Best global architecture honored at RIBA International Awards 2026

The Royal Institute of British Architects has unveiled the winners of the RIBA International Awards for Excellence 2026. In total, 34 projects were honored across 15 countries, with RIBA noting that the cohort “responds directly to urgent social, environmental and urban conditions across the globe.”

The winning schemes were chosen from a shortlist of 52 projects that we reported on in March. Among the architecture offices represented in the final list are high-profile firms including David Chipperfield Architects, Foster + Partners, and BIG, alongside noteworthy boutique firms such as MAKER architecten and Studio Mumbai.

“This year’s RIBA International Awards reflect the breadth and ambition of contemporary architecture at its best, through work that is globally diverse yet united by a shared commitment to improving how people live,” RIBA President Chris Williamson said about the projects. “What has stood out has been not only the quality of individual projects, but the clarity of thinking behind them. Across sustainability, community-building and cultural identity, architects are responding in inventive and often unexpected ways, and the winners offer a compelling snapshot of where the discipline is heading.”

The winning schemes are as follows:

• Burnt Earth Beach House by Wardle (Anglesea, Australia)
• Church of the Living God by Angelo Candalepas and Associates (Hurstville, NSW, Australia)
• Darlington Public School by fjcstudio (Sydney, Australia)
• The Porter House Hotel by Angelo Candalepas and Associates (Sydney, Australia)
• KinderKunstLabor by Schenker Salvi Weber (St. Pölten, Austria)

• Zebun Nessa Mosque by Studio Morphogenesis Ltd. (Savar, Dhaka, Bangladesh)
• BRAC University by WOHA (Dhaka, Bangladesh)
• YIMBY (Yes In My BackYard) by MAKER architecten (Kortrijk, Belgium)
• Z33 by Francesca Torzo Architetto (Hasselt, Belgium)
• Royale Belge by Caruso St John Architects + Bovenbouw Architectuur with DDS+ (Watermael-Boitsfort, Brussels, Belgium)

• Beijing Performing Arts Center by Schmidt Hammer Lassen + Perkins & Will (Beijing, China)
• Green Hill by Tongji Architectural Design (Group) Co., Ltd. (Shanghai, China)
• Foreign Language School Affiliated to Longhua Academy of Educational Sciences by Unitinno Architectural Technology Development Company Limited (Shenzhen, China)
• Rockbund Shanghai by David Chipperfield Architects (historical buildings) + Arquitectonica (new buildings) (Shanghai, China)
• Service Station Under Wuning Road Bridge, Suzhou Creek by Atelier Z+ (Shanghai, China)

• Shanghai Library East by Schmidt Hammer Lassen (Shanghai, China)
• Shenzhen Energy Ring by Schmidt Hammer Lassen + Gottlieb Paludan Architects (Shenzhen, China)
• Taoxichuan Ceramic Culture Industrial Park by Jie Zhang + Beijing An-Design Architects + THUPDI (Jingdezhen, China)
• West Wusutu Village Community Center in Hohhot by Inner Mongolian Grand Architecture Design Co., Ltd. (Hohhot, China)
• Štvanice Footbridge in Prague by Atelier Bridge Structures, Atelier Petr Tej, Blank architekti (Prague, Czech Republic)

• Wood Up by LAN – Local Architecture Network (Paris, France)
• Château de Beaucastel by Studio Mumbai + Studio Méditerranée (Courthézon, France)
• DY Patil Centre of Excellence by Foster + Partners (Maharashtra, India)
• Parikrama by SPASM Design Architects (Nandgaon, India)
• Architects’ Studio by O’Donnell + Tuomey (Dublin, Ireland)

• Tenjincho Place by Hiroyuki Ito Architects (Tokyo, Japan)
• KON-TIGO by Manuel Cervantes Estudio (Guerrero, Mexico)
• Mezcal Production Palenque by Estudio ALA (Armida Fernández and Luis Enrique Flores) (Jiquilpan de Juárez, Michoacán, Mexico)
• Kunstsilo by Mestres Wåge + BAX + Mendoza Partida (Kristiansand, Norway)
• The Plus by BIG – Bjarke Ingels Group (Magnor, Norway)

• Transformation Warmbächli by BHSF Architektur & Städtebau (Berne, Switzerland)
• Bidi Bidi Performing Arts Centre by Hassell (Yumbe District, Uganda)
• Terra Cotta Workshop by Tropical Space (Quang Nam, Vietnam)
• Urban Farming Office by VTN Architects (Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam)