32 projects earn RIBA National Awards as Stirling Prize shortlist narrows to six

The Royal Institute of British Architects has named 32 winners for its 2026 RIBA National Awards, recognizing the best of UK architecture and offering insight into the country's design and social trends, Archinect reported. The announcement came as RIBA also revealed the six-building shortlist for the Stirling Prize, the UK's highest architecture award, which this year marks its 30th anniversary, according to Dezeen.

2 sources

ArchinectUK’s best architecture honored at 2026 RIBA National AwardsDezeenRIBA announces six-strong Stirling Prize 2026 shortlist, including Renzo Piano's Paddington Square

"This year's winners, while practicing in increasingly challenging times, illustrate how architects working with and for ambitious and enlightened clients can continue to create places and spaces of quality and value."

RIBA Awards Group Chair Neil Gillespie made the remarks about the National Award winners, noting the diversity of approaches across scales, functions, and locations, from repair and reuse of existing buildings to new builds, Archinect reported.

The Stirling Prize shortlist includes Renzo Piano Building Workshop's cube-shaped Paddington Square development, Dezeen reported. The final prize will be awarded later this year from among the six contenders, all drawn from the pool of National Award winners.

In a separate development, the Architects' Journal reported that an artificial intelligence tool had generated its own prediction for the Stirling Prize shortlist, adding a technological twist to the annual architecture honors. The human-selected shortlist, however, remains the official lineup for the 30th edition of the prize.