Theme of the Year
CONVERGE: Embracing Hyperlocal

The theme “CONVERGE” is all about the powerful dynamic that emerges when diverse elements are brought together, working in harmony, to achieve truly holistic design solutions. In the world of architecture and interior design, convergence signifies the harmonious integration of tradition and innovation, technology and craft, local wisdom and global perspectives, and human needs with environmental responsibility. It’s a clear call to move beyond singular disciplinary approaches and embrace a multidisciplinary mindset wholeheartedly.

This is where historical context, cultural nuances, technological advancements, and ecological imperatives converge, forming a beautiful coalescence. This integration, ultimately, serves to enhance human well-being and foster truly flourishing communities. The theme sets the stage for “embracing hyperlocal” by illustrating how a deep, profound understanding of specific contexts can lead to universally relevant and impactful designs that genuinely improve people’s lives and their interaction with the built environment.

Here’s how you can start:

1

Embracing our Similarities

Embrace the concept of one humanity, where we learn to see more similarities and commonalities with people from across the world despite their differences in culture, language, ethnicity, and roots.

Our needs for holistic well-being are universal, and a well-crafted design can be the key to achieving that for future generations. This design, whether it’s in our cities, our technologies, or our social systems, holds the promise of a brighter, healthier future.

2

Leverage on our Connectivity

This interconnected world offers new opportunities to share knowledge, expertise, and resources. We can develop innovative spatial design solutions with broader impact by leveraging these connections.

The connection we share today should help us connect and understand each other’s strengths and expertise better - and our solutions for spatial design can scale from here onwards.

3

Sharing ideas for maximised Convergence

Working together as one is one of AYDA’s ultimate goals. Designers from different parts of the world would collaborate to solve critical and emerging social issues through the power of good design.

It’s not just our problems, and it’s our shared responsibility. The issues we face in our communities are the same ones our global colleagues are tackling. Let’s unite our efforts and make a difference, one step at a time.

All projects must start with the project title and theme/concept.

The design statement should not be more than 800 words and should be submitted as a PDF file. It must also be included during submission.

At least 3 but not more than 4 boards are to be submitted, based on the digital copy.
Board 1 must show existing site photos (if applicable), property/site developer (if applicable), floor plan, elevation, furniture layout plan and site analysis.
Boards 2, 3 and 4 must show 3D perspectives. Refer to the ‘Colours’ tab for instructions on the use of colour.
Presentation Boards must be designed in portrait orientation, not landscape orientation.
The project’s digital version of the A2 boards must be saved with the folder named “Presentation Board” and the file name set as “Your Name - Board 1”.

Label all areas on the floor plan.
Perspectives in Boards 2, 3 and 4 must be in A3, A4 or A5 sizes and pasted on the boards.
The entry form must be attached as a cover page when submitting the entry.
Do not place your name or other identification details on your boards to ensure anonymity during the judging process.

Individual perspectives of the project must be at A3, A4 or A5 sizes. These files must be saved in a folder titled “Perspectives”. The JPEG file should follow the naming convention based on “area”. For example: Living room, Lobby etc.
All image files must be at least 300dpi in JPEG format ONLY.

Upload a recent high-resolution personal photo of yourself in JPEG format at 300dpi with your name as the file name.
Ensure that your face is visible as this will be used for media and online publications if you are selected as one of the finalists.

All colours used in the project, if any, must come from Nippon Paint’s range of colours.
Indicate in the entry form which country the Nippon Paint colour chips are from.
Visit https://www.nipponpaint.com.my/colours/explore-colours to explore Nippon Paint colours.

For enquiries, please contact:

AYDA Team at 011 540 88660 or ayda.malaysia@gmail.com

Download the entry form here.
Complete the entry form and attach the form with your email.
Please ensure your email contains:
- A folder named “Presentation Board” which has JPEG files of your presentation boards at 300dpi and named “Board 1.jpeg”, “Board 2.jpeg”, “Board 3.jpeg” and “Board 4.jpeg” in portrait orientation.
- A folder named “Perspectives” with each perspective file in JPEG format, set at 300dpi and named accordingly (e.g. “Living Room” or “Lobby”).
- Your design concept statement should not be more than 800 words and saved in PDF format named “Design Concept Statement”.
- Your recent personal photo in JPEG format set at 300dpi with your name as the file name (e.g. “Participant Name.jpeg”).

Send to:
AYDA Team
Email: ayda.malaysia@gmail.com
Phone Number: 011 5408 8660

You can submit your online entry here.

Your write-up will be the first component to be reviewed by our judges. It should not be more than 800 words. It should also provide the structure for your oral presentation if you are shortlisted to present your design concept to the judges.

It should answer the following questions:

How will your future-proof design concept solve and/or benefit the communities and societies around it?

How do you envision the ecological, sociological, and technological aspects that may contribute to the wellbeing of humanity?
What is your design’s impact on the environment based on its concept, materials, maintenance, energy usage as well as water and waste management?
In your opinion, what is the one key component that must exist in future-proof designs?

Your Research Process

What was your research methodology?
Who was your main source of information and/or inspiration during your research?
What questions and scope of work did you consider during your research process?
Was the research methodology effective?
What did you learn from your research findings?

ADAPTABILITY AND EVOLUTION

How can your design allow for significant changes in function, layout, or scale over time, responding to evolving societal, technological, or environmental demands?

RESILIENCE TO SHOCKS

How can your design demonstrate robust strategies to withstand and recover from various disruptions, such as extreme climate events, resource scarcity, or demographic shifts?

RESOURCE EFFICIENCY AND CIRCULARITY

What innovative approaches to materials, energy, and water can be incorporated to minimise the environmental footprint across the building’s entire lifecycle?

INTEGRATION WITH CONTEXT

How does the design intelligently respond to its specific site, climate, and cultural context to enhance its future-readiness?

LONG-TERM VALUE

How does the design ensure enduring social, environmental, and economic value for the community over decades?

LOCAL MATERIAL SOURCING

How does the design prioritise the use of indigenous or locally available materials, reducing transportation impacts and supporting local economies?

VERNACULAR WISDOM

How does the design draw inspiration from traditional or vernacular building techniques and typologies found in the local area, reinterpreting them for contemporary relevance and resilience?

COMMUNITY HERITAGE & IDENTITY

How does the design reflect and celebrate the unique cultural heritage, stories, and identity of the local community, fostering a sense of belonging and continuity?

EMPATHISE

Personas | Job Stories | Usability Testing

Personas:

Create a provisional persona of a potential user based on online research and your understanding of the end user.

Job Stories:

Explore various context in which a user would utilise the design and understand their motivation and desired outcome.

Usability Testing:

Obtain as much data as possible through qualitative and quantitative methods from the perspective of the end user.

DEFINE

Identify Needs | Prioritise Needs

Identify:

Use affinity mapping to group the pain points into similar categories on a board.

Prioritising Pain Points:

Prioritise each pain point based on importance to the user as well as to your design.

Define Problem:

Establish a clear goal you would like to solve based on user feedback and your project’s desired outcome.

IDEATE

Task Flows | Lo-Fi Sketches

Flow:

Create a task flow mapping the entire journey of a user in your design.

Ideating the Solution:

Begin sketching and producing several potential solutions to each of the pain points. Have fun experimenting with different techniques to finally derive the desired outcome.

PROTOTYPING

Hi-Fi Mockups | Clickable Prototype

VALIDATION

Test Prototype | Iterations

Design:

First prototypes may not necessarily look anything like the final outcome; visual styling helps tell a story to users, with navigation elements acting as discussion triggers.

Functionality:

All prototype validation should be cross-functional in terms of market, design and willingness to pay.

Traditionally, architects and interior designers focused primarily on designing with aesthetics and functional needs in mind. With the rise of global environmental issues and the increased awareness that comes along with it, designers today need to expand their focus to include environmental considerations and the wellbeing of the users.

Both architects and interior designers need to realise that they play a big role in sustainable living. They must identify the environmental impacts of any building and ensure that it is built with materials and products that are environmentally-friendly.

Affordable and Clean Energy: The built environment is a significant source of energy consumption and potentially, a crucial energy producer. Buildings must be designed to limit energy as well as to produce and recycle energy.

This means that there is a need for designers to design and construct buildings that utilise appropriate energy technology under the given geographical, climatic and cultural conditions. Examples include the use of daylight, natural ventilation or materials that support heating or cooling, such as the use of heavy exterior walls in a hot and dry climate.

See An Example

Industry, Innovation and Infrastructure: The construction industry consumes large amounts of natural resources and energy and produces a large amount of waste in return. Integrating sustainability in the built environment requires an eco-conscious approach to ensure a decrease in pollution and waste.

As such, the development of both physical and digital infrastructures is required to promote sustainable trade and coexistence, including a focus on the industry’s use of local materials and resources. Therefore, it requires training and development of new competences at all levels in the building industry, as well as research and prototypes to test the potential of new tools, processes and solutions.

See An Example

Sustainable Cities and Communities: A built environment should be sustainable: where components of architecture, design and planning contribute in multiple ways to make cities inclusive, safe and robust.

Urban planning takes into consideration design and planning solutions that are sustainable, affordable and accessible, and ensure that the infrastructure helps to reduce pollution and enable walking, biking and commuting by public transport. Urban designs should also counteract the environmental impacts stemming from air and noise pollution. Examples include the integration of vegetation and greeneries.

See An Example

Climate Action: Climate change affects every country now more than ever before. The carbon dioxide footprint of the built environment must be reduced to adapt to the changing climate. This can be done through the reduction of energy renovations, integrating renewable energy production in buildings, expanding sustainable transportation infrastructures, reducing the transport of building materials, and emphasising the use of local and renewable materials. As well, buildings today must be built to withstand harsh weather and natural disasters.

See An Example

Tip: There may be plus points given if you could measure the impact of your design for each SDG.

National Awards

GOLD AWARD**

RM6,000 Cash prize

SILVER AWARD

RM4,000 Cash prize

HONORARY MENTION x2

RM2,500 Cash prize

**National Gold Winners will represent their countries in the Architectural/Interior Design category at the AYDA International Awards*, around the month of June/July 2028.

*The program may be physical or virtual, depending on the winners’ visa status and availability.

FINALIST X 8

RM500 Cash prize

BEST COLOUR CHOICE

RM1,000 Cash prize

BEST GREEN INNOVATION

RM1,500 Cash prize

BEST MENTOR

RM1,500 Cash prize

BEST COLLEGE/UNIVERSITY

RM1,500 Cash prize

BEST SUPPORTING UNIVERSITY/COLLEGE

RM1,500 Cash prize

International Awards

AYDA Designer of the Year

(One winner for each category: Architectural & Interior Design Category)

Immersive Learning Experience

The opportunity to attend a three-week, all-expenses-paid Design Discovery Program at Harvard University Graduate School of Design, U.S.A worth up to USD10,000 in the program’s June 2027 cohort.

*Acceptance into the Harvard GSD is subject to Terms & Acceptance determined in entirety and solely by the Harvard GSD’s Admission Authorities and/or its faculties.

NIPPON PAINT COLOUR AWARD

Cash prize of USD1,000

BEST SUSTAINABLE DESIGN

Cash prize of USD1,000

BEST DESIGN IMPACT

Cash prize of USD1,000

AYDA BEST MENTOR AWARD

A seat at the Design Discovery Virtual (DDV) Program at Harvard University’s Graduate School of Design

Rules & Regulations

Participants must be enrolled in interior design, architectural and/or other relevant courses at an educational institution upon the time of submission.
Participants will be disqualified if the participant is found to have graduated upon the time of submission.
This award is open to all interior design students in their second year and above, as well as architectural students in their third year and above.
Participants must have less than one (1) year of professional working experience. University/college mandated internships are considered as professional work experience if the one (1) year internship period happens after the participant has graduated.
Only one entry is allowed per student.
Entries must strictly conform to the submission guidelines and must be submitted to the contest coordinator of each school (whenever applicable).
The final date of entry is 9th October 2026.
All entries shall become the property of Nippon Paint Group of Companies.
The Judges’ decisions are final.
Shortlisted candidates will be notified to make an oral presentation as part of the final judging procurement.
Winners will be notified to attend a ceremony. Winning entries may be featured in marketing and promotional materials as deemed appropriate by the organiser and sponsor.
Winners will bear all the expenses for travel costs and other incidentals relating to their appearance at the national launch, oral presentation and national level award ceremony.
Prizes are non-transferable and non-exchangeable for cash or credit.
The organiser reserves the right to substitute the prize(s) with another product of similar retail value without prior notice.
All participating students need to have a valid passport at the time of application.
Only international grand title winners that have been awarded the title of Asia Young Designer of the Year are not allowed to participate in future AYDA Awards competition. We welcome repeat applications whenever possible.
The entries for AYDA 2026 must be the participant’s original work.
Submissions that do not comply with the requirements will not be accepted.

Disclaimer

I hereby certify that the information above is true and accurate. This work is intended solely for the Asia Young Designer Awards (AYDA) 2026
In compliance with the Personal Data Protection Act 2010 (PDPA), your personal data will not be disclosed to third parties except for companies and/or brands collaborating with the Nippon Paint Malaysia. By submitting your data, you agree to have Nippon Paint Malaysia to process your data and access it for future use. You shall not in any way hold Nippon Paint Malaysia liable for any breach of its obligations under the PDPA.

WELCOME!

Loading...

Thank You for your interest!

Theme of the Year
CONVERGE: Embracing Hyperlocal

Which category are you interested in?

WELCOME!

Loading...

Thank You for your interest!

Theme of the Year CONVERGE: Embracing Hyperlocal

Which category are you interested in?

Theme of the Year
CONVERGE: Embracing Hyperlocal