{"id":690313,"date":"2026-07-14T01:44:23","date_gmt":"2026-07-14T01:44:23","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/690313\/"},"modified":"2026-07-14T01:44:23","modified_gmt":"2026-07-14T01:44:23","slug":"aj-retrofit-reuse-awards-2026-shortlist-1-adaptive-reuse-categories","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/690313\/","title":{"rendered":"AJ Retrofit & Reuse Awards 2026 shortlist 1: Adaptive reuse categories"},"content":{"rendered":"

These awards celebrate architectural excellence in the renewal and repurposing of existing buildings. This year\u2019s 18 categories emphasise the reuse of existing structures and materials, and the lessons learnt. The first shortlisted categories to be announced are Adaptive reuse into mixed use; Adaptive reuse into office (up to \u00a310 million); Adaptive reuse into office (\u00a310 million and over); Adaptive reuse into other; and Adaptive reuse into residential.<\/p>\n

Adaptive reuse recognises projects that combine retrofit with a change of use. Among the mixed-use shortlist is one of last year\u2019s highest-profile openings, Diller Scofidio + Renfro\u2019s V&A East Storehouse in London\u2019s Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Adaptive reuse into office has been split into two price brackets this year to reflect the high number of entries. Gort Scott, dRMM and shedkm all feature across the category. In the under \u00a310 million shortlist, Project 3 Architects\u2019 retrofit of two Victorian market halls<\/a>, featured in the AJ\u2019s Manchester issue<\/a>, published in May, is among the contenders, while Hodder + Partners\u2019 No 1 St Michael\u2019s, also published in that issue,<\/a> appears in the \u00a310 million and over category.<\/p>\n

Elsewhere, John Puttick Associates\u2019 conversion of listed Grimsby warehouses into youth club<\/a> joins CarverHaggard\u2019s decarbonisation of a 1990s Bankside office building<\/a> and Studio DERA\u2019s transformation of a former swimming pool<\/a> on the Adaptive reuse into other shortlist. In the four-project residential shortlist, shedkm secures a second nomination for Zodiac, which featured in the AJ\u2019s Homelessness issue published in December 2025.<\/p>\n

Zodiac House, a project for developer Common Projects, is the transformation of a worn-out concrete 1960s complex into 73 homes for families at risk in Croydon<\/a>. It also featured in the AJ and Architects\u2019 Action for Affordable Housing\u2019s first edition of the campaign publication Good Homes for All<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Formerly known as the AJ Retrofit Awards, the awards programme was renamed the AJ Retrofit & Reuse Awards<\/a> in 2024 to better reflect the expanding scope of retrofit practice, from adaptive reuse to decarbonisation and whole-life carbon reduction.<\/p>\n

More than 110 projects have been shortlisted across this year\u2019s awards. Each practice has presented its project to the judges in a virtual session comprising a five-minute presentation followed by up to 10 minutes of questions. The 28-strong jury includes net zero carbon manager Tania Jennings, Max Fordham partner and director of sustainability Hero Bennett and associate professor of the London School of Architecture Ruth Lang.<\/p>\n

The winners will be announced at the AJ Retrofit & Reuse Awards on Thursday 24 September at a new venue this year \u2013 the Grade II-listed Art Deco live events and music hall The Troxy in east London.<\/p>\n

The shortlisted projects in other categories will be revealed in the coming days. You can find out more about the\u00a0AJ Retrofit & Reuse Awards here<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Last week, the AJ announced that keynote speeches from Grafton co-founder Shelley McNamara and OMA partner Reinier de Graaf<\/a> will bookend the AJ\u2019s CircularBuild 2026 event, to be held on 16 September in central London.<\/p>\n

CircularBuild 2026,<\/a>\u00a0which will also include contributions from Mace, Landsec, and Great Portland Estates, will be held at Convene in the City of London.<\/p>\n

The event, now in its fifth year, is an evolution of the annual AJ Retrofit Live event, which was inspired by our\u00a0RetroFirst campaign<\/a>\u00a0for the reuse of existing buildings.<\/p>\n

Shortlists
\nAdaptive reuse into mixed use
\n\"\"<\/p>\n

Eagle House by IF_DO<\/p>\n

Source: Kilian O\u2019Sullivan<\/p>\n

214 Oxford Street by BDP
\nCity Campus, University of Gloucestershire by ADP Architecture
\nEagle House by IF_DO
\nSpitfire Hangar by Ferguson Mann Architects
\nThe Creamery by Stonewood Design
\nThe Goods Shed, Hopetown, by SPACE Architects
\nThe Whiteley by Foster + Partners
\nV&A East Storehouse by Diller Scofidio + Renfro<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

Adaptive reuse into office (up to \u00a310 million)
\n\"\"<\/p>\n

Dome House by Gort Scott<\/p>\n

Source: Dirk Lindner<\/p>\n

37 Coate Street by dRMM
\nCampfield by Project 3 Architects
\nCivic by shedkm
\nDome House by Gort Scott
\nThe Old Post Office by Stedman Blower Architects
\nVinery Mews by Owers Warwick Architects<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

Adaptive reuse into office (\u00a310 million and over)
\n\"\"<\/p>\n

Bedford Row by HUT Architecture<\/p>\n

Source: Billie Bolton<\/p>\n

21-25 Bruton Place by DLA Architecture
\nBedford Row by HUT Architecture
\nNo\u20051 St Michael\u2019s, Manchester, by Hodder + Partners
\nThe Harrison by Anomaly<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

Adaptive reuse into other
\n\"\"<\/p>\n

Horizon Youth Zone by John Puttick Associates<\/p>\n

Source: Gareth Gardner<\/p>\n

265 Strand by TTSP with Bluebottle Interiors
\nHorizon Youth Zone by John Puttick Associates
\nRemaking The Pool \u2013 Waltham Forest College by Studio DERA
\nScotland\u2019s National Retrofit Centre by John Gilbert Architects
\nSTEAM Studios by SPACE Architects
\nThe Chancery Rosewood by ReardonSmith Architects
\nThe Grammar by GSSArchitecture
\nThe Schoolhouse by CarverHaggard<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

Adaptive reuse into residential
\n\"\"<\/p>\n

The Old Boathouse by Napier Clarke Architects<\/p>\n

Source: Lorenzo Zandri<\/p>\n

Cocoa Works by Weedon Architects
\nHaringey Warehouse Living: Cardigan House and 23 Overbury by Studio Verve Architects
\nThe Old Boathouse by Napier Clarke Architects
\nZodiac by shedkm<\/p>\n

The 2026 AJ Retrofit & Reuse Awards are sponsored by
\n
\n\"\"<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"These awards celebrate architectural excellence in the renewal and repurposing of existing buildings. This year\u2019s 18 categories emphasise…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":690314,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[31],"tags":[13233,230020,6225,6485,6486,1120,96,26588,56,54,55],"class_list":["post-690313","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-arts-and-design","tag-adaptive-reuse","tag-aj-retrofit-reuse-awards-2026","tag-arts","tag-arts-and-design","tag-artsanddesign","tag-design","tag-entertainment","tag-retrofit","tag-uk","tag-united-kingdom","tag-unitedkingdom"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/690313","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=690313"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/690313\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/690314"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=690313"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=690313"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=690313"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}