Hedera concept.Source | Edouard Ducos

The European Alliance for SMC BMC (Brussels, Belgium) announced the winners for its fifth-edition SMC BMC Design Award during an awards ceremony at JEC World 2026. From the three finalists, Lucía Bonmatí and Bernat Rucabado from Elisava (Barcelona, Spain), received the Gold Award for their winning Hedera design.

Hedera is a lightweight, modular and industrially scalable vertical garden system that transforms building facades into a long-lasting green infrastructure. The deciding jury thought it was a great concept, very well documented and with a clear rationale. They also liked Hedera’s marketing-ability, final shape and aesthetics.

“We believe this application can be manufactured in SMC and has the potential to become commercial,” says Joan Montobbio, chairman of the jury. “We liked the detail of the design, including the design philosophy and drivers. Congratulations to Lucía and Bernat!”

The Elisava team received their award at JEC. Source | JEC

The Silver Award went to Dave Rook from TU Delft, Netherlands. His Domum Shelter — quick-to-deploy, panel-based shelter system for supporting refugees affected by natural disasters and wars — is much more comfortable and safer than current alternatives like tents. The jury also liked the modular concept, which includes the possibility to make larger buildings like medical posts.

Bárbara Quelhas and Zohar Saar from ESAD Oporto, Portugal, received the Bronze Award for their GROWi aeroponics systems. These systems enable growing vegetables and plants, requiring less water compared to traditional agriculture, while potentially eliminating the need for soil, pesticides and excessive fertilizers. The jury thought the concept was aesthetically pleasing and appreciated the opportunity to deploy it in multiple locations like residential and professional.

The Alliance will support the winners in fine-tuning their designs, improving part manufacturing-ability and business plans, and in bringing their innovations to market. Dedicated workshops are being planned with the finalists later in 2026.