Another year, another successful ArchDaily China Building of the Year Awards! Once more, the award has proved to be the largest architecture prize centered around people's opinion. Crowdsourced, the most relevant projects of the year were nominated and selected by our readers.
The 2026 China Building of the Year Awards is brought to you thanks to Dornbracht, renowned for leading designs for architecture, which can be found internationally in bathrooms and kitchens.
This year we celebrate three projects, XPENG Headquarters designed by weico Architects won the first place. The automotive industry is one of the most significant drivers of socio-economic development in contemporary society. Major automobile companies invariably invest considerable effort into the design and construction of their headquarters, and these buildings often become microcosms of society in their respective eras. The architecture of XPENG's new headquarters breaks away from the rigid image associated with the industrial age of the past, using a strongly dynamic design that resonates with the new era of intelligent mobility humanity is about to enter. SPARK 761_Beijing Digital Economy AIDC designed by llLab. won the second place. This project is the only artificial intelligence computing power park within the central urban area of Beijing. The architectural concept overturns the traditional, enclosed data and information center systems, enabling society, people, and activities to coexist with the building, its contents, and the invisible world of intelligent information. The Grand Canopy designed by MLA+ won the third place. The canopy is unfolded to welcome tourists; during typhoons or rainy days, it is retracted to ensure safety; in the off-seasons of autumn and winter, it is taken down to facilitate maintenance – and there is no need to apply for additional construction quotas. This flexible construction and operation logic takes from the site and gives back to the site.
