Kaira Looro Architecture Competition 2026

Architecture is at its most powerful when it goes beyond the object and becomes a catalyst for collective life. In places where infrastructure is fragile and public resources are limited, a building can be more than shelter. It can become a place for learning, gathering, exchange, care, and opportunity. Humanitarian architecture challenges designers to work with what already exists: climate, materials, culture, skills, and community knowledge. From these conditions, it asks them to create spatial possibilities that are both beautiful and deeply useful.

The final results of the Kaira Looro Architecture Competition 2026 have now been announced, celebrating a new generation of architects, designers, and students who responded to the challenge of designing a Community Centre for rural southern Senegal. Conceived as a multifunctional civic space, the brief called for proposals capable of supporting education, cultural activities, social gatherings, workshops, local entrepreneurship, and community development, while remaining feasible through self construction, local materials, and low impact building strategies.

The First Prize was awarded to Afroditi Ioannidou and Vladimir Gligorovski from Greece, whose proposal was selected as the winning vision for this year’s edition. Their project will also open the door to an internship at Kengo Kuma & Associates in Tokyo, connecting humanitarian design with one of the most respected practices in contemporary architecture.

The Second Prize went to Marta Kuczynska and Jakub Czak from Poland, who will join an international internship programme with renowned studios such as Benedetta Tagliabue EMBT, David Adjaye Associates, or SBGA | Blengini Ghirardelli. The Third Prize was awarded to the Colombian team formed by Karol Eliana Cuellar Narváez, Jhuliana Giraldo, Juan Sebastian Piedrahita, Juan Santiago Uribe, and Oscar Valencia, whose project was also recognised for its architectural quality and social vision.

Beyond the three main prizes, Alexandre Fidèle from Mauritius and Ariane Baillargeon from Canada received Honourable Mentions, while ten Special Mentions and thirty five finalists were also recognised for their contextual sensitivity, design intelligence, and potential impact.

Organized by the nonprofit organization Balouo Salo, the competition has become one of the world’s leading platforms for humanitarian architecture, bringing together participants from more than 125 countries and a jury chaired by Kengo Kuma, with names such as David Adjaye, Benedetta Tagliabue, Amanda Levete, Manuel Aires Mateus, Mario Cucinella, and others.

The 2026 results reinforce a broader message: architecture can still be a tool for dignity, resilience, and real transformation.

_article written by Daniela Moreira da Silva
_image 1: Project by Afroditi Ioannidou, Vladimir Gligorovski (First Prize)
_image 2: Project by Marta Kuczynska, Jakub Czak (Second Prize)
_image 3: Project by Karol Eliana Cuellar Narváez, Jhuliana Giraldo, Juan Sebastian Piedrahita, Juan Santiago Uribe, Oscar Valencia (Third Prize)
_image 4: Project by Alexandre Fidèle (Honourable Mention)
_image 5: Project by Ariane Baillargeon (Honourable Mention)