A total of 123 projects have been shortlisted across 21 categories for the ninth AJ Architecture Awards, the annual showcase of the very best built projects in the UK. The shortlists are being revealed over the course of this week.
Housing has been divided into three categories. The first, Housing Project (up to £10 million), has a six-strong shortlist including the affordable Leon House scheme by Gibson Thornley Architects, Metropolitan Workshop’s Arts and Crafts-influenced Lewisham homes, and backland-site housing Honor Oak Park by Dowen Farmer Architects with Holloway and Holloway Architects.
Five projects have been shortlisted in the Housing Project (£10-20 million) category, among them Bridge House by Studioshaw, a mixed-use development in Hackney Wick; Mountbatten View by Studio Partington, a Hemel Hempstead development offering 100 per cent social housing; and the intergenerational Melfield Gardens by Levitt Bernstein.
The Housing Project (£20 million and over) shortlist features nine projects by practices including HTA Design, Assael Architecture, Howells and Haworth Tompkins.
Among the eight projects shortlisted in the Landscape and Public Realm category are Falcon Road Bridge by GPAD, Stratford Waterfront at East Bank by Allies and Morrison with LDA Design, and The Queen Elizabeth II Garden by HTA Design.
The expert judges, who are travelling the country to visit every shortlisted scheme, include Open House founder Victoria Thornton, winner of this year’s AJ100 Contribution to the Profession prize. Joining her are celebrated Czech-born architect Eva Jiřičná; RCKa founding director Russell Curtis; Dow Jones director Biba Dow; V&A head of capital programme Ingrid Petit; Jas Bhalla Works principal Jas Bhalla; and strategist Daisy Froud.
In addition to stand-out design, the judges will consider how each project has met or exceeded its brief, how it has promoted client or community engagement and how it has excelled in the use of space or sense of place. They will also strictly analyse what sustainability measures have been put in place. Each project must have been completed between 1 January 2025 and 31 July 2026.
The winners in the 21 categories, plus the three special award winners selected by the editors, will be announced at a celebratory dinner at the Royal Lancaster London on Thursday 26 November. More information can be found here.
Housing Project (up to £10 million)
Farmstead Road by Metropolitan Workshop
Source: Fred Howarth
Edith Road by Satish Jassal Architects
Farmstead Road by Metropolitan Workshop
Honor Oak Park by Dowen Farmer Architects with Holloway and Holloway Architects
Leon House by Gibson Thornley
Pine Place by Reiach and Hall Architects
Trace by Bureau de Change
Housing Project (£10-20 million)
Bridge House by Studioshaw
Source: James Brittain
Albion Street by Bell Phillips with RM_A
Bridge House by Studioshaw
Ebbisham Drive, Ashmole Estate, by FBM Architects
Melfield Gardens by Levitt Bernstein
Mountbatten View by Studio Partington
Housing Project (£20 million and over)
Lightbody Street by Tim Groom Architects
Source: Jan Chlebik
Braund Mansions by HTA Design
Conductor House and The Delamarre, Brent Cross Town, by Maccreanor Lavington with Whittam Cox Architects
Enclave: Acton by HTA Design
Golf Links Estate Phase 3 by Stephen Taylor Architects with ECE Architecture
Lightbody Street by Tim Groom Architects
New Road Triangle by RUFFARCHITECTS
The Eades by Assael Architecture
The Octagon by Howells
Wembley North East Lands by Haworth Tompkins
Landscape and Public Realm Project
Finsbury Circus Gardens by Realm with Studio Weave
Source: Realm
Down Lane Park by Levitt Bernstein
Eden Campus Development Framework by Reiach and Hall Architects
Falcon Road Bridge by GPAD
Finsbury Circus Gardens by Realm with Studio Weave
Sloane Street by John McAslan + Partners
Stratford Waterfront at East Bank by Allies and Morrison with LDA Design
The Queen Elizabeth II Garden by HTA Design
Woolwich Town Centre Regeneration by LDA Design
The 2026 AJ Architecture Awards are sponsored by
