In October, the Callwey Awards were presented once again at the Design Offices in Macherei Munich, honoring the winners of 2025 submissions across categories including "The Most Beautiful Restaurants, Hotels & Bars," "Best Workspaces," "Houses of the Year," "Best of Interior," "Residential Buildings of the Year," and "Healing Architecture." The Best of Architecture Summit 2025 was dedicated to innovation, excellence, and meaningful networking. Over 600 guests—including architects, interior architects and designers, project developers, building cooperatives, housing associations, building owners, urban and regional planners, clients, and manufacturers—enjoyed a comprehensive program: compelling panels on topics such as "AI: Heralding a Revolution in Architecture" featuring speaker Tim Fu (architect, formerly with Zaha Hadid, founder of Studio Tim Fu, pioneer in generative AI design), "Architecture on Autopilot? Designing in the Age of AI and Code," "Regulation vs. Progress: Who's Holding Back Construction?," and the roundtable discussion "Moral by Design? Architecture and the Ethics of Machines."

Complementing the speaker program, the Summit Experience showcased manufacturers from lighting, interior design, bathroom, kitchen, building materials, textiles, outdoor, and landscape design sectors, presenting their latest innovations and fostering creative dialogue—including Artemide, Louis Poulsen, and Tom Dixon, demonstrating how light stages spaces and creates atmosphere. Representing materiality, surface quality, and craftsmanship were Schotten&Hansen, Neuhoff Naturstein, Orac, and Kandes, along with textile specialists Fischbacher 1819. The bathroom and kitchen culture sector featured THG Paris, Kludi, Vallone, and Dross & Schaffer, while Gerhardt Braun presented solutions for modular outdoor room systems, and Cubic Outdoor Living showcased the outdoor space as a designed living environment. Plants from Dutch nursery Baumschule Ebben, distributed throughout the venue, bridged the connection to landscape design. Munich glassmaker Van Treeck demonstrated how glass, through the interplay of craftsmanship and technology, becomes an atmospheric design element. New this year was the "Summit Experience City" morning program—an exclusive architecture experience featuring visits to Munich showrooms including the Occhio Experience Center, next125 Munich, Cosentino, Molteni&C, and Stephanie Thatenhorst, offering exclusive insights into current trends, forward-looking materials, and innovative design concepts through direct conversations with the creative minds behind the brands. The evening's grand finale at Macherei was the award ceremony, including presentations of the top 50 honored projects, followed by a networking reception. The film about the summit, produced by Konrad Milan and Andreas Moser from www.lightandspaces.at, can be viewed here: www.youtube.de

Houses of the Year 2025 – Award Winners

The 2025 Callwey Awards celebrate the full spectrum of contemporary residential architecture—from pastoral country estates to vibrant urban homes, from freestanding villas to thoughtful infill projects and sensitive renovations. The "Houses of the Year – Architects' Choice" award further recognized companies whose innovative products have been integral to bringing these exceptional single-family homes to life.

First Prize: The jury was particularly impressed by the timber two-family home by Kuntscher Tscherning Architekten und Stadtplaner PartGmbB: "This house offers residents spatial fluidity while creating clear divisions within the floor plan. The flexibility for change creates an unexpected quality of living," according to Michael Schuster.

Five additional projects earned recognition: Piertzovanis Toews for their barn renovation, Wespi de Meuron Romeo Architects BSA for their Ascona residence, KO/OK Architecture BDA for their double barn in Tübingen, and Markus Jeschaunig – Agency in Biosphere for Re:House.

Newcomer of the Year

The 2025 award for emerging architectural practices goes to Gilbert Berthold for "Wohnhaus unterm Schilfdach" (Reed-Roofed Residence): "More than a house—a powerful statement for sustainable building, material integrity, and site-responsive design." – Eva Herrmann

Photography Award of the Year

The photography award was presented to Hannes Henz for his images of the Ascona residence: "Honest and poetically refined—his photographs reveal the building in its truest form while evoking a dreamlike enchantment." – Roland Merz

Houses of the Year – Architects' Choice

Special recognition was bestowed on companies for groundbreaking product innovation:

1st Prize: pur natur Holzprodukte e.K. for locally sourced Douglas fir flooring, Awards for Etex Germany Exteriors GmbH, Cedral Fassaden, Hager Vertriebsgesellschaft mbH & Co. KG, PV-optimised wallbox witty plus, Vallox GmbH, energy-efficient ventilation unit ValloPlus 370 MV

Houses of the Year 2025 – The Book

All award winners, commendations, and honours are featured in a stunning coffee table book celebrating the competition, available now at retailers everywhere.

All other award winners can be found at www.callwey.de