Imagine Awards 2026
2026 Entries are now open!
#imagineawards2026
↓ VISIT THE CATEGORIES ↓
The Imagine Awards celebrate primary and secondary teachers, educators and built environment professionals who inspire children and young people to engage with architecture and the built environment through creative learning.
The awards recognise classroom activities, projects, workshops and collaborations that help children and young people explore the places around them and imagine better futures.
Entries are welcome from schools, specialist settings, built environment and cultural organisations, local authorities and collaborative partnerships delivering curriculum-linked projects and activities with children and young people.
Projects of all scales are encouraged, from one-off classroom activities to long-term collaborative programmes.
Projects should be entered into the category that best reflects the main focus of the work. From all submissions, the judges may also select projects for special recognition awards including the Collaboration Award, Teacher of the Year and the Christina Smith Award.
Categories open for Primary Level submissions
Special Recognition
Teacher of the Year
Recognising an educator who has shown exceptional creativity, commitment and leadership in inspiring children and young people through built environment learning.
Design, Making & Creative Learning
Celebrating projects that develop creativity, problem-solving and practical skills through design, making and hands-on exploration.
The Christina Smith Award
Recognising a project that thoughtfully connects heritage, place and contemporary design, encouraging children and young people to explore how the past can inform the future of our built environment.
Collaboration Award
Recognising an outstanding partnership between schools and external organisations that has enriched learning through architecture and the built environment.
Place & Community
Celebrating projects that help children explore their local area, identity and role in shaping the places around them through creative, inclusive and participatory learning.
Categories open for Secondary Level submissions
Celebrating projects that develop creativity, innovation and technical understanding through design, making and interdisciplinary learning.
Sustainability & Future Places
Celebrating projects that encourage children to think creatively about climate, sustainability and the future of the built and natural environment.
Design, Making & Creative Learning
Sustainability & Future Places
Celebrating projects that encourage young people to critically engage with climate, sustainability and the future of the built and natural environment.
Place & Community
Celebrating projects that encourage young people to critically explore identity, citizenship and the social, cultural and political dimensions of place through creative and participatory learning.