There is a moment in every architect’s career when a building begins to become something more: a statement, a legacy, a piece of the cultural landscape that outlasts the people who created it. For the architects who have stood on the stage of the Steel Architectural Awards, that moment did not arrive with the pouring of a foundation, but with the recognition that their work had changed the conversation about what coated steel can be.
The Steel Architectural Awards, presented by NS BlueScope, has operated on a conviction that challenges how most people think about building materials: that coated steel is not only functional, but can enable transformative architectural outcomes. It is not just a material you build with, but a material designed to support long term performance, turning industrial strength into an architectural legacy that lasts.
The Process That Transforms Practice
When Rafael David from Aboday Design in Jakarta spoke about the experience, he spoke about his team. Preparing their submission forced them to articulate something they had always felt but never formalised: that every project they complete carries an impact far beyond the construction site.
“Without my team, we could not prepare this submission. But we also learned that every project we complete has an impact far beyond what we could imagine, not only for us, but also for our clients and everyone involved in the construction process.”
— Rafael David, Aboday Design, Jakarta
The award process, he said, sharpened their thinking. The judges’ questions revealed dimensions of their work that they had not fully considered. The recognition did not just validate what they had done, it showed them what they were capable of becoming.
This is the quiet power of the Steel Architectural Awards, not merely the trophy, but the transformation that happens through the process of participation.
The Arkiskape team from Sarawak expressed a similar experience. Representing Malaysia at the ASEAN level, they found themselves not only showcasing a project, but also discovering a wider architectural community.
“We are very proud to represent Malaysia in the ASEAN competition. Being able to take part has given us great exposure to other countries to our experience, and especially to new ways of using BlueScope material.”
— Deswan Kwek, Irwan Iswandi and Sumardy Ghazali, Arkiskape, Sarawak, Malaysia
The award, they said, gave them exposure not just to recognition, but to entirely new ways of thinking about steel in tropical environments.
In Vietnam, Pham Trong Luat, Director of M.I.T.A Business Construction and Service Company Limited, described the experience as a journey of inspiration and discovery.
“When we joined this competition, it was a wonderful source of inspiration, a journey of discovery. We met steel experts who shared ideas and helped us find solutions that we will carry forward into future projects.”
— Pham Trong Luat, M.I.T.A Business Construction and Service Company Limited, Vietnam
As a pioneer of industrial steel architecture in Vietnam, he had spent years encouraging clients and peers to see that factory buildings could be as architecturally ambitious as residential or cultural projects. The award gave that vision powerful validation through international recognition from a panel of judges who saw the same potential.
The Material That Builds Bridges — Between Nations, Between Ideas
One of the most distinctive qualities of the Steel Architectural Awards is its deliberate regional scope. It is an ASEAN platform that celebrates how the same material, coated steel, responds to different climates, traditions, and architectural philosophies.
At the 2024 panel discussion, Architect Asae Sukhyanga, President of ASA Thailand and a member of the 2024 ASEAN Judges Panel, drew an analogy that resonated strongly with the audience. Southeast Asian architecture, he suggested, is like Southeast Asian cuisine. The ingredients may overlap and the flavours may be related, but the expressions are distinct. A Thai roof is not a Malaysian roof, and not a Vietnamese roof. Yet steel, with its tensile strength, lightness, and ability to enable wide spans, becomes the shared material that allows each tradition to express its full potential.
A Royal Thai Navy public works facility near Bangkok demonstrated this clearly, transforming a functional brief into an exploration of spatial expression. The architects created open, flexible interiors within what could have been a rigid institutional structure.
"The lightweight material allows us to play whatever we want in the space, so we could create a playful space inside”
— Capt. Natakarn Gepathum, Naval Public Works Department, Royal Thai Navy, Thailand
2026: The Stage Is Set
The Steel Architectural Awards ASEAN 2026 arrives at a pivotal moment. The region’s architectural community is more connected, more ambitious, and more aware of its collective responsibility than ever before.
The award categories: Industrial, Commercial, Residential, and Institutional, Public and Other, reflect the full breadth of how steel shapes the built environment. The respected panel of judges, drawn from Indonesia, Malaysia, Vietnam, Thailand, and Australia, represents the diversity and depth of expertise that the awards demand.
For architects submitting their work, the process itself is part of the reward. It is the discipline of articulating why a project matters and gaining recognition from an international panel of respected peers, affirming that their work contributes to something larger than any single building.
“All awards programmes are really about sharing your work with others. It is not necessarily about winning, it is about sharing, so that you broaden the community of architecture.”
—Richard Coulson, Cox Architecture, Australia and 2024 ASEAN Judge Panel
Participants in the Steel Architectural Awards gain far more than a trophy. Every architect enters the process to solve a problem, honour a place, and create something that endures beyond its construction. It is a collective journey of learning, sharing, and receiving valuable feedback that strengthens future practice.
Here, coated steel is not merely a material, it is a medium, a way of thinking about what architecture owes to its people, its environment, and the future it must help shape.
That language is spoken across ASEAN. The Steel Architectural Awards 2026 is listening.
Submissions for the Steel Architectural Awards ASEAN 2026 are now open.
Submit your project through countries now.
Theme: Shaping Resilient Futures: Timeless Designs with Coated Steel
Categories: Residential | Commercial | Industrial | Institutional/Public/Other
The Steel Architectural Awards ASEAN 2026 is presented by NS BlueScope in partnership with the Association of Siamese Architects (ASA), the Indonesian Institute of Architects (IAI), the University of Architecture Ho Chi Minh City (UAH), the Universiti Teknologi Malaysia (UTM), the AustCham Singapore, the Glenn Murcutt Architecture Foundation Australia and the ArchDaily.
