Habitare Design Competition 2026 opens – theme: Juonenkäänteitä / Plot Twists

The Habitare Design Competition, organized annually by Habitare and Aalto University, showcases young students of architecture, art, and design. Now in its 22nd year and supported by the Finnish Fair Foundation (Suomen Messusäätiö), this year's theme is Plot Twists.

The theme celebrates creativity, unpredictability, and the joy that arises when familiar objects take on unexpected roles. The idea behind the competition is to creatively seek out an idea or concept that is suitable for the home environment, one that delights and transforms our everyday surroundings.

Competition participants are challenged to create a design that embodies a symbolic plot twist: we encourage students to think creatively and develop their ideas into something surprising, playful, or unusual. How can a familiar object be given new functions, or how can a familiar form be challenged? How can a new way of thinking about materials enrich our living environment, and what else besides objects make up a home? Participants can consider how an idea interacts with its environment, changes the atmosphere of a space, or creates new stories in the home.

" This year's competition theme, "Plot Twists," offers an opportunity to explore the home environment and its objects from a new perspective—what if things aren't as they seem at first glance? It's a playful theme that tickles the imagination, allowing designers to create entirely new and unexpected solutions," describes competition jury member, Professor of Practice and designer Irina Viippola.

There are two categories in the design competition: 1) Furniture, lighting or interior design objects. 2) Conceptual experiences, which can be interactive or immersive. Entries in the first category will be presented at Habitare as prototypes, while those in the second category will be presented as concept films or posters. The language of the competition entries is English.

The competition is open to students of design and architecture in Finland, as well as students of the University of the Arts and the working groups they form. There is no limit to the size of the working groups. The competition organizers encourage competitors to form multidisciplinary working groups, which will allow for an open-minded approach and interpretation of the task. Participants, including all members of the working groups, must be enrolled in the above-mentioned educational institutions at the time of the competition announcement on December 16, 2025.

For the first phase of the two-part competition, the deadline for submitting entries is April 24, 2026, at 4 p.m. The jury for the first stage consists of designer and Aalto University professor Tomek Rygalik, designer and Aalto University professor Katrin Greiling, industrial designer and Aalto University lecturer Simo Puintila, and designer and Professori of Practice Irina Viippola. The jury will be chaired by Päivi Helander, creative lead at Habitare and lecturer at Aalto University.

The jury will select the finalists, whose entries will be on display at Habitare from September 2 to 6, 2026. The winner of the competition will be selected by the head judge, Mika Nenonen, lead industrial designer at Oura. The winner will be announced at Habitare on the opening day, September 2, 2026.

The prize for the Habitare Design Competition 2026 is a €5,000 scholarship donated by the Finnish Fair Foundation.

The competition guidelines and rules can be found here.

Further information:

Päivi Helander, creative lead, Habitare, tel. +358 40 5884211, studio@paivihelander.fi

Habitare, the leading furniture, design and interior design event in the Nordic countries, will be held at the Helsinki Exhibition and Convention Center on September 2–6, 2026. |  habitare.fi | @habitarefair | #habitare2026