These awards, which are presented on June 17 in their 68th edition, are among the most prestigious in the Iberian Peninsula and distinguish excellence in Architecture and Urban Planning
This candidacy joins other recognitions of the new building of the Cádiz Consortium, which is also competing for the 2026 Architecture Awards and was selected for Work of the Year by the international specialized magazine Archdaily
The College of Architects of Cádiz has awarded the mention for the New Floor modality to the Incubazul Base Zone building in the 11th edition of the Sánchez Esteve and Torres Clavé Awards
The Cádiz Free Zone commissioned Carquero Arquitectura to carry out the project, which houses the Economía Azul startup incubator
The recycled maritime container building of the Incubazul Base Zone, which the Cádiz Consortium has built in the outer industrial estate of the Cádiz Free Zone and which houses the Blue Economy incubator, has been selected for the FAD (Promotion of Arts and Design) Awards for Architecture and Interior Design 2026, the longest running awards in Europe in its field and among the most prestigious in the Iberian Peninsula since 1958.
The FAD Awards, whose list of finalists will be made public between May and June – the award ceremony will take place on June 17 in Barcelona – bring together the most outstanding proposals of the architectural production of Spain and Portugal and are broken down into four categories: Architecture, Interior Design, City and Landscape and Ephemeral Interventions and become the annual thermometer of the state of this discipline and also allows it to anticipate future trends.
The Cádiz architects from Carquero Arquitectura have been in charge of drafting the Incubazul Base Zone project, an innovative initiative to house the Blue Economy incubator and entrepreneurship spaces made up of recycled maritime containers, which has become a milestone in the city of Cádiz and the beginning of the transformation of the industrial zone, based on an intervention that differs from the traditional model and encourages innovation as support for the development of an economic sector focused on the sustainable use of ocean resources.
This candidacy joins other recognitions obtained by this iconic building. Specifically, last week the Free Trade Zone of Cádiz received the mention, in the New Floor category, awarded by the College of Architects of Cádiz during the delivery of the 11th edition of the Sánchez Esteve and Torres Clavé Awards.
In addition, the new building, which was inaugurated last September by the then first vice president of the Government and Minister of Finance, María Jesús Montero, is also nominated for the 2026 Architecture Awards of the Higher Council of Colleges of Architects of Spain for which 209 projects from all over Spain have been selected and which reward excellence, social, cultural and environmental commitment of the projects, highlighting sustainability, health and rehabilitation.
Another important recognition for the emblematic building of the Cádiz Free Trade Zone has been having been nominated for the Work of the Year 2026 by the specialized magazine Archdaily, an international competition organized by the publication and chosen by the users of the medium, which finally went to a floating stage in the Peruvian city of Iquitos.