In 2026, the Davidson Prize is inviting multidisciplinary teams to explore play for all, with the aim of generating new thinking and solutions that inspire vitality, joy and opportunities for interaction both inside and outside our homes.
The Davidson Prize is an annual design ideas competition, established in 2020, to promote design innovation and encourage new ways of visually communicating ideas around the themes of home and housing. The competition is open to teams that include an architect registered with the ARB (UK) or RIAI (Ireland).
Play is a fundamental activity for people of all ages. It shapes learning, fuels creativity, builds social bonds and supports both physical and mental wellbeing. Yet today, there are an estimated 7,000 ‘No Ball Games’ signs in London alone, discouraging around half a million people from being active. At a time when daily life is increasingly dominated by screens – phones, televisions and gaming, all addictive and largely sedentary – playful movement and activity are needed more than ever to get us out of our chairs. Far from being an everyday universal commodity, spaces for play are increasingly under threat, siloed, and becoming more of a luxury than ever.
With individual and collective wellbeing at its core, the theme of this year’s £25,000 Davidson Prize is Changing the Game: Building Play into Housing. The competition challenges teams to rethink how play can be embedded into the design of the home. Too often, play is treated as a separate playground ‘over there’, but what if play were part of the kitchen, the hallway, the communal areas, or the roof? What if homes could become safe, joyful, intergenerational playgrounds, where every person has the opportunity to move, connect and have fun?
The 2026 Davidson Prize jury panel:
Deborah Saunt, Founding Director of DSDHA (Chair)
Russ Edwards, Project Director at Latimer
Neil Emery, Director at Clifton Emery design (winner of the 2025 Davidson Prize)
Vicky Spratt, Housing & Society Correspondent at The i Paper
Zafir Ameen, Head of School Programmes, Open City
Expert Advisor to the Jury:
Dinah Bornat, Founding Director, ZCD Architects
Key competition dates
Competition Launch: Thursday 15 January 2026 – Theme, brief and judges announced
Stage 1 Deadline: Thursday 02 March 2026 (18:00 GMT) – The competition is organised in two stages. At Stage 1, entrants are asked to submit a marketing billboard selling their design concept, a social media advert, along with a 250-word statement explaining the design concept, a 100-word statement on how the proposal will be developed at Stage 2 and details of their team
Longlist Announcement: End March 2026
Finalist Announcement: End April / Start May 2026
Stage 2 Deadline: Thursday 21 May – At Stage 2, a shortlist of three finalist teams will each be awarded an honorarium of £5,000 and a one-hour consultancy workshop with leading visualisation studio Hayes Davidson to develop their ideas. Finalists will be expected to produce 3 mini films of 30 to 45 seconds exploring the concept further, as well as three additional hero image.
Winner Announcement: June 2026 – The winner of the fifth annual prize for thought-provoking ideas around the design of the home will be announced at an awards event in June. The winner will be awarded £10,000 and receive one week of visualisation artist time from Hayes Davidson
