AWARDS
Seven Nominations, One Vote: Sarah Zohar at The International Design & Architecture Awards 2026
Voting is open until September 9. Two Sarah Z Designs projects have been shortlisted across seven categories, and this year the winners are chosen by the design industry itself.
By Sarah Z Designs | August 2026 | 5 min read
Sarah Zohar has been shortlisted seven times at The International Design and Architecture Awards 2026. Two projects, The Majestic Project and The Hamptons South Project, carried the studio onto a global shortlist that includes practices from London, Dubai, Singapore and New York, and both are now open to public vote until September 9. The winners will be revealed on September 11 at the awards ceremony at the JW Marriott Grosvenor House on Park Lane in London.
Seven nominations for a single Miami studio is not a routine outcome. It is the kind of result that usually belongs to a large international practice with an entire awards department behind it, and it has been earned here by a studio that still designs every project personally.
Why this shortlist carries real weight
The International Design and Architecture Awards, organised by the British publication design et al, have spent more than seventeen years building a platform where the leading practices in the world present their work side by side. The organisers only shortlist projects they consider the pinnacle of design, which is why being shortlisted at all is widely treated within the profession as one of the highest forms of recognition available.
What genuinely separates these awards is who decides them. There is no small closed jury choosing behind a door. The results come from an open industry vote, and in 2025 a record 121,000 design professionals cast their ballots over a four week period. Each of those votes took an average of 38 minutes to complete, because voters review the full body of images and information submitted in every category before they choose.
That number is worth sitting with. It means every vote in this competition is an informed judgment made by someone who works in design, looking closely at the work. When a project wins here, it has been chosen by its own industry, one considered decision at a time.
The seven nominations
The Majestic Project has been shortlisted in four categories:
Living Space, Americas
Living Space, Global
Residential Project, one million to two and a half million pounds
Kitchen Design over one hundred thousand pounds
The Hamptons South Project has been shortlisted in three:
Interior Design Scheme, Americas
City Space, Apartment and Penthouse, Global
Bespoke Cabinetry and Installation
Two of those categories, Living Space Global and City Space Global, place the studio in direct comparison with the strongest residential work produced anywhere in the world this year. The remaining categories reach into the technical craft behind the projects, the kitchen, the cabinetry, the full interior scheme, which is where the studio’s renovation management practice becomes visible. These are the parts of a project a client never sees on a mood board and always feels once they are living in the home.
“Every vote in these awards takes about thirty eight minutes, because the people casting them actually look at the work. That is what makes this recognition worth something.”
SARAH ZOHAR
What the two projects represent
Both shortlisted projects sit in the territory the studio has made its own, oceanfront high rise residences in South Florida where light, water and outlook do half of the design work before a single material is selected. The Majestic Project and The Hamptons South Project each began as a full renovation, taken from an existing floor plan to a finished home under the studio’s own management.
That approach is what Sarah Zohar has built Sarah Z Designs around. Biophilic principles, natural materials, and a strong belief that a home should support the way its owners actually live in it rather than photograph well and exhaust them afterwards. The shortlist recognises the design. The seven categories recognise how completely the projects were resolved.
How to vote
Voting is open now and closes on September 9. The process is straightforward, and there are a few things worth knowing before starting so that a vote actually counts.
Set aside about half an hour
Voters are asked to make a selection in every category on the ballot, not only the ones a favourite studio appears in, and each category presents a full gallery of images from every shortlisted project. That is why the average vote takes around 38 minutes. Beginning with the time available makes the whole process far more enjoyable.
Use a desktop or laptop
The organisers have optimised the voting page for larger screens because of the volume of imagery involved, and they do not guarantee correct rendering on a phone. Voting from a laptop is the reliable route.
One vote per person
Only a single vote per email address is accepted, and duplicate entries from the same address are automatically removed. One considered vote is the whole ask.
Where to go
The direct link to the ballot, together with a short guide to finding each of the seven categories, is available at sarahzdesigns.com/vote.
A note of thanks
Awards are never really about the object at the end of the evening. This shortlist exists because a group of clients trusted the studio with their homes, and because a team held a standard through months of construction that nobody outside the project will ever see. A vote takes half an hour. It carries the work of years into a room in London on September 11.
Frequently asked questions
What are The International Design and Architecture Awards?
An international awards programme organised by the British design publication design et al, running for more than seventeen years and recognising excellence in interior design, architecture and product design. Being shortlisted is regarded within the industry as one of the highest forms of professional recognition.
How many nominations does Sarah Z Designs have in 2026?
Seven. The Majestic Project is shortlisted in four categories and The Hamptons South Project in three, across regional Americas and Global classifications.
When does voting close and when are winners announced?
Voting is open from August 12 to September 9, 2026. Winners are announced on September 11, 2026 at the awards ceremony at the JW Marriott Grosvenor House, Park Lane, London.
Who chooses the winners?
The wider design industry. Rather than a small judging panel, the awards are decided by open public vote, with a record 121,000 industry professionals voting in 2025.
How long does voting take?
About 38 minutes on average, because a selection is required in every category and each one presents full image galleries from all shortlisted projects. A desktop or laptop is recommended.
Seven nominations. One vote: yours.
Cast your vote at sarahzdesigns.com/vote
