Architizer is thrilled to announce that the 2026 A+Product Awards is open for submissions! The clock is ticking — get your products in front of the AEC industry’s most renowned designers by submitting today. For much of the 20th century, architects were expert specifiers. Once the drawings were done, their job was to select materials, products and furniture — producing the famous “FF&E” (Furniture, Fixtures, and Equipment) document. Product design remained a completely different discipline. Architects designed spaces, manufacturers supplied components and the rise of global product catalogs and standardized construction systems reinforced this division. And yet, today we witness a shift, one that goes back to the principles of Modernism, when architects such as Mies Van Der Rohe and Alvar Alto advocated the idea of total design and produced some of the most famous product pieces ever created — objects that were architecture in miniature. Nowadays, architecture firms are once again starting to design products as well as buildings. From door handles to chairs and light fixtures, they put the same passion and rigor in assembling a table as they do a space. So, what changed? When did architects stop choosing products and start designing them — and what does that mean for the discipline? This shift happening now is not random. In many cases, buildings have become increasingly value-engineered, leading architects to try and “regain” control by designing custom elements in smaller scales. Furthermore, custom products allow architecture firms to communicate their brand and identity beyond buildings, branching…
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