SAWA Wins BNA Building of the Year 2026

Jury calls circular wooden residential building a ‘turning point for the city’

SAWA in Rotterdam has been named the winner of the BNA Best Building of the Year 2026, the Netherlands’ most prestigious architecture award. The expert jury unanimously selected the circular wooden residential building designed by NICE Developers, ERA Contour, and Mei architects and planners.

With this award, the jury is recognizing not only the architectural quality of the building, but also the innovative way in which sustainability, social inclusion, biodiversity, and entrepreneurship come together in a single project.

The jury describes SAWA as a building with a “wow factor” and calls it “a serious and significant experiment in the field of timber construction and entrepreneurship, serving as a model for others; a turning point for the city.” In addition, the jury praises the project’s open and adaptive approach, the involvement of the neighborhood, and the way in which the project contributes to quality of life, community building, and sustainability.

A blueprint for the housing of tomorrow

SAWA is Rotterdam’s first large-scale circular wooden residential building. The 50-meter-tall building contains 109 units, approximately half of which are affordable mid-range rentals. The building combines a largely wooden structural framework with nature-inclusive architecture, spacious outdoor areas, and communal facilities that encourage interaction among residents.

More than 3,000 plants, 700 meters of integrated planters, and 140 birdhouses make biodiversity an integral part of the design. In addition, the wooden structure contributes significantly to reducing the building’s CO₂ emissions.

Proof that there is another way

According to NICE Developers , the award NICE Developers that housing development does not have to choose between sustainability, affordability, biodiversity, and social quality.

“SAWA demonstrates that it is possible to combine all these goals when developers, architects, builders, and investors are willing to look beyond the short term. This award recognizes everyone who believed that there is a different way to build.”

For NICE Developers , this award NICE Developers special significance. SAWA was the developer’s first completed project and was conceived from the very first sketch as a model project for a new generation of housing. By deliberately limiting development profits and investing as much as possible in quality, circularity, biodiversity, and social inclusivity, the initiators sought to demonstrate that sustainable area development is not only desirable but also truly feasible.

A model for the future

The jury emphasizes that SAWA inspires an entrepreneurial and inquisitive mindset and demonstrates how developers, architects, and builders can work together to make the most of their respective roles. As such, the jury views the project as an important model for the future of Dutch housing construction.