The 10th ELA International Landscape Award 2026 Officially Launches: A Decade of Greenery, Embarking on a New Quality Future

After ten years of deep cultivation, greenery has grown into forests. In 2026, as China’s “dual carbon” strategy advances in depth and urban renewal actions are fully rolled out, the landscape design industry is shifting from “adding decorative touches” to “systemic empowerment” — becoming not only the ecological foundation of urban resilience and a spatial carrier of a better life, but also a green engine of new quality productivity.

On this milestone tenth anniversary, the 10th ELA International Landscape Award, initiated by an authoritative industry media outlet, now opens global submissions. Under the theme “New Quality Landscape · Sustainable Symbiosis,” the award is based in China and open to the world, seeking and honoring outstanding landscape forces that truly respond to the challenges of our time and lead industry transformation.

A Decade of Witness: From Aesthetic Paradigm to Systemic Thinking

Since its establishment in 2016, the award has adhered to the principles of fairness, justice, and openness, recording industry trends with the sharp insight of professional media. Over nine successful editions, the award has witnessed a transformation in design logic from “demonstration zone aesthetics” to “full life-cycle value”; a return to industry value from “rendering competitions” to “high-quality built works”; and a spatial paradigm shift from “isolated gardens” to “green infrastructure embedded in urban fabric.”

Over the past nine years, top design firms from both China and abroad have contributed benchmark projects. In the 9th edition in 2025, 274 submissions covered 49 cities nationwide, with shortlisted projects spanning residential, commercial, urban renewal, ecological restoration, child-friendly spaces, cultural tourism complexes, and other cutting-edge fields.

In 2026, the award reaches its tenth edition. The organizing committee noted: “This is not just a competition, but a systematic review of China’s achievements in human settlement environment over the past decade. In an era where ‘new quality productivity’ is a key theme, we look forward to seeing more benchmark projects empowered by green technology and infused with humanistic care.”

Annual Theme: New Quality Landscape · Sustainable Symbiosis

The theme responds to three major contemporary challenges:

1. Green Productivity. Central government support for urban renewal demonstration projects has accelerated green infrastructure upgrades, giving landscape design a new mission to balance carbon sink functions and community resilience. The award will recognize outstanding works that make innovative contributions to carbon reduction, genuinely address human settlement needs, and deliver sustainable value.

2. Technological Driving Force. AI and digital twin technologies are reshaping the entire landscape design process — from assisting scheme generation to simulating ecological performance, from static aesthetics to dynamic interaction. The award continues to encourage deep integration of technology and nature, uncovering high-quality landscape practices empowered by digitalization.

3. Humanistic Cohesion. As urbanization shifts from speed to warmth, landscape design carries diverse social values including cultural heritage, community co-creation, and child-friendliness. The award will honor benchmark projects that creatively integrate cultural value into natural environments, activate community memory, and respond to public needs.

Ten Years of Excellence, Authoritative Recognition

This award is not only an honor but also a premium platform for idea exchange and value dissemination:

Authoritative & Fair: Professional media perspective and rigorous jury mechanisms ensure the award’s credibility.

Global Reach: Past winners include the world’s top design firms.

Multi-Platform Exposure: Winning and shortlisted projects receive extensive promotion across a full media matrix.

Benchmark Gathering: Over nine years, the award has served more than 90 landscape firms (both domestic and international), with a win rate of approximately 30%, ensuring industry rarity and professional recognition.

Upgraded Categories: More precise tracks and broader coverage.

Award Categories

This edition features two major categories: Comprehensive Awards and Single-Category Awards.

Comprehensive Awards:
“Top Ten Landscape Projects of the Year” — selected by the jury as the year’s most outstanding projects in overall landscape design capability.
“Annual Most Socially Influential Award” — honors projects that significantly impact people’s quality of life, judged on criteria such as promoting healthy and active lifestyles, fostering community spirit, effective use of sustainable resources, enhancing biodiversity, and positive local economic contribution.

Single-Category Awards (eight categories):
Best Residential Landscape, Best Demonstration Area Landscape, Best Technology-Enhanced Landscape, Best Open Space Landscape, Best Commercial Landscape, Best Ecological Landscape, Best Urban Renewal Project, and Best Cultural Tourism Landscape — covering all sub-fields of landscape design.

Submission Process & Requirements

Phase 1 (June 5 – July 20, 2026): Participants register online at the official website (www.ela.cn). After completing registration, information input, and project addition, applicants submit electronic files to the organizing committee’s designated email as required.

Phase 2 (by August 20): Shortlisted projects are announced via the official WeChat public account.

Phase 3 (September 1 – September 20): Final jury evaluation.

Phases 4 & 5 (September): Winners announced and multi-platform award promotion begins.

Eligibility & Materials: Projects must be completed or at least in the construction stage by July 20, 2026. Submissions require a design statement of 800–1,500 words, 15–30 high-resolution images, and relevant drawings.

Entry Fee

The entry fee is RMB 2,500 per project, which includes multi-platform media coverage and a dedicated feature on both official websites for shortlisted works. If a project does not win an award after final evaluation, the applicant receives three additional project showcase opportunities as compensation. A 10% discount applies for three or more submissions; for five or more submissions, the fee per project is reduced to RMB 2,000.

A Decade of Witness, Greenery into Forests.
The 10th ELA International Landscape Award sincerely invites landscape design professionals and firms worldwide to participate actively, jointly writing the answer sheet for a “New Quality Landscape · Sustainable Symbiosis.”

Past Winners (Partial, in no particular order)

AECOM, SWA Group, Sasaki Associates, S.P.I. Design, Aoya Design, GVL Design, ASPECT Studios, Z+T Studio, Jialing (Chongqing), EADG, EDSA, Antao Design, Up+S, S.P.I.G., Atorasi Planning & Design, Ramboll Studio Dreiseitl, ASL Atersen Landscape, Landao Design, QIDI Design, Yilan Design, ACA McLandscape, Weimar Landscape, BLVD, Lihe Landscape, Maitian Landscape, Riqing Landscape, Songya Landscape, Silex Landscape, Chengdu Scenic Design, DDON Planning & Design, Hangzhou Modern Engineering Design, FLO Landscape Design…

SJ Sheng Group, LWK + PARTNERS, THAD (Tsinghua Architectural Design), Arcplus Shanghai Architectural Design, CSCEC Southwest (Shenzhen) Design Consulting, Liu Yuyang Architects, Shanghai Shuishi Architecture & Planning, AUBE, JZFZ, goa, gad, Tongyuan Design Group.

For more information, please visit: www.ela.cn