Urban Design Awards
The Gold Coast Urban Design Awards 2026 are open and we are calling for entries.
The awards celebrate the best of our built environment and have become the city's most prestigious platform for recognition of design excellence, liveability and sustainability. They celebrate the best of the city’s built environment and recognise design excellence in public and private projects.
When places are designed well, they provide measurable social, cultural, economic and environmental benefits.
Excellent urban design offers:
- significant benefits to the community in terms of health, wellbeing, productivity, efficiency and creativity
- long-term cost savings and returns in the management of and flexibility of city-wide spaces and property
- sustainable solutions in problem solving and decision making which reduce the physical impact on our environmental resources through a reduction in pollution and waste
- encouraging innovation in design and influencing policy makers, businesses, industry and the community to make smart decisions that will support growth in the city and attract new businesses
- city-wide brand recognition that aids local and external investment confidence.
Award Categories
Excellence in Urban Design Award
This award recognises an exceptionally high standard of design excellence and execution amongst all projects and achieves all six key design principles. The award-winning built project would significantly contribute to the city's reputation and image as a world-class city. This award is bestowed to only one winner.
Award for Urban Design Leadership
This award is selected at the discretion of the Jury Chairperson, in consultation with the Awards Jury Panel, and does not need to have been officially entered. This award can be conferred to a person, organisation, place or project. This award is bestowed to only one winner.
Urban Design Award for Public Projects
This award is bestowed on built projects that exhibit a high standard of excellence in design and execution of a public or institutional nature, and achieve all six key design principles. These awards may be bestowed to multiple winners.
Urban Design Award for Private Projects
This award is bestowed on built projects that exhibit a high standard of excellence in design and execution for residential and commercial projects and achieve all six key design principles. These awards may be bestowed to multiple winners.
Urban Design Award for Sustainability and Resilience Projects
This award is bestowed on built projects that exhibit a high standard of excellence in design and execution for sustainable, adaptive reuse or resilient projects and achieve all six key design principles. These awards may be bestowed to multiple winners.
Commendation
This category is bestowed on built projects that exhibit a high standard of distinction in design and execution and achieve most of the six key design principles. These awards may be bestowed to multiple projects.
Award for the Advancement of Urban Design – Unbuilt Projects
This award recognises unbuilt, research-based works as a vehicle to progress the practice and influence of urban design. This award seeks propositions that are theoretically and aesthetically exceptional, not necessarily resolved. These awards may be bestowed to multiple projects.
Submit an award entry
We encourage design professionals and developers to enter built and unbuilt projects. All commercial, public and community projects, from schools and streetscapes to high rise buildings are eligible.
Previous winners include The Spit Redevelopment, Pimpama Sports Hub, Bond University HSM and Tom Atkin Hall Rejuvenation.
Entries now close at 3pm on Monday 20 July 2026.
Download the Guidelines for entry(PDF, 5MB).
Six key design principles
- Responsive to Country, built form character, landscape, culture, climate and context to reinforce a local identity and sense of place.
- Connected and accessible places to enhance street life and link networks together for people.
- Engaged, innovative and activated buildings contribute to a vibrant and safe public setting.
- Subtropical design and integrated landscaping, optimising our unique lifestyle with sustainable and liveable environments.
- Attractive high quality buildings and public spaces that exhibit design excellence enriching our social interactions.
- Adaptableand flexible design solutions to support changing needs of people and places.
Jury panel
The entries will be judged by a panel of eminent industry leaders from the fields of architecture, planning, landscape architecture and development.
David Wagner
David is a founding partner of Atelier Wagner Architects, established 1998, working in the civic, ecclesiastical, educational, health, residential, heritage, commercial and multiple residential fields.
The practice has received multiple awards and been published extensively. David is the current National President of the Australian Institute of Architects and was Victorian President from 2022-25.
David has practiced in Melbourne, London and Canberra and enjoys working across projects with the greatest impact on community engagement and well-being.
Glen Power
Glen Power is a landscape architect with over 25 years’ experience delivering parklands, waterfronts and urban public realm across Australia.
He has been a leading advocate for the Green Grid as one of the four key asks of the Green Pathways Gold Pathways advocacy, led in collaboration with AIA, AILA, PIA and DIA.
Through this work, Glen has championed the Brisbane 2032 Olympic Forest vision, promoting a connected network of open spaces, waterways and active transport that positions the city itself as a venue.
His advocacy is focused on ensuring the Brisbane 2032 Games leave a lasting legacy of well designed, sustainable and inclusive urban places for communities across Southeast Queensland.
Nicole Bennetts
Nicole Bennetts is the National Head of Policy and Advocacy at the Planning Institute of Australia, leading national conversations on planning, cities and growth.
Based on the Gold Coast, with extensive experience across strategic planning, development, policy and stakeholder engagement, Nicole is passionate about solving our most wicked problems through the power of good planning.
She is a strong advocate for design excellence and the important role of good urban design in creating connected, resilient and loveable places.
Tanya Martin
Tanya Martin is Director of GTM Advisory and has more than 25 years’ experience in the property and development industry.
Her background spans strategic land development, planning approvals, infrastructure negotiations, stakeholder engagement and project delivery across a range of large-scale residential communities in Queensland.
Prior to establishing GTM Advisory, Tanya was Senior Development Manager for Lendlease on the Kinma Valley project, where she was responsible for the project’s conversion and launch.
Throughout her career, she has worked extensively on complex urban growth and masterplanned community projects, including Elliot Springs, Yarrabilba and Kinma Valley, with particular expertise in guiding projects through the conversion and approvals phase.
Key dates
- Entries open: Monday 15 June 2026
- Entries close: 3pm, Monday 20 July 2026
- Awards judging day and site visits: Friday 21 August 2026
- Awards ceremony: Thursday 5 November 2026
Award ceremony
The awards ceremony will be hosted by the Mayor and Councillors, with a Master of Ceremonies guiding proceedings for invited guests, jury members and their partners, sponsors and media representatives.
The program will include several short speeches and presentations, featuring the announcement of award winners and a video showcasing all entrants.
This year’s event will take place on Thursday, 5 November at SkyPoint, Level 78, 3/3003 Surfers Paradise Boulevard, Surfers Paradise.