Hub Culture's regenerative Davos pavilion is named the world's favourite temporary structure by the global architecture and design community.

The ICON, the modular, regenerative construction system conceived and commissioned by Hub Culture for the World Economic Forum's annual gathering in Davos, has been named the Popular Choice winner in the Pop-Ups & Temporary category at the 2026 Architizer A+ Awards. The recognition, decided by a global public vote in the 14th edition of one of architecture's most widely followed award programmes, places the ICON at the top of its category worldwide.

For Hub Culture, the honour is both a design milestone and an affirmation of a bigger idea: that the spaces where the world's leaders convene can themselves model the regenerative future those conversations are meant to build.

"What an honour to be recognised by the global architectural and design industry in our efforts to unite the Hub Culture community, global leaders, and the Davos ecosystem in a radically inspiring, sustainable, regenerative portal," the Hub Culture team said following the announcement.

A 3D manifestation of the chakra

Deployed in Davos in both 2025 and 2026, the ICON is a direct physical manifestation of Hub Culture's iconic chakra logo — the brand's identity rendered in timber and space rather than pixels. But its ambition runs deeper than symbolism. Developed as a pioneering study on "dwell-time" in the context of mid-21st-century life, the ICON reimagines the temporary pavilion as a reconfigurable hub that responds to the convergence of mobility, electric transportation, real-time data, and human connection.

Its primary purpose is to provide a flexible, prefabricated home for the World Economic Forum and its global partners — a reusable structure that can be assembled and dismantled each year to host the most pressing conversations of our time, from ocean and biosphere conservation and the future of media in the AI era to planetary-scale climate data and the frontier of global health research. In this sense the ICON functions as both symbol and stage for the regenerative economy: an emerging paradigm built on circular systems, renewable materials, and inclusive innovation.

Built to leave no trace

The design backs its philosophy with substance. Constructed from locally sourced Swiss timber, the 180-square-metre pavilion is fully insulated, naturally ventilated, and engineered for minimal environmental impact. Its untreated wooden shingles are designed to weather naturally, developing a living patina over time, while a screw-pile foundation system ensures the structure is completely reversible — leaving no trace on the terrain once it is disassembled.

Beneath its biophilic surface, the ICON integrates the infrastructure of the near future: high-speed electric-vehicle charging, edge data computing, and community-oriented systems, all wrapped in a form built to move, adapt, and be shared. It is, in the words of its designers, "a mobile node for dialogue, innovation, and regeneration" — a rethinking of what a space can be in service of people and the planet.

A collaborative achievement

The ICON's realisation was the product of a broad coalition of partners. Initial in-house architectural design was led by Geo Wilkins, with design development, fabrication and assembly coordinated through Valeska Hernandez of TVA and SkreinStudios via BYLD. Construction was executed by Adrian Zaugg and Ernst Kühni of Kühni AG, with support from Thomas Künzli of Künzli AG, and sustainability guidance from Cradle to Cradle pioneer William McDonough.

The pavilion's debut was made possible through partner support coordinated by JR Kerr of Handshake Strategies, alongside a coalition that included Aon, West Health, Gates Ventures, the Davos Alzheimer's Collaborative, Foreign Policy, Gallup, S&P Global, United States Steel Corporation, Imperial College London, XBTO, and Hedera — all with the backing of the local Davos community and Gemeinde Davos.

The Architizer honour caps a strong award run for the project, which has also earned an Honorable Mention for Ephemeral Architecture at the PREMIOS COAM 2025, a longlisting for Pavilion of the Year (Temporary) at the Archello Awards 2025, and selection among the Best Projects in Timber at PREMIOS AMAD 2026.

As Hub Culture looks ahead to future editions in Davos and beyond, the ICON stands as proof that the built environment can be scalable, reversible, and regenerative at once — and that the world is ready to vote for it.