2026 Prix de Rome Architecture shortlist on display at the Nieuwe Instituut from 4 December

Four nominees respond to this year’s theme of ‘Terminal Velocity’.

7 October 2026

Opening on 4 December, an exhibition featuring the finalists for the 2026 Prix de Rome Architecture will be on display at the Nieuwe Instituut.
The Prix de Rome is the oldest award in the Netherlands for architects, urban planners, landscape designers and other spatial designers under the age of 40. It is organised by the Creative Industries Fund NL every four years.
In their submissions, the four 2026 finalists respond to the theme of ‘Terminal Velocity’ – the necessary reimagining of their working methods in an ever-changing world – through spatial interventions at a location of their choosing.
The winner of the 2026 Prix de Rome will be announced on 17 December 2026.

From Friday 4 December, the finalists’ entries for the 2026 Prix de Rome Architecture will be on display at the Nieuwe Instituut, the Dutch national museum and institute for architecture, design and digital culture in Rotterdam.

Organised every four years by the Creative Industries Fund NL on behalf of the Dutch Ministry of Education, Culture and Science, the Prix de Rome is the oldest and most prestigious award in the Netherlands for architects, urban planners, landscape designers and other spatial designers under the age of 40.

This year’s nominees – Dérive, Maarten Plomp and Iris van der Wal, Namelok, and Słodka x Zatta – responded to the theme of ‘Terminal Velocity’ with their submissions. An international jury of experts selected these four proposals from 60 anonymous submissions in response to an open call by the Creative Industries Fund NL.

Terminal Velocity

Our present era is characterised by social inequality, polarising politics, depleted resources, technological disruption and ecological decline. For architects, urban planners, landscape architects and other spatial designers, it is increasingly difficult to find an adequate respond to the complex challenges of this ever-changing world. How are they reflecting on this? Can they redefine their approach and envision designs that exist outside of current social, political, material, technological and ecological systems?

Submissions

The nominees – Dérive (Hedwig van der Linden and Kevin Westerveld), Maarten Plomp and Iris van der Wal, Namelok (Wiegert Ambagts and Kaj van Boheemen), and Słodka x Zatta (Izabela Słodka and Federica Zatta) – spent four months working on a spatial intervention in a location of their choice. All of the selected locations have been shaped in some way by an accelerating development that is changing the world faster than we can adapt: the campus of chip manufacturer ASML in Veldhoven; the former Ministry of Social Affairs in The Hague; the peat meadow area of the Krimpenerwaard; and the former CSM Sugar Factory in Breda.

The turbulent state of the world today, and our society in particular, places great demands on contemporary architects, urban planners and landscape designers. It is essential that they respond more effectively to change and come up with appropriate solutions more quickly. Against this backdrop, this year’s theme for the Prix de Rome could not be more timely or urgent. We are delighted that the Nieuwe Instituut once again has the opportunity to showcase the work of four of the Netherlands’ most talented young designers, and we look forward to seeing the inspiring interventions they will present in the exhibition.

Further information

The four projects will be on display at the Nieuwe Instituut from Friday, 4 December. Nasim Razavian, architect, researcher and lecturer at Rotterdam’s studio ilinx, is the exhibition’s spatial designer. Studio Remco van Bladel is responsible for the graphic design. An accompanying publication will be released by Jap Sam Books.

The winner of the 2026 Prix de Rome will be announced on 17 December 2026.

For more information about the Prix de Rome and the exhibition, visit nieuweinstituut.nl/en/projects/prix-de-rome-architectuur-2026/.

Note to editors

Images
Below are four portraits of the nominees. Please credit the photographer when publishing the photograph.

Press preview
Members of the press are welcome to view the exhibition ahead of the public opening on Thursday 3 December, between 15:00 and 17:00, at Nieuwe Instituut. Please register using the details below.

Contact
Robin van Essel, Press Officer +31 (0)6 3803 9218, r.vanessel@nieuweinstituut.nl