Daniel Salkeld | Northumbria University, Part 2 (Degree Apprenticeship Pathway)
Trimdon Hill School
Student Design Awards 2027
We are delighted to announce the launch of the AfH Student Design Awards 2027!
The AfH Student Design Awards is an annual design competition for students and 2027 marks our 19th year. As well as promoting good design, AfH is committed to encouraging the next generation to become passionate about the quality of design for health and social care settings.
Our goal is to celebrate the opportunities for innovation and experimentation and to bring together students from different disciplines to share their creative ideas.
We are keen to engage students within all design disciplines, including landscape, public art, interior design and architecture who are working on a healthcare brief.
Awards Streams
We offer flexible awards streams which are dependent on the type of entries we receive each year and we accept mostly BA and MA level submissions. AfH are also pleased to accept independent students who have a passion for designing healthcare environments.
Information for Students and Tutors can be found in this handy PDF, which contains a brief that can be used by either students or tutors who do not have a health design element to their course.
AfH members support colleges and universities where healthcare already forms part of the curriculum, encouraging those undertaking healthcare design projects to extend and embed their learning, through reviews (crits) and seminars on request.
If your students are interested in designing for healthcare but this is not part of the curriculum AfH members can support them too by offering a proxy client and/or a link to a local practice available on request – if we have a connection in your area. We work closely with NHS Trusts and Clinical Commissioning Groups, who can act as proxy clients to support the project through their hospital and community sites. A suitable proxy client can be arranged on request but is not essential.
Awards
Students who submit their work will receive a complementary AfH membership for one year as part of their registration.
All the submissions are captured in a beautifully designed and produced A4 landscape bound booklet celebrating the students work, and each participant will receive a copy.
Entries are judged by a panel of leading practitioners and clinicians.
Winners will be announced during, an in-person event in London in early July and rewarded with prizes, certificates and the opportunity to discuss their work with others including architectural and design leaders in healthcare.
Student Design Awards booklet 2026
The booklet contains entries from 71 students from 15 universities in the UK, Australia, Sweden, USA, Turkey and Israel.
The winners were announced on the 8th July in an awards ceremony hosted by White Arkitekter at their London studio. We were joined by students, tutors, judges and sponsors for the 18th Annual Student Design Awards event.
If you would like a copy of the booklet in PDF format please enter your details below.
Your details will not be added to our database . Click on Submit and the booklet will download automatically (the PDF is 221.76 MB in size).
2027 Sponsorship Opportunities
- Category Sponsor | Sponsorship of an awards category at both MA and BA level, to include:
- Your logo alongside the awards category on all content, including awards certificates for the relevant category;
- Opportunity to judge your chosen category and present the award to winning and highly commended entries at our July awards presentation
- A half page advert in the awards booklet (approx size: 150mm (w) x 185mm (h)
- Your logo and category sponsorship promoted in our SDA showreel, on the AfH website (dedicated SDA page) and LinkedIn.
- Categories available: Public Health | Primary + Community Healthcare | Acute Healthcare | Mental Health | Creative Health and Wellbeing
- Cost: £650 + VAT | Opportunity available to design practices only.
- Student Design Award Supporter | Show your support for the Student Design Awards, with:
- Your company listed as an awards supporter in the SDA awards booklet, online on the AfH website (with backlink to your company website) and on social media.
- A 50-word description of your business alongside your company URL in our printed booklet.
- Cost £250.00 + VAT | Opportunity available to all AfH Members
Key Facts
We offer flexible awards streams which are dependent on the type of entries we receive each year and we accept mostly BA and MA level submissions. AfH are also pleased to accept independent students who have a passion for designing healthcare environments.
AfH members support colleges and universities where healthcare already forms part of the curriculum, encouraging those undertaking healthcare design projects to extend and embed their learning, through reviews (crits) and seminars on request.
If your students are interested in designing for healthcare but this is not part of the curriculum AfH members can support them too by offering a proxy client and/or a link to a local practice available on request – if we have a connection in your area. We work closely with NHS Trusts and Clinical Commissioning Groups, who can act as proxy clients to support the project through their hospital and community sites. A suitable proxy client can be arranged on request but is not essential.
Kindly supported and sponsored by
Timeline and Actions 2027
AfH reconnect and invite schools and universities to take part in the AfH Student Design Awards 2027
AfH members offer reviews/crits/proxy-clients for local universities (available on request at a mutually acceptable time)
Nomination
- Tutors nominate students by the end of March 2027
Registration
- Nominated students register for the AfH Student Design Awards 2027
- Registration via the AfH website by becoming an AfH member for free (a discount code will be provided after nomination)
- Registered students will receive a free membership for one year giving you access to our annual events and webinars. After one year, you’ll have the opportunity to continue your membership for a small fee.
- Tutors can also receive a free membership using the discount code
Submission
- When you have registered, you will receive information on how to submit your work
- The submission deadline is Monday 31 May 2027
Student Seminar + Award Ceremony
This will be held in the week beginning 12 July 2027 from 2-8pm. Venue in London TBC.
- 2-3pm | Students, tutors, judges, sponsors arrive
- 3-6pm | Student seminar
- 6-7pm | Refreshment break
- 7-8pm | Awards ceremony
In the meantime AfH will…
- 1 – 4 June | Collate submissions into categories
- 7 – 28 June | Judges review submissions and score them according to set criteria
- 7 – 28 June | Booklets created and printed
- 28 – 5 July | Scores moderated, winners selected, prizes prepared and certificates printed! | AfH team compile digital loop and printed booklet
Student Design Awards 2025 Winners Revealed
- Fostering Future Talent, News, Student Design Awards
Student Design Awards 2021 Past Winners Presentations
- News, Reviews, Student Design Awards
