Panasonic Homes Honors 18 Outstanding Design Proposals with 'Architect of the Year 2025' Awards

Panasonic Homes Co., Ltd. conducted the final judging for its internal program 'Architect of the Year 2025' (hereinafter, 'the Awards') on June 5, 2026, selecting and honoring a total of 18 outstanding cases, including six Grand Prix winners, for excellence in building design.

▼ Full press release:

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The Awards have been held annually since the 2016 fiscal year to enhance designers' proposal capabilities and promote the horizontal deployment of best practices and innovative approaches from outstanding projects. The final judging was conducted in a competition format for entries that passed the first and second document reviews. Designers presented their design plans and proposal processes to clients, allowing for a comprehensive evaluation of their overall design proposal skills and selection of winning cases.

The selection categories consist of six courses: 'Single-Family Bungalow Design,' 'Single-Family Home Design,' 'Interior Design,' 'Commercial Property (3 Floors or Below / 4 Floors or Above),' and 'Renovation.' From the 18 finalists, six Grand Prix winners and two Newcomer Awards were selected, along with one Casa BRUTUS Award and one Exterior Award (newly established to promote integrated building and exterior proposals).

Judges included architect Takeo Muraji, KENICHI OKUMURA, Deputy Editor-in-Chief of 'Casa BRUTUS,' and NORIAKI KONISHI, CSO of Estplus17 Co., Ltd. and President of Teshimaru Ryokuchi Construction Co., Ltd., who assumed the role of Exterior Creative Director at Panasonic Homes starting October 2025. Additionally, as part of enhanced collaboration within the Prime Life Technologies Group※, designers from Misawa Homes Co., Ltd. and Toyota Home Corporation—both sister companies under the same group—also participated in the judging. Leveraging expertise from external experts and group companies, the judging panel evaluated entries from multiple perspectives, including design quality, planning content, proposal process, and presentation skills. Judges praised the diversity of proposals, improved design capabilities, and the growing trend of integrated architectural and exterior design proposals.

Panasonic Homes will continue to use this awards program to further enhance designers' proposal skills and design quality.

Overview of 'Architect of the Year 2025'

Name: 'Architect of the Year 2025'

Organizer: Design & Construction Promotion Department, Panasonic Homes Co., Ltd. (Design Department at the time of implementation)

Judging Schedule: ① Entry Period: October 2025 – January 2026

② First Round: January 2026

③ Second Round: March 2026

④ Final Judging: June 5, 2026

Categories: [New Single-Family Homes]

Single-Family Bungalow Design Course

Single-Family Home Design Course

Interior Design Course

[Commercial Properties]

Commercial Property Course (3 Floors or Below / 4 Floors or Above)

[Renovation Projects]

Renovation Course

Awards: ① Grand Prix (6 cases): One outstanding case selected from each of the six courses

② Newcomer Award (2 cases): Cases designed by employees who joined through new graduate recruitment from the 2019 fiscal year onward

③ Honorable Mention (12 cases): Selected from cases not receiving the Grand Prix

④ Casa BRUTUS Award (1 case): Selected by Deputy Editor-in-Chief KENICHI OKUMURA from the 18 finalists

⑤ Exterior Award (1 case): Selected by Exterior Creative Director NORIAKI KONISHI from exterior contracting projects

Eligibility: Designers employed at Panasonic Homes' branches, overseas divisions, consolidated subsidiaries, equity-method affiliates, or Panasonic Renovation Co., Ltd., holding one of the following qualifications: First-Class or Second-Class Architect, or Interior Coordinator

Eligible Projects: Completed handover cases delivered to clients between October 2024 and September 2025

Total Entries: 274 cases

Judges: Architect Takeo Muraji

KENICHI OKUMURA, Deputy Editor-in-Chief of 'Casa BRUTUS'

NORIAKI KONISHI, Exterior Creative Director

MASAKI JINOKI, General Manager and Chief Designer, Product Development Department, Misawa Homes Co., Ltd.

TAKUYA MASUDA, Expert and Chief Designer, Product Development Department, Misawa Homes Co., Ltd.

MASANORI YAMANAKA, General Manager, Living Architecture Design Department, Toyota Home Corporation

SEIICHIRO MATSUMOTO, General Manager, Living Architecture Design Studio, Living Architecture Design Department, Toyota Home Corporation

Senior Executives, Panasonic Homes Co., Ltd.

※The Prime Life Technologies Group is a corporate group with Prime Life Technologies Corporation as the holding company, established in January 2020 through investments by Panasonic (now Panasonic Holdings Corporation), Toyota Motor Corporation, and Mitsui Fudosan Co., Ltd. The group includes five core operating companies: Panasonic Homes Co., Ltd., Toyota Home Corporation, Misawa Homes Co., Ltd., Panasonic Construction Engineering Co., Ltd., and Murakami-gumi Co., Ltd., engaged in housing, construction, and urban development.

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https://homes.panasonic.com/designer/