The historic Grando warehouse in Portorož, Slovenia, successfully concluded the 2026 edition of the BIG SEE Festival, the leading international platform for architecture and product design in South -East Europe. For the first time, the platform unified its formerly distinct iterations— BIG Architecture and BIG Design —into a singular, cohesive ecosystem. Attracting over 3,000 architects, designers, brands, investors, and decision -makers from all over the world, the two- day event established itself as a critical forum for navigating the complexities, ethical responsibilities, and systemic changes currently facing the spatial and creative industries.

Framing the Urgent Question: "Too much? What is just enough?"

Moving decisively away from temporary aesthetic trends, the festival tackled the challenges of an era marked by an abundance of imagery, buildings, and products. Across all panels and formats, participants engaged with the reality that the defining challenge of contemporary architecture and design is no longer whether something can be built or designed, but whether it should be—and to what purpose. The event positioned restraint not as a limitation, but as a primary professional responsibility to bring order, dignity, and shelter to an increasingly chaotic world.

Conference, Critical Debates, and Cinematic Narratives

The intellectual engine of the festival, the BIG SEE Conference, provided a space for genuine professional friction and debate rather than passive consumption. Curated through five distinct lenses—Architecture and Relevance, Urban Humanity, The Great Reduction, BIG, and Measure in Architecture—by Selçuk Avcı, Einar Jarmund, Lutz Kucher, Tanja Završki, and Aleksander Ostan, the program paired established masters with emerging practitioners. Keynote presentations and rigorous debates featured prominent global figures from world-renowned offices and foundations, including Mecanoo, the Norman Foster Foundation, Renzo Piano Building Workshop, and Groupwork.

Expanding beyond traditional lecture formats, the festival introduced specialized dialogic structures. The BIG SEE Editors Talk brought together editors from leading Central and South-East European architecture publications to debate cultural mediation in an oversaturated landscape, while the BIG SEE Professors Talk challenged educators to consider what must be "unlearned" to remain relevant for future generations.

Adding a vital multidisciplinary layer, the program also featured a dedicated space for architectural cinema and art. This included a rare first glimpse of Filip Filković’s documentary film K67—exploring Saša Mächtig’s iconic modernist modular kiosk—and the documentary Brutalism (2024) by Miloš Jaković and Hossein Fani, a poignant study on rebuilding postwar cities. Intersecting with these audio-visual narratives was a dedicated Art Room featuring contemporary rock 'n' roll artist Davor Keškec, whose work brought an unexpected creative dialogue of Cubism and Pop Art into the architectural setting.

Curated Trade Show and Global Partnerships

Bridging theory with industry reality, the BIG SEE Trade Show hosted over 100 select exhibitors, offering a highly curated alternative to mass commercial fairs. Alongside the commercial hub, the BIG SEE Innovations Exhibition presented a specialized mapping of design, materials, and systems tailored for a sustainable built environment. The exhibition grounds also highlighted key global design dialogue, including an institutional appearance marking the Italian Design Day 2026, which focused on urban regeneration and sustainable future practices.

By seamlessly connecting visionary creators, forward-thinking manufacturers, and international media, the unified BIG SEE Festival 2026 has reinforced its position as an indispensable regional catalyst, leaving the creative community with a sharpened collective judgment on how to build more responsibly, relevantly, and enduringly.

BIG SEE Awards 2026: Announcing the Grand Prix Winners

An integral part of the festival ecosystem, the BIG SEE Awards 2026 celebrated international projects that champion substance over scale and intent over spectacle. Evaluated by an esteemed international jury of global experts, the awards provided professional validation for achievements rooted firmly in real contexts, culminating with the Gala Night and the announcement of the prestigious Grand Prix winners: 

ARCHITECTURE

Residential - Houses: PALITOS Cabin in the Buenos Aires Delta | Matias Cosenza Arquitectos (Argentina)

Residential - Housing: Veil | Arid (Greece)

Residential - Renovation: Haus Müller | Guter-Plan (Austria)

Educational Buildings: Vision Pakistan | DB Studios (Pakistan)

Recreation & Sports Buildings: Misato Canoe Boathouse | STUDIO YY (Japan)

Tourism Buildings: Kellogg’s Bremen | DMAA Delugan Meissl Associated Architects (Germany)

Public, Civic and Administration Buildings: Troodos Star Observatory | Kyriakos Tsolakis Architects (Cyprus)

Public - Renovation: From Hospital to School | Franz und Sue (Austria)

Cultural Buildings: Siyadi Pearl Museum | Studio Anne Holtrop (Bahrain)

Infrastructure: Naples Underground Central Station | Miralles Tagliabue (Italy)

Public / Open Space and Landscape: Restoration of the old park “Na Sihoti” | Atelier Krejcirikovi (Slovakia)

Industrial Buildings and Workspace: Office Nomura-Sanko | note architects (Japan)

Smart Interventions: Wooden Wonders | MVRDV (Taiwan)

INTERIOR DESIGN

Retail: Melt Season Flagship at Taiyuan Road | MLKK Studio (China)

Hospitality: Piccadilly Clubhouse | StoryStudio + Studio Lotus (India)

Workplace: MBC Ground | INTG. (South Korea)

Civic: Kindergarten Gotha | herrschmidt architekten* BDA (Germany)

Residential: Bauhaus Reimagined | Studio Sarolta Huttl (Hungary)

Installation: “Opera Aperta” Pavilion of the Holy See | Tatiana Bilbao Estudio + MAIO Architects (Italy)

PRODUCT DESIGN

Furniture for Living Spaces: Cabrio | Dirk Wynants (Manufacturer: Extremis)

Functional Lighting and Atmosphere: TSUBOMI | Kazuhiro Yamanaka (Manufacturer: Kazuhiro Yamanaka Office)

Building Systems and Elements: Creative Power 40W by Smarter Living | Milosz Bertman, Jean-Paul Otto, Mario Moyano Jimenez, Amani Soumri, Derk van Peer (Manufacturer: Smarter Living)

Home Appliances and Electronics: STOREY | Propeller Design (Manufacturer: Sunology)

Home Accessories and Ambience: Onggi and Container Series | SWNA (Manufacturer: 3D FACTORY)

Personal Accessories and Lifestyle: Tanuki 2 – Japanese Inspired Washi Paper Shoe | Anna and Ran Yona, Markus Kittner (Manufacturer: Wildling)

Leisure and Play: Dog Toy Collection | Above Agency (Manufacturer: Earth Rated)

Urban and Public Design: Wall Mounted Cafe Table + Removable Bracket | George & Willy (Manufacturer: George & Willy)

Work and Productivity: rabbit r1 | rabbit + teenage engineering (Manufacturer: rabbit)

Mobility and Transportation: Pedal 4 | Joe Allum, Patrick Bion, Liam Sill (Manufacturer: Minimal)

Collectible Design: Moon Rock Anthe seat | Studio Furthermore (Manufacturer: Markov Studio)

Sustainability and Responsible Design: Bioplates | Alex Hell, Gabi Neves (Manufacturer: Studioneves)