Confindustria Ceramica, the Italian Association of Ceramics, alongside the Italian Trade Agency, officially announced the winners of the 2026 Ceramics of Italy Tile Competition during a prominent ceremony. For the first time in the history of the program, the competition expanded its scope to encompass architectural and interior design firms from all corners of the globe. This unprecedented worldwide opening drew an extraordinary response from the international design community, resulting in a robust portfolio of entries that highlighted the outstanding application of Italian ceramic and porcelain tiles produced by Ceramics of Italy member brands.
The much-anticipated award ceremony took place on September 23, hosted as part of the “Building, Dwelling, Thinking” event program during Cersaie 2026, the premier international exhibition of ceramic tile and bathroom furnishings.
Organized annually by the Italian ceramic industry and Cersaie, the Ceramics of Italy Tile Competition is designed to recognize the world’s top architectural and interior design projects that skillfully demonstrate the creativity, high performance, and exceptional versatility of Italian ceramic surfaces. Submissions are traditionally evaluated across four core categories: Commercial, Residential, Outdoor, and Design & New Applications. For this year’s historic global edition, the international jury reviewed a remarkably dense field of entries, judging them on criteria that included functional execution, aesthetic appeal, environmental sustainability, and the proportion of Italian ceramic materials utilized in the build.
The celebrated projects spanned a diverse geographical footprint, representing architectural achievements in Australia, Canada, Croatia, Ireland, Italy, Malta, Poland, Spain, Switzerland, the United Kingdom, and the United States.
Evaluating this extensive and globally diverse body of work was a distinguished international jury chaired by Steve Clem, principal at the Atlanta-based architectural firm TVS. He was joined by Alfonso Femia, a prominent architect, designer, founder, and president of Atelier(s) Alfonso Femia; Donatella Bollani, an architect specializing in design, sustainability, and communication who serves as the former deputy editor of Domus; and Filippo Manuzzi, chairman of the Confindustria Ceramica Promotional Activities and Fairs Commission.
Reflecting on the caliber of the submissions and the unique nature of this year’s expanded mandate, jury chair Steve Clem shared his perspective on the judging process.
“Serving as chair of this year’s jury was an exciting opportunity to see the remarkable range of architectural and design work being created with Italian ceramic and porcelain tile around the world,” said Clem. “The global expansion of the competition brought forward an impressive diversity of projects, demonstrating how ceramic surfaces can serve not just as finishes, but as integral elements of the architecture. The winners and honorable mentions reflect the creativity and innovation that continue to expand the possibilities of ceramic design.”
Following rigorous deliberations, the jury selected winners and honorable mentions across all designated categories, highlighting projects that elevated traditional materials through contemporary innovation.
In the Residential category, the top honor was awarded to “Spoonbill,” a luxury residence located in Manalapan, Florida, and designed by the studio 610 Interiors. The project incorporates high-performance tiles sourced from Leonardo Ceramica and ABK. Overlooking a tranquil and protected waterfront basin, the residence interprets contemporary luxury through a restrained architectural language combined with a refined minimalist sensibility. Conceived by the designers as a series of gallery-like spaces, the home’s interiors are unified by expansive ivory and soft white ceramic surfaces. These surfaces establish a continuous, uninterrupted connection between the indoor living areas and the outdoor natural environment. The home’s continuous dialogue with the waterfront and its careful integration into the surrounding South Florida landscape define a daily living experience centered on personal well-being, where raw materials, abundant natural light, and structural architecture converge in precise balance.
The Outdoor category winner was “Villa Delago,” situated in Torri del Benaco, Italy, and designed by JM Architecture. This striking project features advanced ceramic surfaces supplied by Casalgrande Padana. Nestled carefully on one of the natural terraces overlooking Lake Garda, the single-story pavilion-style villa blends into the landscape while actively preserving the site’s century-old olive and cypress trees. Organized around two generous internal courtyards, the villa establishes a continuous dialogue with the outdoors through a wraparound portico defined by a slender white aluminum structure. This structure is detailed to frame and enhance the underlying porcelain stoneware surfaces. The property’s swimming pool follows the natural topography of the sloping site, while the flat roof—conceived explicitly as a fifth facade and clad entirely in large-format ceramic slabs—emerges as one of the defining architectural statements of the entire project.
The Commercial category winner celebrated a major hospitality development: the “Terradamari Resort & Spa Marina di Modica – Tapestry by Hilton,” located in Marina di Modica, Sicily, and designed by Studio Chiara Caberlon. The resort showcases tiles from prominent Italian brands including Coem, Fioranese, and Ceramica Sant’Agostino. Within the competitive luxury hospitality landscape, the resort interprets the concepts of relaxation and wellness through an architectural framework deeply integrated into the characteristic Sicilian countryside. Designed by Chiara Caberlon, the property offers expansive views of the Mediterranean Sea alongside a design vocabulary that uses custom ceramic surfaces to reinterpret traditional local motifs and natural textures through a contemporary lens. The inclusion of sustainable materials and regionally sourced solutions rounds out a project deeply attentive to environmental stewardship, local heritage, and the comfort of guests.
In the Design and New Applications category, the winner was the “Icebergs Bar and Kitchen at Sydney Airport T3” in Sydney, Australia, designed by the studio Lazzarini Pickering Architetti utilizing decorative tiles from Franco Pecchioli Ceramica. The installation successfully translates the relaxed, social atmosphere of Bondi Beach’s iconic long lunches directly into the dynamic, high-traffic environment of Sydney Airport’s Terminal 3, offering travelers an unexpected sensory retreat from the constant flow of the airport. Suspended forms, handcrafted glazed tiles imported from Tuscany, and carefully orchestrated lighting evoke the distinct colors and reflections of the Pacific Ocean. Here, ceramic surfaces wrap around functional service counters and monolithic tables to become the primary defining features of the interior architecture. Sustainability within the terminal space is expressed through durable materials engineered for intensive public use, paired with an energy-efficient lighting scheme designed to maximize natural daylight.
Beyond the primary category winners, the international jury also selected five exceptional projects to receive Honorable Mentions for their noteworthy design achievements.
The Residential category honorable mention was awarded to “Private Villa – Bay Hill,” located in Orlando, Florida, and designed by Brooks Design Studio using products from Ceramiche Keope. Conceived to dissolve the physical boundary between interior living quarters and exterior spaces, the luxury residence achieves a seamless spatial continuity between the home’s main rooms and its surrounding patios. Large-format ceramic surfaces finished in a soft gray tone—inspired by the understated, industrial elegance of concrete—establish a unified material language that strengthens the home’s dialogue with the Florida landscape. The project is completed by glass-mosaic-effect ceramic surfaces that line the edge of the swimming pool, reinterpreting the refined historical tradition of Italian mosaic craftsmanship through a distinctly contemporary lens.
The Commercial category honorable mention went to the “AC Hotel Savannah Historic District” in Savannah, Georgia. Designed by the architectural firm Design Continuum, the hotel project showcases surface solutions from Emilceramica, Florim, Cooperativa Ceramica d’Imola, and Italgraniti. Explicit references to natural textures and the hotel’s spatial relationship with the nearby river reflect a rigorous design approach rooted in ecological sustainability, an effort that was officially recognized with LEED Platinum certification.
The “Atrium House,” located in Miami, Florida, and designed by the studio Space & Forms, received the honorable mention in the Outdoor category, utilizing advanced products supplied by Ceramiche Caesar. This single-family residence reinterprets one of the most widespread residential housing typologies found across the United States, striking a delicate operational balance between architectural tradition and contemporary design, as well as between openness to the tropical landscape and necessary domestic privacy.
In the Design and New Applications category, the first honorable mention was awarded to the “Towerhill House” project in Mono, Ontario, Canada, created by Studio Maggs. The project incorporates tiles from Ceramica Vogue, Laminam, Ragno, and Ceramiche Refin. Conceived and designed during the height of the global pandemic, the residence emerged directly from the clients’ desire to establish a private domestic retreat defined by peace, personal privacy, and spatial freedom, all maintained in constant visual and physical dialogue with the Canadian wilderness.
The second honorable mention in the Design and New Applications category was presented to the “Staples Table,” created by the London-based studio SMITHS and featuring large-format slabs provided by Casalgrande Padana. Conceived as an interactive public and professional installation designed to present the hidden potential of modern ceramics to London’s broader architectural community, the table challenges purely superficial views of porcelain stoneware by highlighting its structural strength, load-bearing capacity, and construction versatility.
The announcement of these winners and honorable mentions underscores the evolving role of Italian ceramics in contemporary architecture, proving that porcelain and ceramic surfaces continue to serve as versatile foundational elements for designers working across diverse building typologies worldwide.
