A’ Design Awards 2026: Asian Steel & Corten Projects Win

South Korean Steel Project Wins Platinum

The A’ Architecture, Building and Structure Design Awards for 2026 recognized 22 projects globally, with a Platinum award presented to the Park1538 Gwangyang Cultural Facility in South Korea. Designed by Unsangdong Architects and Posco A&C, this project transforms Gwangyang's industrial identity, rooted in steel production, into a public cultural space.

The facility features sweeping curved steel surfaces that capture and refract daylight, a design choice referencing the city's name, which means "sunlight." Its structure includes a cantilevered exhibition hall that creates an open plaza at ground level, alongside ramps and vertical ribs guiding visitors through layered spaces. This design shows the unexpected flexibility of steel as a primary building material.

Corten, Timber, and Steel Across Asia

Other Asian projects among the 2026 award winners include diverse material applications. In New Taipei City, Taiwan, the Taipei Weather Station Meteorological Instruments Center, designed by IMO Architecture and JC Cheng Associates, employs movable Corten fins.

These fins respond to wind, allowing rain to run along their weathering surfaces, and filter sunlight to cast shifting shadows. This building, completed in 2023, integrates environmental observation into its architectural experience.

In Fukuoka, Japan, Keiji Harada's L Company Guest House uses timber and planted edges to soften its composition, creating a serene setting for hospitality and business meetings. This project, developed from 2022, emphasizes tactile materials.

Additionally, in Northeast China, the proposed Changchun Aerospace Expo Comprehensive Cultural Building by Cheng Sun, Dagang Qu, and Xi Huang features a custom steel framework wrapped in an integrated skin, designed for thermal efficiency and material savings in a cold climate.

Design Trends and Upcoming Deadlines

The 2026 A’ Design Awards reveal contemporary architectural concerns, including climate-responsive building envelopes, the adaptive reuse of historic structures, and designs that open buildings to their communities. There is also a renewed focus on local materials and vernacular forms, as seen in projects from South Korea, Taiwan, Japan, and China.

Organized from Como, Italy, the A’ Design Award & Competition aims to advance society through good design. Designers, architects, and studios interested in participating in the 2026-2027 edition can submit entries, with the late deadline set for February 28, 2027.

Implications for Asian Specifiers and Architects

These A’ Design Award winners offer practical insights for architects, interior designers, and procurement teams across Asia. The recognition of projects like Park1538 Gwangyang and the Changchun Aerospace Expo reveals the potential of steel for both structural innovation and aesthetic expression in large-scale cultural facilities.

Similarly, the Taipei Weather Station illustrates how Corten steel can function as a dynamic, climate-responsive facade material. Specifiers seeking materials that integrate environmental performance with distinctive visual qualities for projects in Asia can review these examples.

Architects planning new projects or adaptive reuse initiatives should consider the application of these materials and design approaches, especially when aiming for climate responsiveness or community integration, and note the February 28, 2027 deadline for future award submissions.