Arlington’s Medal of Honor Museum Named Among World’s Most Beautiful Museums

The National Medal of Honor Museum, the museum that opened last year in Arlington’s entertainment complex, was named to the prestigious World’s Most Beautiful Museums List 2026 by an international award recognizing architecture and design.

The North Texas museum was the only winner in the Western Hemisphere, receiving the honor from the Prix Versailles. The award, created in 2015, is an international architecture and design award presented annually by the Secretariat of the Prix Versailles in partnership with UNESCO, the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization.

According to the Prix Versailles website, the award “is a series of architectural competitions that shine a light on the finest contemporary projects worldwide.”    

The National Medal of Honor Museum in Arlington is one of just seven institutions worldwide to be recognized this year. The award, announced at UNESCO’s Paris headquarters, reflects the organization’s mission to elevate cultural heritage, global cooperation and design that improves quality of life. A formal presentation will be made in early December in France.

“We were so deeply honored,” said Cory Crowley, interim CEO of the museum and executive vice president of the board. “To just come off the USA Today award to now this as an international award is just incredible.”

The museum’s newest recognition in a line of honors comes as Prix Versailles launches its 12th edition. This year’s selected museums were chosen not only for their visual appeal, but for how their architecture shapes immersive experiences.

Cultural Impact Amid Loss

 Created in 2015, the Prix Versailles award recognizes what it calls the world’s most beautiful contemporary projects, honoring excellence in innovation, aesthetics, sustainability and cultural impact across categories such as airports, museums, hotels, sports venues and commercial spaces. Its presentation at UNESCO’s Paris headquarters underscores the organization’s mission to promote cultural heritage, global cooperation and the role of design in improving quality of life.

The Arlington museum’s award-winning design was created by Rafael Viñoly Architects. Vinoly, an immigrant from Uruguay, had been excited to design a building tied to the military he deeply respected. Founded in 1983 and based in New York, his international firm has designed projects across six continents. Known for elevating a building’s purpose through bold, transformative design, the firm emphasizes public impact with projects such as museums, performing arts centers, civic buildings, research facilities, hotels, commercial development. and residential projects. The Medal of Honor Museum includes a design filled with symbolism tied to the U.S. military.

Unfortunately, exactly halfway through the three-year project of designing and building the now award-winning museum, Vinoly died of a sudden heart attack. Despite the tragedy, his original concept was completed.

“He was the marquis name of the architecture firm, but there were other architects who could continue his work,” Crowley said. “It was quite interesting to lose the visionary behind it all before we could bring to fruition. His design is stunning.”

The National Medal of Honor Museum in Arlington joins six other honorees worldwide. The others recognized include the Zayed National Museum in the United Arab Emirates, the Science & Technology Museum and the Xuelei Fragrance Museum in China, MoN Takanawa: The Museum of Narratives in Japan, the Lost Shitetla Museum in Lithuania, and the Islamic Civilization Center in Uzbekistan.

Multiple Honors

The recognition adds to a growing list of honors for Arlington’s military museum, which has been named Best New Museum in USA TODAY’s 10 Best Readers’ Choice Awards and received national design and engineering awards from the Society of American Registered Architects and the American Council of Engineering Companies of New York. Arlington was selected as the museum’s home after a five‑year national search, and the project sits on a 99‑year, $1‑a‑year lease north of Globe Life Field and Choctaw Stadium.

Designed to appear as if it hovers 40 feet above a five‑acre landscape, the building is supported by five concrete columns representing each branch of the U.S. Armed Forces. The museum honors the 3,519 recipients of the Medal of Honor, the nation’s highest award for valor established by President Abraham Lincoln in 1861.

The National Medal of Honor Museum opened in March of 2025 in Arlington with a ceremony that drew national military leaders, elected officials, Medal of Honor recipients and the visionary architect’s son, Roman Vinoly, who was there to witness the museum’s launch.