Drumroll, Please—Announcing the Winners of the Dwell Design Awards
To honor the most outstanding projects we published last year, we enlisted our readers and an expert panel of judges to select the most creative, context-driven designs across eight categories for the Dwell Design Awards. The winners, runner-ups, and community picks display imagination in their form, consideration in their materiality, connection to their environments, and innovation in how they frame a way of living.
Dwellings
Winner: Casa Cosmos by S-AR
On a rustic strip of coastline near Puerto Escondido, Mexico, S-AR designed a beach getaway with an open concrete grid that frames its natural surroundings.
"It’s rational and poetic all at once, a paradox in paradise."
—Suchi Reddy, architect
Runner-Up: Cockpit in Wild Plants by Hiroshi Nakamura & NAP
Hiroshi Nakamura & NAP created a sunken retreat in Karuizawa, Japan. Its glass lookout allows the residents to study wildflowers blanketing the forest floor.
Community Pick: House of the Tall Chimneys by Frankie Pappas
Inspired by ancient ruins, Frankie Pappas crafts a green-roofed, brick guesthouse that connects deeply with nature in the South African Bushveld.
Renovations
Winner and Community Pick: The Parchment Works by Will Gamble Architects
Rather than demolishing the neighboring remains of a 17th-century factory, Will Gamble Architects incorporated the ruins into a Northamptonshire, England, home that blends old and new.
Runner-Up: Nossenhaus by Jonathan Tuckey Design
In the Swiss village of Andermatt, Jonathan Tuckey Design reimagined a 1620 structure as a residence, rental space, and bar.
Prefabs
Winner and Community Pick: Saugerties Residence by BriggsKnowles A+D
Assembled in just two weeks, this cedar-wrapped passive house near Woodstock, New York, designed by BriggsKnowles A+D, realized a couple's dream of rural living.
Runner-Up: Prefab Saunas and Cabins by Iglucraft
Handcrafted according to centuries-old technique, the shingled huts by Estonian company Iglucraft have a spellbinding, storybook appeal.
Small Spaces
Winner: Woodnest Treehouses by Helen & Hard Architects
Helen & Hard built a pair of pine cone–shaped cabins that wrap around tree trunks in the forests of Odda, Norway.
Runner-Up: Urban Cabin by Francesca Perani Enterprise
In Albino, Italy, Francesca Perani Enterprise converted a porch into a hideaway using low-cost materials like OSB and printed floor tile.
Community Pick: Far Cabin by Winkelman Architecture
Winkelman Architecture delivers grown-up summer-camp vibes with this unassuming retreat on the coast of Maine.
Gardens
Winner and Community Pick: Casa Sierra Fría by Esrawe Studio
The monolithic brick home in Mexico City by Esrawe Studio looks imposing from the street, but its enormous pivoting door opens to a courtyard that feels like a lush oasis.
A koi moat surround this thatched-roof home—a collaboration between AmDesign Studio and Creative Architects—near Ho Chi Minh City.
Kitchens
Winner: Bismarck House by Andrew Burges Architects
A curving skylight illuminates the minimalist kitchen of a dwelling in Bondi Beach, Australia, that was renovated by Andrew Burges Architects.
"A great balance of functionality, space, and use of light. The opening plays to the communal notion of the kitchen in a brilliantly effective way."
—Ryan Chetiyawardana, bartender and gastronomist
Runner-Up: Hilton House by Osmose Design
Taking cues from nautical casework, Osmose Design crafted an undulating, white oak kitchen in an irresistibly quirky Tudor home in Portland, Oregon.
Community Pick: Project Felix by Leÿer Design Studio
Along Victoria’s Surf Coast, a minimalist timber dwellingcombines Scandinavian charm with the laid-back vibes of a New Zealand bach.
Bathrooms
Winner: Translucence House by Fougeron Architecture
A double-sided, free-standing vanity and a shower wrapped in a glass lozenge create an indoor/outdoor experience at a San Francisco residence designed by Fougeron Architecture.
Runner-Up and Community Pick: Square House by Levenbetts
For a concrete guesthouse in Stone Ridge, New York, LevenBetts designed an onsen-inspired bathroom with a steam room and a hinoki tub.
Objects
Winner:
"A multipurpose heating and cooking utility for the outdoors somehow feels like the perfect tool for our current time—in combination with a well-crafted and beautiful exterior."
—Jerome Byron, architect
Runner-Up and Community Pick:
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