the traces of a post-mining landscape but instead renders them visible and meaningful for the future. 

Image: Lilli Malou Selcho

Cédric Dries | BX Nord | The Maastricht Academy of Architecture
BX Nord starts from the Brussels-North train station, where the railway viaduct creates a sharp spatial and social divide between a vulnerable working-class neighbourhood and a business district of anonymous high-rise buildings. In response, Cédric develops a surprising proposal to insert a lowered public swimming pool beneath the elevated railway. This pool is complemented by functions such as a grandstand and a skate park, aiming to physically and socially connect both parts of the city. The existing station and the robust concrete-and-steel structure of the surroundings are consistently extended, resulting in distinctive brutalist spaces and a highly layered spatial experience. The jury was immediately drawn to the richness of sketches, models, and visualisations supporting the project and appreciated the careful elaboration of circulation, placement, and programmatic complexity. At the same time, the intense spatial character raises questions about the balance between confrontation and connection, yet the project convinces through its thoughtful approach to the station’s complex context as both a mobility hub and a site of social tension.

Image: Cédric Dries

Twist and Shout

The jury, consisting of Anne Loes Nillisen (Defacto Urbanism), Job Floris (MONADNOCK), Lieke Jildou de Jong (Landscape Collected), Marc Schoonderbeek (Borders & Territories, TU Delft), and Nima Morkoç (Ha-Ha design). Led by chairman-without-a-vote Saskia van Stein (IABR) and supported by project lead Charlotte Meijssen and writer of the jury report Anne Hoogewoning, particularly values the projects in which the themes of Twist and Shout converge and the projects that engage with complex spatial, ecological, and socio-political questions. The awarded graduation projects offer new perspectives on contemporary transformations, engage with the existing environments, and demonstrate how imagination can contribute to a more inclusive and future-oriented public realm.  

The title refers to Twist and Shout, the closing track of the Beatles album Please Please Me. Recorded during a ten-hour marathon studio session, the song is known for its raw energy and sense of freedom. The jury recognised the same drive and inventive force in the 2026 generation of Archiprix nominees. Twist refers to projects that make small but thoughtful interventions with meaningful impact on the existing urban or rural fabric, often drawing on local building traditions, ecological conditions, and the strength of communities. Shout, by contrast, represents a different approach: projects characterised by layered spatial imagination that use design as a powerful instrument for change. They evoke wonder, raise awareness of urgent issues, and challenge us to see the world differently. 

Archiprix 2026. Image: Sabine van der Vooren

About Archiprix 
For over 40 years, Archiprix has been connecting education, designers, clients, and the public by placing spatial challenges and socially relevant themes at the center. Archiprix directly links academic output with the societal value of design disciplines. Since its first edition in 1979, the foundation has connected academic talent with the professional field and the broader public. Archiprix offers insights into the ideas shaping our collective future. 

Collaboration with International Architecture Biennale Rotterdam (IABR) 
At the invitation of the Archiprix Foundation, the International Architecture Biennale Rotterdam (IABR) is responsible for the organisation and curatorial programme of Archiprix. Through this collaboration, Archiprix’smission to encourage and provide visibility for emerging design talent is continued and strengthened. 

Archiprix is made possible by 
Archiprix Foundation is supported by the Creative Industries Fund NL, the Abe Bonnema Foundation, and the Dutch master’s programs in architecture, urban planning, interior, and landscape architecture.