akvk+partners Educational Architecture Projects Recognized at IADA 2026
akvk+partners received awards at the International Architecture & Design Awards (IADA 2026), one of the international awards in the field of architecture and design, for projects focused on next-generation educational environments.
Two projects — Hillside Educational Hub (Cascade School) and Stepping Stones (Steps Kindergarten) — received top distinctions in the Educational Campus Design category, reflecting the bureau’s research-driven approach to educational architecture as an integrated spatial system.
Hillside Educational Hub —Platinum Winner IADA 2026
Two projects — Hillside Educational Hub (Cascade School) and Stepping Stones (Steps Kindergarten) — received top distinctions in the Educational Campus Design category, reflecting the bureau’s research-driven approach to educational architecture as an integrated spatial system.
Hillside Educational Hub —Platinum Winner IADA 2026
The Hillside Educational Hub (Cascade School) project received the Platinum Winner award — the highest distinction in the category. The architectural proposal creates a flexible educational ecosystem in which space becomes a tool for interaction, adaptation, and integration with the natural and social context. The project combines educational, public, and recreational functions, forming a multi-layered environment for learning, communication, and collective use.
The educational hub is shaped by the site’s complex topography, featuring an elevation difference of up to 8 meters that is transformed into a system of terraces, public spaces, and pedestrian connections. Integrated into the slope, the architecture forms a unified spatial framework linking the campus with the surrounding residential environment.
The program includes flexible learning spaces, sports areas, sensory gardens, multi-level recreational zones, and a public core containing a media library, sports halls, a concert hall, and a café. Beyond school hours, the complex continues to operate as a community hub for the surrounding neighborhood, supporting cultural, sports, and intergenerational activities.
Stepping Stones — Gold Winner IADA 2026
The educational hub is shaped by the site’s complex topography, featuring an elevation difference of up to 8 meters that is transformed into a system of terraces, public spaces, and pedestrian connections. Integrated into the slope, the architecture forms a unified spatial framework linking the campus with the surrounding residential environment.
The program includes flexible learning spaces, sports areas, sensory gardens, multi-level recreational zones, and a public core containing a media library, sports halls, a concert hall, and a café. Beyond school hours, the complex continues to operate as a community hub for the surrounding neighborhood, supporting cultural, sports, and intergenerational activities.
Stepping Stones — Gold Winner IADA 2026
The Stepping Stones (Steps Kindergarten) project received the Gold Winner award. The kindergarten is conceived as a unified educational environment where architecture, landscape, and interior design operate as a single spatial tool. Its organization is structured around a cascading system of terraces integrated into the site’s natural topography.
The program combines a compact classroom block with an independent public module dedicated to social and community functions. The site includes play areas for different age groups, sports grounds, an amphitheater, and a barrier-free circulation system that turns movement through the complex into part of the learning and play experience.
Inside, the central spatial element is a double-height volume featuring interactive play structures, tactile surfaces, and niches for both active and quiet activities.
Together, both projects demonstrate akvk+partners’ approach to educational architecture as a system in which space not only supports learning, but actively shapes its structure, dynamics, and forms of interaction. Particular attention is given to diverse use patterns, the integration of public functions, and the development of flexible social infrastructure capable of adapting to evolving educational models.
The program combines a compact classroom block with an independent public module dedicated to social and community functions. The site includes play areas for different age groups, sports grounds, an amphitheater, and a barrier-free circulation system that turns movement through the complex into part of the learning and play experience.
Inside, the central spatial element is a double-height volume featuring interactive play structures, tactile surfaces, and niches for both active and quiet activities.
Together, both projects demonstrate akvk+partners’ approach to educational architecture as a system in which space not only supports learning, but actively shapes its structure, dynamics, and forms of interaction. Particular attention is given to diverse use patterns, the integration of public functions, and the development of flexible social infrastructure capable of adapting to evolving educational models.
akvk+partners — creating architectural history
35, 1-ya Brestskaya Street, Moscow
© 2010–2026
