From Argentina to the USA: Peter and Paul Fortress to showcase the laureates of an global architecture competition

Architectural and design projects have traditionally been divided into realized and unrealized ones. In St. Petersburg, they have gained a third dimension — a museum one. Winning projects of the international Golden Trezzini Awards are being added to a state museum collection, gaining the status of works of art.

On September 10, the annual exhibition of the award's laureates opens in the Ioannovsky Ravelin of the Peter and Paul Fortress. This year's exhibition presents the results of last year's, eighth, season.

The exhibition's organizers are the Worldwide St. Petersburg Club, the Organizing Committee of the International Golden Trezzini Awards, and the State Museum of St. Petersburg History.

The awards received 1,289 entries from 54 countries. The exhibition will present 83 works by winners and finalists from Argentina, Brazil, China, Georgia, Greece, India, Indonesia, Iran, Iraq, Japan, Russia, the UAE, the USA.

The exhibition features buildings and structures, interiors, restoration projects, set and exhibition design, urban sculpture, architectural lighting, and ceramics. A particular point of pride is the inclusion of works by architecture students — a chance for the profession's future stars to find their place within museum walls.

The exhibition will be open in the Ioannovsky Ravelin from September 10 to 22, during the museum's regular opening hours.

The exhibition is titled "Architecture as Art" — and this is not merely a nice-sounding name but an accurate description of the show. It is a rare opportunity to see, in one place, new architectural solutions from around the world that the Golden Trezzini experts have deemed worthy of a museum collection — in other words, essentially worthy of eternity.

The International Golden Trezzini Awards was founded in St. Petersburg in 2018 under the auspices of the Worldwide St. Petersburg Club. It is named after Domenico Trezzini (1670–1734), the city's first architect and the creator of the Peter and Paul Cathedral and the Twelve Collegia Building. Fittingly, the exhibition is held within the walls of the fortress he built, and the winners receive a gilded statuette of the architect, crafted by artisans of the Imperial Porcelain Manufactory.

The award's International Council is chaired by Mikhail Piotrovsky, President of the Worldwide St. Petersburg Club and General Director of the State Hermitage Museum. The jury includes more than 200 experts from 35 countries. Over its history, the award has received more than 6,400 entries from 114 countries.

Applications for the 9th season are now closing: entries can be submitted at https://goldtrezzini.org/en until September 15, 2026. Participation is free, with no geographic restrictions. This year's award ceremony will take place on November 20, 2026, at the State Hermitage Museum, and the winning works will be presented at the next exhibition in 2027.

On the exhibition poster: one of the winners of the Eighth Golden Trezzini Awards — the new building of the Galiasgar Kamal Tatar State Academic Theatre (Russia, Kazan), by Wowhaus architectural bureau, 2025.