The UK’s best new architecture announced

The Royal Institute of British Architects (RIBA) has announced the winners of the RIBA National Awards 2025 for architecture.

The Awards, which have been presented since 1966, recognise the best of UK architecture and provide insight into the country's design and social trends.

Winning projects range across every corner of the country, from the Isle of Wight to Scotland and Northern Ireland. Diverse in scale, from Astra Zeneca’s monumental curved “triangular” research facility (The Discovery Centre), and London College of Fashion’s striking “vertical campus” in Stratford, to the sensitive conservation of two dilapidated farm buildings in the Isle of Wight (The Old Byre) and the transformation of a former Battersea shop unit into a flexible home and office at Costa’s Barbers.

Image: Young V&A by AOC Architecture and De Matos Ryan

The power of architecture to influence and transform communities was central to many of this year’s winners. Appleby Blue Almshouse in Southwark showcases how thoughtful sequencing can foster communal interaction and thereby reduce social isolation. Similarly, Hazelmead, Bridport Cohousing is designed to cultivate an open, connected community for its 53 homes.

Meanwhile, the red-brick Sidcup Storyteller has become a focal point in the high-street regeneration of the area, while the fire damaged Sheerness Dockyard Church has been sensitively restored into a vibrant community facility. Transformation also takes more human forms. HMP & YOI Stirling offers a therapeutic, trauma informed design that integrates the surrounding landscape and supports rehabilitation at this women's prison, while Hope Street, in Southampton, offers a quietly radical model for supporting women in the justice system, demonstrating how architecture can be a powerful agent for meaningful social change.

Image: London College of Fashion by Allies and Morrison

Restoration and conservation are equally prominent. In London, the Elizabeth Tower, home to Big Ben, stands as a masterpiece in conservation and heritage preservation, while the renovation of the Young V&A in East London takes a dark site into a bright, energising cultural destination. In Scotland, the sensitive restorations of two Grade A listed buildings, Aldourie Castle Estate and Fairburn Tower, highlights the merits of local skills and traditional techniques.

Commenting on the winning projects, 2025 RIBA Awards Group Chair, Simon Henley, said: “Congratulations to each of this year's RIBA National Award winners. Each of these 20 winning projects is a powerful testament to the diversity and depth of our profession. They demonstrate how architecture is not just a creative force, but also central in addressing some of the most pressing challenges of our time.

“This year’s winners reflect the many and varied ways architects are being asked to work, and their incredible motivation and breadth of expertise. As a profession, we now look to the past as much as the future, and to care and repair as we do to build. We continue to innovate but we also seek continuity, and in so doing to make work of every scale that is engaging and thoughtful. The power of architecture to transform society and inform our way of life is on full display in every winning project.”

The 20 RIBA National Award 2025 winners are:

8 Bleeding Heart Yard by GROUPWORK

• A highly detailed retrofit of a lifeless 1970s office building into a richly layered, sustainable workplace.

Aldourie Castle Estate by Ptolemy Dean Architects Ltd

• An elegant and exemplary conservation of a Grade A listed estate using local materials and crafts.

Appleby Blue Almshouse by Witherford Watson Mann Architects

• A contemporary almshouse in Southwark cleverly designed to reduce social isolation for older generations

Citizens House by Archio

• A community led development off 11 affordable homes in a former backyard garage site in Lewisham.

Costa’s Barbers by Brisco Loran and Arrant Industries

• A Battersea shop unit has been imaginatively converted into a flexible home and office.

Elizabeth Tower by Purcell

• Housing the symbolic bell and timepiece of the nation (Big Ben), the most comprehensive restoration of Elizabeth Tower in 160 years is a masterpiece in conservation and craftsmanship.

Fairburn Tower by Simpson & Brown for The Landmark trust

• A meticulous conservation effort has restored a dilapidated Category A listed structure using traditional craftmanship.

Hastings House by Hugh Strange Architects

• An inventive and finely detailed extension to a late 19th century house, working at the intersection of ethics and aesthetics.

Hazelmead, Bridport Cohousing by Barefoot Architects - pictured above

• 53 timber-framed affordable homes form a sustainable, co-housing development in Bridport that is designed to embrace community.

HMP & YOI Stirling by Holmes Miller - pictured below

• A therapeutic, trauma-informed women’s prison that provides spaces that promote dignity, equality and meaningful rehabilitation.

Hope Street by Snug Architects

• A quietly radical model for supporting women in the justice system, the modest architecture balances opposing needs to leave a lasting impact.

London College of Fashion by Allies and Morrison

• A monumental piece of civic architecture, the new LCF brings together six former sites into one “vertical campus” on Stratford’s East Bank waterfront.

Niwa House by Takero Shimazaki Architects

• A timber framed, tranquil, Japanese style home designed to be fully wheelchair accessible.

Sheerness Dockyard Church by Hugh Broughton Architects

• A twice fire-damaged Grade-II* listed church has been exquisitely restored and transformed into a community facility.

• A bold new red-brick library, cinema and co-working space has become the centrepiece of the high-street regeneration of Sidcup.

Student Hub, Queens Business School Belfast by TODD Architects

• An innovative and sustainable learning space that blends sensitively into the surrounding woodlands.

The Discovery Centre (DISC) by Herzog & de Meuron / BDP

• A welcoming, “triangular” medical research facility for AstraZeneca blending thoughtful placemaking with scientific innovation.

The Old Byre by Gianni Botsford Architects

• This conversion of two understated farm buildings on the Isle of Wight creates a new home while also offering residency and working spaces for visiting artists.

Triangle House by Artefact

• A playful and inventive extension to a 1950’s suburban home in Surrey

Young V&A by AOC Architecture and De Matos Ryan

• The former Museum of Childhood has been reimagined into a light, bright and energising cultural destination for young visitors.

RIBA National Award 2025 winners will now be considered for the highly coveted RIBA Stirling Prize for the UK’s best new architecture, the shortlist of which will be announced on 4 September.