The Australian Institute of Architects has released the shortlist for the 2026 NSW Architecture Awards, naming more than 120 projects across 13 categories as the state's most outstanding new architecture of the year. Winners will be announced on 2 July 2026.

Jury Chair Bill Tsakalos describes the program as a barometer for the profession. "[The awards] reveal how shifts in thinking, approach, and values are continually reshaping architecture, acting as a barometer for emerging priorities and recalibrating expectations of what design can achieve," he says.

"The awards influence practitioners, constructors, and clients alike, communicating evolving standards, aspirations, and responsibilities while reflecting contemporary concerns around culture, environmental stewardship, and changing ways of living."

Surry Hills Village by SJB and Studio Prineas. Photo Tom Roe — *Surry Hills Village by SJB and Studio Prineas / Tom Roe*

COLORBOND Award for Steel Architecture

Baaka Culture Centre | Kaunitz Yeung Architecture
Casa Dos | Lippmann Partnership
Galuwa Recreation Centre | AJC Architects
Greybox | Welsh + Major
Gunnedah Hospital Redevelopment | ARCH
House Gretchen | Lintel Studio for Architecture
Lune de Sang Sheds 3 & 4 | Choi Studio
Mark Taylor Oval Pavilion | Archer Office
Putty Passiv | Anderson Architecture
Willowdale Sports Pavilion | Sam Crawford Architects with Lymesmith

Commercial architecture

15 Khartoum Rd, MPark | Choi Studio
25hours Hotel The Olympia | Tonkin Zulaikha Greer Architects
33 Alfred Street | JPW
42 Honeysuckle Drive | Bates Smart
Baaka Culture Centre | Kaunitz Yeung Architecture
lyf Bondi Junction | Bates Smart
New Sydney Fish Market | 3XN in association with BVN and ASPECT Studios
Parkline Place | Foster + Partners with COX Architecture
Surry Hills Village | SJB and Studio Prineas
The Lands by Capella | Hassell in collaboration with Purcell Architecture

Sydney Harbour Bridge Northern Access Cycleway by Collins and Turner / Broad Boardman

Educational architecture

Eungai Creek Campus | AJC Architects
Green Square Public School and Community Spaces | BVN
Macquarie University – Engineering Innovation Building | Woods Bagot
Oakhill College Hilltop Precinct (Commons & Innovation Hub) | BVN
St Bede's Catholic College | SHAC
UNSW Health Translation Hub | Architectus

EmAGN Project Award

Alcheringa | Ironbark Architecture
Clay House | Muci
Pier Pavilion | Besley & Spresser
Sapling | Anderson Architecture
Tree House | ASA (Alexander Symes Architect)

Heritage

33 Alfred Street | JPW
Entertainment Hall White Bay | DunnHillam Architecture + Urban Design with Placemaking NSW
GSDA Dwelling No.1 Recovery | Hector Abrahams Architects
Old Bega Hospital | Design 5 – Architects
Sydney Harbour Bridge Northern Access Cycleway | Collins and Turner with Design 5 Architects, Aspect Studios, Eckersley O'Callaghan
The Lands by Capella | Hassell in collaboration with Purcell Architecture

Eungai Creek Campus by AJC Architects / Seen Australia

Interior architecture

Brise Soleil | Carter Williamson Architects
CBRE Sydney | Bates Smart
GPT HQ | BVN
State Library NSW Public Areas | Andrew Andersons and Cullen Feng
Surrey 112 | Smart Design Studio
Swansea Heads House | Anthrosite
The Corner Shop House | Downie North
The Lands by Capella | Hassell in collaboration with Purcell Architecture
Wollemi Capital | Ciliberto Architects

Public architecture

Campbelltown Station Commuter Car Park | Hill Thalis Architecture + Urban Projects
Central Station | Woods Bagot in collaboration with John McAslan + Partners
Crows Nest Metro Station | Woods Bagot
First Steps Count Child and Community Centre | Austin McFarland Pty Ltd
Gilgandra Library + Community Hub | DunnHillam Architecture + Urban Design
Mark Taylor Oval Pavilion | Archer Office
New Sydney Fish Market | 3XN in association with BVN and ASPECT Studios
Pier Pavilion | Besley & Spresser
Western Sydney International (Nancy-Bird Walton) Airport | COX Architecture, Zaha Hadid Architects and Woods Bagot
Willowdale Sports Pavilion | Sam Crawford Architects with Lymesmith

Campbelltown Station Commuter Carpark by Hill Thalis Architecture (Brett Boardman)

Residential architecture – houses (alterations and additions)

Clay House | Muci
Darlinghurst House | Anthony Gill Architects
Denj Lane | Carter Williamson Architects
Fort House | Curious Practice
House Gretchen | Lintel Studio for Architecture
House in Rosebery | Architect George
Kyoto House | Breakspear Architects
Lilyfield House | Tribe Studio
Playhouse | Carter Williamson Architects
Rainbow House | Virginia Kerridge Architect
Rows End | Retallack Thompson
Surrey 112 | Smart Design Studio
The Corner Shop House | Downie North
Tree House | ASA (Alexander Symes Architect)
Wilsons Cottage | Casey Brown Architecture
Zulaikha Laurence 'Tree Change House' | Studio ZAWA

Residential architecture – houses (new)

Coogee House III | Tribe Studio
Cowrie Hole | Curious Practice
EA House | Bokey Grant
Enclave House | Bohane Campo
Exeter House | Luke Moloney Architecture
Garden Courtyard House | Grove Architects
Gerroa House | Scale Architecture
Gingkin | Incidental Architecture
Holocene House | CplusC Architects + Builders
House of Shadows | Atelier Marks Gaal
Norton Street | Plus Minus Design
OK House | Stephen Collier Architect
Queenscliff House | Chenchow Little
Saddleback Mountain House | Casey Brown Architecture
Sapling | Anderson Architecture
Swansea Heads House | Anthrosite
Swirling Waters | Peter Stutchbury Architecture

Cowrie Hole by Curious Practice / Clinton Weaver

Residential architecture – multiple housing

Boronia | Turner
Cowper Street Housing | JPW
Crossroads | Mackenzie Pronk Architects and Make Projects
Egan Street 2020 | Kieran McInerney Architect
Goonellabah Houses | Pearson Architecture
Habilis | Collins and Turner
Lacebark | Smart Design Studio
Newmarket South | Bates Smart, SJB + Neeson Murcutt Neille
Norton Street | Plus Minus Design
Surry Hills Village | SJB
The Cambridge | Architectus
Waterloo Metro Quarter – Social Housing | Bates Smart

Small project architecture

Broken Workshop | Atelier Luke
Carpe Diem Pavilion | Collins and Turner
Gladstone Park Amenities | Benn + Penna Architects
Magenta Outhouse | Atelier Marks Gaal
Optus O Pavilion | Architectus
Permanent Camping Orange | Casey Brown Architecture
Perry Park Pavilion | Scale Architecture
The Southern Lookout | AJC Architects

Sustainable architecture

33 Alfred Street | JPW
Campbelltown Station Commuter Car Park | Hill Thalis Architecture + Urban Projects
Cowper Street Housing | JPW
Crossroads | Mackenzie Pronk Architects and Make Projects
Eungai Creek Campus | AJC Architects
Field Rooms | MAPA Art and Architecture
First Steps Count Child and Community Centre | Austin McFarland Pty Ltd
Gerroa House | Scale Architecture
Gilgandra Library + Community Hub | DunnHillam Architecture + Urban Design
Gingkin | Incidental Architecture
Greybox | Welsh + Major
Sapling | Anderson Architecture
Tree House | ASA (Alexander Symes Architect)
Zulaikha Laurence 'Tree Change House' | Studio ZAWA

Department of Lands Building by Hassell / Timothy Kaye

Urban design

Gilgandra Library + Community Hub | DunnHillam Architecture + Urban Design
New Sydney Fish Market | 3XN in association with BVN and ASPECT Studios
Parramatta Light Rail Stage 1 | COX Architecture
Surry Hills Village | SJB, Studio Prineas and Aspect Studios
Sydney Harbour Bridge Northern Access Cycleway | Collins and Turner with Aspect Studios, Eckersley O'Callaghan and Design 5

The 2026 NSW Architecture Awards ceremony will be held on 2 July 2026.

Image: Surry Hills Village by SJB and Studio Prineas / Tom Roe

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