The award brings together five distinct responses to housing challenges—from community-led Indigenous settlement and bamboo construction to public housing finance and lower-impact building materials—offering an international lens on design’s role in adequate housing.
Awards presented at the World Habitat Day global observance, Oman Convention and Exhibition Centre, Muscat, Oman.
About this story
UN-Habitat announced and presented its 2026 Scroll of Honour to five recipients selected from 101 nominations: Punjab Housing and Town Planning Agency (Pakistan), for expanding affordable housing access through interest-free homebuilding loans; Housing NOW (Myanmar), for low-cost bamboo housing and community infrastructure serving people affected by conflict, displacement, poverty, and disasters; Aldeia do Espraiado – Tekoa Ara Hovy (Maricá, Brazil), a municipal Indigenous village developed with Guarani Mbyá families and providing homes, services, and secure land tenure; Abdelmalek Ghannem (Tunisia), recognized for building materials incorporating local and mining residues; and London Mayor Sadiq Khan, for housing and urban-development initiatives. UN-Habitat’s account says 13 families live in the Maricá village, where residents helped shape their homes and the settlement includes a bilingual school, health post, cultural center, community kitchen, water infrastructure, and solar lighting. Housing NOW’s bamboo construction system uses locally available material and prefabricated components for homes and community facilities. The award is an international overview of practical housing approaches rather than a single architectural project.
Status and timeline
The five 2026 awards were presented on October 5, 2026. The recognized initiatives are active or completed; the Maricá Indigenous village received residents in early 2025, and the Apni Chhat Apna Ghar housing program launched in 2024.
Design highlights
Community participation and culturally appropriate housing; Indigenous land tenure and traditional building methods; bamboo construction using locally available materials and prefabrication; compressed earth and residue-based building materials; affordable housing finance and climate-resilient urban development.
