Thirty innovative projects named on Dezeen Awards 2023 sustainability shortlist

Dezeen has announced the sustainability shortlist for this year's Dezeen Awards, which includes designs by Snøhetta, Diana Kellogg Architects, Blond and Foster + Partners.

The 30 shortlisted studios, which are in the running for awards in six different sustainability project categories, are located across 12 different countries including Norway, Mexico, Switzerland, Austria and Spain.

The top three represented studio countries are the UK with 15 shortlisted entries, followed by China with three and the Netherlands with two. The top project city locations are London, with 11 shortlisted entries, followed by Shanghai with three and Cambridge with two.

Shortlisted projects include a reusable soap dispenser with a recycled plastic clip-on pump, a renovated office building with playful forms in Athens and an adaptive reuse project featuring a demountable interior timber structure in Madrid.

A collaboration between six leading architecture studios, which saw firms create 203 homes across six buildings supporting sustainable living in Melbourne, was another shortlisted project.

Dezeen Awards 2023 shortlists revealed this week

The shortlisted projects were scored by our sustainability jury which includes fashion designer Patrick McDowell, industrial designer Jane Abernethy and architect Koichi Takada.

Dezeen Awards 2023, in partnership with Bentley Motors, will reveal all shortlisted projects this week. The architecture, interiors and design shortlists were announced earlier this week.

This year's new nomination-based Designers of the Year and Bentley Lighthouse Award shortlists will be announced this Friday and next Monday respectively.

Above: Nightingale Village by Architecture architecture, Austin Maynard Architects, Breathe, Clare Cousins Architects, Hayball and Kennedy Nolan. Photo by Tom Ross. Top:

All shortlisted design projects are listed below, each with a link to a dedicated page on the Dezeen Awards website, where you can find an image and more information about the project. All shortlisted projects will also feature in their own dedicated Dezeen post.

The winner of each project category will be announced at our party in November. All six winners will then go on to compete for the title of sustainability project of the year. This category is sponsored by Brookfield Properties.

Read on for the full sustainability shortlist:


Precise Acts - Hermès Workshops
Precise Acts – Hermès Workshops by Lina Ghotmeh Architecture. Photo by Iwan Baan

Sustainable building

Nightingale Village, Brunswick, Australia, by Architecture architecture, Austin Maynard Architects, Breathe, Clare Cousins Architects, Hayball and Kennedy Nolan
The Rajkumari Ratnavati Girl's School, Jaisalmer, India, by Diana Kellogg Architects
Yukinohako, Joetsu City, Japan, by Kei Kaihoh Architects
Precise Acts - Hermès Workshops, Louviers, France, by Lina Ghotmeh Architecture
The Black and White Building, London, UK, by Waugh Thistleton Architects

This category is sponsored by Moda Living.

Browse all projects on the sustainable building shortlist page ›


Park Hill Phase 2 by Mikhail Riches. Photo by Tim Crocker

Sustainable renovation

National Youth Theatre, London, UK, by DSDHA
Entopia, Cambridge, UK, by Eve Waldron Design
Ombú, Madrid, Spain, by Foster + Partners
Park Hill Phase 2, Sheffield, UK, by Mikhail Riches
Art_1 Office, Athens, Greece, by Neiheiser Argyros

Browse all projects on the sustainable renovation shortlist page ›


Big. by Nina+Co. Photo by Anna Batchelor

Sustainable interior

Edit, London, UK, by Elly Ward and Joe Morris
Entopia, Cambridge, UK, by Eve Waldron Design
Freitag Store Shanghai, China, by Kooo Architects
Big, London, UK, by Nina+Co
Lai Zhou Bar, Shanghai, China by RooMoo Design Studio

Browse all projects on the sustainable interior shortlist page ›


Kankan by Kankan. Photo by Two Times Elliott

Sustainable design (consumer)

Blue Sky Lab by NIO Life
Ruka Edge Slick by Blond
PulpaTronics by PulpaTronics
Living Coffin by Studio Hendrikx and Loop Biotech
Kankan Soap Dispenser by Kankan, Morrama and Two Times Elliott

Browse all projects on the sustainable design (consumer) shortlist page ›


Permeable YiBrick by Yi Design Company Limited. Photo by Yi Design

Sustainable design (building product)

Alted H01 Collection by Berta Julià Sala for Alted Materials
Armourcoat Clay Lime Plaster (Clime) by Armourcoat
Erosion Mitigation Units (EMU) by Reef Design Lab
Flyt by Snøhetta
Permeable YiBrick by Yi Design

This category is sponsored by SketchUp.

Browse all projects on the sustainable design (building product) shortlist page ›


Sugarcrete TM by Sugarcrete TM. Photo by Chromaphotography

Material Innovation

Bananatex Jersey by Bananatex
Human Material Loop by Human Material Loop, Zsofia Kollar and Leonardo Avezzano
Celium by Polybion
Sugarcrete by Sugarcrete
Colorifix Limited invested in by The Mills Fabrica Investment Fund

Browse all projects on the material Innovation shortlist page ›

Dezeen Awards 2023

Dezeen Awards celebrates the world's best architecture, interiors and design. Now in its sixth year, it has become the ultimate accolade for architects and designers across the globe. The annual awards are in partnership with Bentley Motors, as part of a wider collaboration that will see the brand work with Dezeen to support and inspire the next generation of design talent.