Six Award Categories Open for Submission
The 2026 programme features six distinct categories spanning professional practice and education:
Professional Practice:
- CAA Lifetime Achievement Award: Honouring a Commonwealth architect or practice whose body of work has significantly advanced architecture across the Commonwealth over many years.
- CAA Environmental Impact Award: Recognising projects achieving significant positive environmental impact in circular economy, energy and carbon reduction, water management, ecology and biodiversity, or connectivity and transport.
- CAA Environmental Award, IFC Edge Certified Project: A sub-category open to projects achieving IFC EDGE Certification through its integration of sustainable building practices and tangible outcomes.
- CAA Social Impact Award: Celebrating work demonstrating significant positive social impact in affordability, community development, health and wellbeing, or social value
Education:
- CAA Student Award: For students in Years 1-3 whose work creatively addresses social, economic, and environmental wellbeing in the context of the biodiversity crisis and climate emergency.
- CAA President’s Award: For students in Years 4-6 whose work critically and creatively responds to these urgent challenges.
Distinguished International Jury
The awards will be judged by two distinguished panels representing the five regions of the Commonwealth: Caribbean & Americas, Europe, Africa, Asia, and Pacific.
The Professional Practice Jury includes:
- Sui-Te Wu, CAA Chair of Professional Practice & Jury Chair (United Kingdom)
- Bryan Bullen (Grenada), Chris Briffa (Malta)
- Christian Benimana (Rwanda)
- Caroline Pidcock (Australia)
- Prof Dr Yasmeen Lari (Pakistan), 2024 CAA Lifetime Achievement Award Recipient
The Education Jury includes:
- Umar Saeed, CAA Chair of Education Committee & Jury Chair (Pakistan)
- Nooshin Esmaeili (Canada)
- Dr Byron Ioannou (Cyprus)
- Dr Hermie Delport (South Africa)
- Prof Sajida Haider Vandal (Pakistan)
- Dr Charmaine ‘Ilaiū Talei (New Zealand)
Award Recognition and Prizes
Winners in each category will receive a trophy and certificate. Student award winners will each receive a £500 cash prize. The jury may also issue Commendations and Regional Awards at its discretion. Selected student work will be featured in an Online Exhibition hosted by the CAA for global viewing.
“As the world faces unprecedented challenges from climate change and urbanisation, architects have a critical role to play in creating resilient, sustainable, and equitable built environments,” said Steven Oundo, CAA President. “The 2026 Awards Programme celebrates those who are leading the way in transforming how we design and build for future generations.”
You can also discover previous award recipients and commended projects in our Awards Gallery.
Submission Requirements and Key Dates
The awards are free to enter, with submissions accepted through the CAA AWARDS PLATFORM
Details for the submission requirements are contained in the awards handbook which is shown below and can also be accessed here: Handbook 2026
Key Dates are as follows:
- 10 December 2025 – Awards Programme Launch
- 12 May 2026 – Submission Deadline for the Lifetime Achievement, Environmental Impact and Social Impact Awards (Professional Practice Categories).
- 23 June 2026 – Submission Deadline for the Student and President’s Awards (Education Categories).
- 8 – 10 September 2026 – Award Ceremony at the CAA General Assembly. Auckland, New Zealand.
Submission Handbook & Guide
Our Sponsor: Sintali
Launched in 2020, Sintali is focused on decarbonising the built environment as a key impact area in the climate crisis, Sintali recognizes that with buildings contributing over a third of all global greenhouse gas emissions, ensuring green buildings are rolled out in the most simple and scalable way possible is essential to achieving maximum impact. Sintali’s purpose as an organisation is to make sure that every piece of infrastructure across the world—whether it’s an individual building or part of the broader built environment—is green. Sintali aims to catalyse this effort through improved education, reducing barriers to entry for stakeholders, and ensuring these efforts are done in a credible and verified way. Discover more about Sintali and their education and training programmes via the link below.
Our Media Partner: ArchDaily
ArchDaily is the world’s most-visited architecture platform, founded in 2008, that serves over 17 million monthly readers with curated architectural news, projects, interviews, and resources to inspire architects and designers globally in shaping the built environment. The CAA is pleased to be working with ArchDaily, our media partner for our 2026 Awards cycle.
About the Commonwealth Association of Architects & Further Information
The Commonwealth Association of Architects (CAA) represents architects across the 56 nations of the Commonwealth. Through its awards, research, and advocacy, the CAA promotes architectural excellence, sustainable design, and the role of architecture in creating healthier, more equitable communities worldwide.
Winners of the 2026 CAA Awards Programme will be widely promoted across the Commonwealth network, featured on the CAA website, circulated to international media, and may be selected for inclusion in the CAA’s archive of Good Practice Case Studies.
For further information, submission requirements, and eligibility details:
Website: https://commonwealtharchitects.org
Email: awards@commonwealtharchitects.org
Submission portal: https://caaa.awardsplatform.com/
Contact:
Mr Jacob Mwangi
Executive Director
Commonwealth Association of Architects
awards@commonwealtharchitects.org