— Evaluation Criteria, Nomination Guidelines and Honor Review for the Ultimate Creativity Award & Lifetime Achievement Award

Preface: Defining the Pinnacle, Paying Tribute to Timelessness

On the occasion of the 20th anniversary of the IAI Design Award, we proudly highlight two of the highest honors in our award system: the IAI Ultimate Creativity Award and the IAI Lifetime Achievement Award. They represent two ultimate dimensions of design value respectively: the instantaneous, transformative creative power and the enduring, industry-shaping influence.

To celebrate this milestone, we officially release the revised and refined 2025 20th Anniversary Special Edition Evaluation Criteria and launch the special nominations for this year. We aim to work with the global design community to identify and recognize well-deserved benchmarks of the era through more transparent and systematic criteria.

Part 1: IAI Ultimate Creativity Award

Established in 2019 | Honoring the groundbreaking creativity of a single work

Ⅰ. Evaluation Criteria (2025 20th Anniversary Special Edition)

The evaluation is based on four core dimensions, with a total score of 100 points.

1. Originality and Breakthrough (30 points)

●   Does it propose an unprecedented design concept or solution?

●   Does it successfully challenge the traditional paradigms and technical boundaries of its field?

●   Does its innovative thinking have universal inspirational value?

2. Conceptual Depth and Narrative Power (25 points)

●   Is the work derived from profound insights into society, culture, technology or the environment?

●   Does it construct a complete, self-consistent and compelling narrative system?

●   Do form and function perfectly serve the communication of the core concept?

3. Execution and Completion (25 points)

●   Has the craftsmanship, technology and engineering implementation reached the pinnacle of excellence?

●   Does the application of materials reflect innovative thinking?

●   Is the overall quality of the final presentation impeccable?

4. Influence and Forward-looking Perspective (20 points)

●   Has it attracted widespread attention and discussion in the industry?

●   Has it generated positive social, cultural or environmental value?

●   Does its concept or form demonstrate enduring future vitality?

Ⅱ.  Nomination Eligibility and Submission Materials

1. Eligibility Requirements

●   The work must be completed, implemented or released on or after January 1, 2022.

●   Covering all design categories (architecture, interior design, product design, visual communication, digital design, etc.).

●   Nominations can be made by designers, institutions, clients, media, universities or previous jurors (self-nomination is allowed).

2. Required Submission Materials

●   Basic Information Form (to be filled out online).

●   Core Statement (within 800 words): Must closely align with the above four criteria and elaborate on the creative value of the work.

●   Visual Materials: High-resolution images (≤15 pieces), project video (≤3 minutes, optional), technical drawings.

●   Supporting Documents (optional but recommended): Media coverage, award records, user feedback, etc.

Ⅲ.  Nomination Process and Key Time Nodes

1. Confidential Nomination Period: From The Date Hereof To February 28, 2026

2. In-depth Review: March - May 2026

3. Honor Announcement: June 2026

4. Honor Release: 2026 IAI 20th Anniversary Global Award Ceremony

Part 2: IAI Lifetime Achievement Award

Established in 2010 | Paying tribute to the lifelong contributions of an individual career

Ⅰ.  Evaluation Criteria (2025 20th Anniversary Special Edition)

The evaluation aims to measure the depth, breadth and enduring influence of a professional career, with a total score of 100 points.

1. Excellence and Exemplarity of Career (30 points)

●  Has he/she continuously produced top-tier works, theories or achievements over decades?

●  Does the career trajectory show a clear path of continuous evolution and deepening?

●  Is he/she widely recognized as an authoritative model and spiritual benchmark in the industry?

2. Industry Driving Force and Ecological Contribution (30 points)

●  Has he/she substantially promoted the development of a design category or regional industry?

●  Has he/she made systematic contributions to the design ecosystem through education, institutional building or industry leadership?

●  Has his/her influence benefited a broad community of designers beyond personal achievements?

3. Academic Contribution and Thought Leadership (25 points)

●  Has he/she founded or developed an original and influential design theory or philosophical system?

●  Has his/her thinking continuously guided industry and public perception through works, teaching, etc.?

●  Has his/her intellectual influence transcended the field of design itself?

4. Social and Cultural Value (15 points)

●  Has his/her lifelong work left a profound legacy in sustainability, social well-being and other aspects?

●  Has he/she effectively inherited or shaped cultural identity and aesthetic spirit through design?

●  Has he/she significantly enhanced the public's aesthetic literacy?

Ⅱ.  Nomination Eligibility and Submission Materials

1. Eligibility Requirements

●  Individuals with high prestige in the global or specific regional design community.

●  The core professional career usually lasts for more than 25 years.

●  Nominations must be made by others; self-nomination is not accepted. Eligible nominators include previous winners, IAI jurors, heads of renowned universities, presidents of international associations, curators of major museums, etc.

2. Required Submission Materials

●  Official Nomination Letter (signed by the nominator).

●  Comprehensive Resume of the Nominee.

●  Achievement Overview (within 1500 words): Must systematically demonstrate against the four evaluation criteria mentioned above.

●  Materials of Important Representative Works (3-5 items).

●  2-3 Confidential Recommendation Letters (from other international authoritative experts).

Ⅲ.  Nomination Process and Key Time Nodes

1. Confidential Nomination Period: From The Date Hereof To February 28, 2026

2. In-depth Review: March - May 2026

3. Honor Announcement: June 2026

4. Honor Release: 2026 IAI 20th Anniversary Global Award Ceremony

Part 3: Review of Previous Winners' Honors

IAI Lifetime Achievement Award Laureates (2010-2024)

●  2010 - Steve Leung, Hong Kong, China [Identity/Title: Master of Interior Design, Important Promoter of Modern Design Language]

●  2012 - Xing Tonghe, China [Identity/Title: Pioneer of Chinese Modern Architectural Design, Architect of Shanghai Landmarks]

●  2013 - Zhang Qiman, China [Identity/Title: Founder of China's Environmental Art Design Discipline, Academic Giant of Design Education]

●  2016 - Zaha Hadid, UK [Identity/Title: Deconstructivist Architecture Master, Creator of Futuristic Spatial Forms]

●  2017 - Qi Kang, China [Identity/Title: Member of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, Theorist and Practitioner of Chinese Characteristic Regional Architecture]

●  2019 - Eva Jiricna, Czech Republic [Identity/Title: Master of Structural Aesthetics and Glass Application, Innovator of Modern Retail and Public Space Design]

●  2021 - Roberto Loeb, Brazil [Identity/Title: Giant of Brazilian Modernist Design, Iconic Figure in Industrial Design and Furniture Design]

●  2023/2024 - Steven Holl [USA Phenomenological architectural theorist, a persistent explorer of the poetics of light, shadow and space, and an international benchmark for concept-driven design practice]

Their professional careers form the backbone of design history.

IAI Ultimate Creativity Award Laureates (2019-2024)

●  2019/2020 - [Spanish Library], Designed by Giancarlo Mazzanti / Colombia [Core Highlight: An architectural strategist who reshapes community relations through social infrastructure. His representative work, with modular, scalable and open architecture, transforms public facilities into a catalyst for stimulating community vitality and promoting social equity, demonstrating the extraordinary creativity of architecture as a social tool.]

●  2020/2021 - [Amazon Rainforest Residence and Research Institute], Designed by Laurent Troost / Belgium [Core Highlight: Achieving zero-disturbance dialogue between architecture and the original ecology in extreme environments. Rooted in the Amazon context, the work creates a living and research space that can withstand harsh climates and integrate into the rainforest ecology with almost no trace through elevated, transparent and low-tech adaptive strategies, redefining the paradigm of tropical sustainable architecture.]

●  2021/2022 - [Second Home Hollywood Office], Designed by SelgasCano / Spain [Core Highlight: Creator of a colorful utopia that subverts material and form cognition. With its iconic translucent colored plastic, organic curves and unconventional structures, it creates a lightweight, fluid, futuristic space full of light and color, transforming architecture into an optimistic emotional experience installation.]

●  2022/2023 -

[Inner Courtyard · Hutong Symbiosis Project]Designed by [People's Architecture Office / China]Core Highlights: Aiming at hutong renewal, prefabricated "plug-in" modules are embedded into old buildings. While preserving the historical exterior, a modern functional core is implanted to achieve spatial "metabolism" at extremely low cost, reconciling the contradiction between conservation and development.

●  2023/2024 - [Casa Cubo Series Furniture], Designed by Superlimao / Brazil [Core Highlight: A playful spatial magician who plays with perception, color and daily scenarios. Excelling at transforming residences, commercial spaces and even furniture into surprisingly interactive experience fields through bold color geometry, clever visual illusions and humorous narrative intervention, demonstrating the joyful creativity of design in reshaping daily life.]

Their works have illuminated the instantaneous pinnacle of creativity.

For an in-depth understanding of the outstanding contributions and detailed works of previous winners, please visit [Insert Link to "Previous Honors" Special Page Here].

Part 4: Participation Methods and Consultation

●  Nomination Portal: Please visit the 20th Anniversary Special Page on the official IAI website to obtain the nomination form and complete guidelines.

●  Consultation Contact: Official Email: awards@iai-ap.org (Please indicate the award name in the email subject).

Let us jointly identify the pinnacle of creativity and immortal careers that define the height of the era and inspire the future direction at the historical coordinate of the IAI 20th Anniversary.

IAI Design Award Organizing Committee

December 16, 2025