Rules 2026

Organizing the competition in this format is based on the context similarities across the three neighboring countries, encouraging participation on a broader scale and thus contributing to the development of a multilateral dialogue about the future of the profession.

The DKMT Euroregion is a European cross-border cooperation region (with DKMT referring to the territory between the Danube–Criș–Mureș–Tisza rivers) which currently includes the counties of Timiș, Caraș-Severin, Arad, and Hunedoara in Romania, the counties of Csongrád and Bács-Kiskun in Hungary, and the province of Vojvodina in Serbia.

Because the Beta Awards create bridges between architects and the general public across the Euroregion, they are a great way to have your work recognized at national and international levels, and to connect with potential clients and the communities you are part of.

The Beta Awards create an open environment for dialogue about architectural practice in various forms, both within the Euroregion and through the opening up to an international jury and audience. We raise questions and initiate discussions about the ways in which architecture could shape and reshape how we perceive and create our environment and the cities we live in.

Last but not least, the Beta Awards aim to celebrate local architecture and make it visible both to fellow professionals and to the community.

The In Theory category emerged as a direct connection to this year’s biennale theme, “In Practice - as opposed to ‘in theory’”, introduced by curators Andreas Kofler and Tudor Vlăsceanu as an investigation into contemporary architectural practice, highlighting the real processes that shape space and community. In 2026, Beta aims to transform an existing building into a site of continuous practice, emphasizing the negotiations, experiments, mistakes, solutions, and lessons that emerge throughout the working process.

If the general theme of the biennale brings to the forefront the real, applied processes behind the built environment — the materials, constraints, decisions, and people that shape it — this new category aims to highlight the unseen aspects: the experiments and ideas that have remained at the theoretical stage.

In the In Theory category, we are looking for works that, for various reasons, have remained unfinished or unsubmitted — ideas, concepts, and unseen projects that we want to bring to light through this new category. To be eligible for this category, submitted projects must not have received awards at other events in the field.

The jury for this edition brings together professionals from the field, both locally, nationally and internationally. In the jury selection process, consideration was given to local representation, the broadest possible coverage of the judged fields, as well as the members’ international experience — a combination of architects, theorists, researchers, photographers, and inspiring individuals, to whom we entrust the selection of the most deserving works in the region.

We believe that these multiple perspectives bring substance and complexity to the entity that becomes the jury in this edition of the biennale. More than simply creating a ranking of the submitted projects, the jury’s role is to establish new connections, topics for dialogue, and debate — to recognize quality within the profession while also opening doors and creating points of reflection both for the profession and for society.

The jury conferences are a series of presentations delivered by the members of the jury, which aim to inspire the local community and to open discussions about current trends and architectural practice.

Due to their interactive nature, participants in the jury conferences are encouraged to explore new perspectives and collaborate towards the development of the profession and professional practice.

In the Built Space category, outstanding projects of individual and collective housing, restoration works, or extensions and interventions on existing buildings, as well as buildings with commercial, industrial, service, institutional, or cultural purposes, completed and commissioned within the last two years (July 2024 – July 2026), may be submitted.

This category is open to participation across the DKMT Euroregion.

In the Interior Space category, outstanding projects of interior design for residential, commercial, service, institutional, cultural, or industrial spaces, as well as temporary installations, including scenography, interior lighting, and exhibitions, completed within the last two years (July 2024 – July 2026), may be submitted.

This category is open to participation across the DKMT Euroregion.

In the Public Space category, outstanding urban design projects and urban studies may be submitted, including, for example: urban and landscape interventions, restructuring of urban/rural areas, squares, pedestrian areas, parks, accessibility works, technological infrastructure, transport networks (including depots and garages), street networks (streets and street profiles, bridges, road crossings, pedestrian bridges), urban strategies, master plans, general urban plans, territorial planning, urban revitalization projects, as well as urban strategies completed or currently undergoing implementation/approval during July 2024 – July 2026.

Projects involving temporary installations in public space (temporary urban installations, pavilions, public art works in the fields of visual arts, fine arts, decorative arts, and public lighting installations) may be submitted in the Endeavours category.

This category is open to participation across the DKMT Euroregion.

In the Graduation Projects category, final-year projects from bachelor’s degree studies in the fields of architecture, urban planning, landscape architecture, interior design, or restoration, completed during the period July 2024 – July 2026, may be submitted.

This category is open to participation across the DKMT Euroregion.

In the Endeavours category, visions, initiatives, and experiments from the field of architecture and related fields may be submitted, which through their activities contribute to increasing the quality of and understanding of the architectural object and practice. Realized or speculative projects from the period July 2024 – July 2026 may be submitted, including cultural projects, architectural education initiatives, participatory initiatives, public policies, new materials, material studies, object design, guided tours, summer schools, creative camps, research projects, and urban installations.

This category is open to participation across the DKMT Euroregion.

The In Theory category emerged as a direct connection to this year’s biennale theme, “In Practice - as opposed to ‘in theory’”, introduced by curators Andreas Kofler and Tudor Vlăsceanu as an investigation into contemporary architectural practice, highlighting the real processes that shape space and community. In 2026, Beta aims to transform an existing building into a site of continuous practice, emphasizing the negotiations, experiments, mistakes, solutions, and lessons that emerge throughout the working process.

If the general theme of the biennale brings to the forefront the real, applied processes behind the built environment — the materials, constraints, decisions, and people that shape it — this new category aims to highlight the unseen aspects: the experiments and ideas that have remained at the theoretical stage.

In the In Theory category, we are looking for works that, for various reasons, have remained unfinished or unsubmitted — ideas, concepts, and unseen projects that we want to bring to light through this new category. To be eligible for this category, submitted projects must not have received awards at other events in the field.

This category accepts projects developed between 2016 and 2026 and is open to participation across the DKMT Euroregion.

This year, texts that question, propose a critical analysis, provide documentation, or present an investigation, as well as texts with a theoretical and critical discourse around the theme of the current edition, In Practice – as opposed to 'in theory', may be submitted.

This category emphasizes the power of the written world to explore and debate architectural concepts, historical perspectives, and ideas for the future. Architectural writing plays a crucial role in articulating and disseminating professional thinking and practice, serving as a bridge between the abstract and the tangible.

Text helps to contextualize and critique the built environment, influencing the way we understand architectural practice; it encourages a deeper engagement with architectural values and the social roles that the built environment plays, offering a reflective perspective on the impact of architecture, both as an art form and as a social science.

This category is an opportunity for architects, theorists, students, and enthusiasts from other professions to contribute to a broader conversation about the role of architecture in society and its potential to drive cultural and environmental change.

This category is open to participation across the DKMT Euroregion.

In this category, we are looking for series of three photographs that successfully address this year’s biennale theme, In Practice – as opposed to 'in theory', through critical observation.

We would like the theme to be interpreted through photography in the freest and most diverse way possible, bringing new perspectives and topics for reflection on our relationship with the surrounding built environment. We invite you to interpret the general theme through your own lens and to view this approach as a challenge to generate multiple readings, brought together.

Between 2015 and 2017, over three editions, the Octavian Radu Topai Award (PORT) aimed both to pay tribute to the architect and to question aspects of modern and contemporary Romanian architecture. Within the Beta Biennale, this category was introduced starting with the 2020 edition, as a continuation of his legacy — that of a young architect and photographer who died in a mountain accident in 2014.

We would like to include again this year, as part of Beta 2026, the category dedicated to architectural photography, which will be open to participation across the DKMT Euroregion.

If you do not reside in the DKMT Euroregion, which includes parts of Romania, Hungary, and Serbia, you can participate in the Beta Awards in the following cases:

• For the Built Space, Interior Space, Public Space, and Endeavours categories, the project is located within the DKMT Euroregion or you have permanent residence or graduated from a university in one of these countries.
• For the Graduation Projects category, you can participate if your diploma project was completed at a university within the DKMT Euroregion.
• For the In Theory, Text, or Photography categories, you can participate if you have your permanent residence or graduated from a university within the DKMT Euroregion.

You can submit multiple different works in the same category or different works in different categories.

You cannot submit the same work in multiple categories, with the exception of works where different areas of intervention can be clearly separated and belong to different authors (for example, an individual house submitted in the Built Space category cannot also be submitted in the Interior Space category if both were created by the same author/team). If a work is submitted in multiple categories, the decision regarding its placement (whether to keep it in all categories in which it was entered or exclude it from some categories) belongs to the organizers.

Within the competition, projects completed (commissioned) during July 2024 – July 2026 may be submitted.

In the In Theory category, works developed during 2016–2026 may be submitted.

Within the Beta Awards, only the Built Space category is open exclusively to architects.

In the Interior Space category, you can submit projects if you work in one of the following fields: architecture, interior architecture, design, furniture, decorative arts, scenography, or lighting.

In the Public Space category, the Urban Design and Urban Studies subcategories are open to submissions from architects, architectural designers, urban planners, landscape architects, or representatives of public administration.

The Graduation Projects category is open to all graduates of higher education institutions/universities/faculties/departments of architecture, urban planning, interior design, or arts (provided that the bachelor’s or master’s thesis is related to the built or urban environment).

The Endeavours, Text, and Photography categories are open to anyone interested in architectural practice, discourse, or photography.

In the In Theory category, you can submit projects if you are a student or professional in the field of architecture.

Registration is carried out by completing the application form corresponding to each category (application forms open on 2 July).

To make the submission process easier, we have created an application guide. With its help, you will be able to prepare all the required materials in advance.