The most revealing thing about this year's awards is not any single building, material or architect. It is the breadth of the work being recognised — and the fact that sustainability is becoming less of a specialised architectural discipline and more a way of thinking about what buildings, landscapes and cities are for.

The 2026 winners suggest that Australia's most interesting sustainable architecture is beginning to understand that distinction: that the future will not be defined simply by buildings that consume less.

The year, the Sustainability Awards are defined by buildings, landscapes and places that waste less, last longer, adapt more readily, include more people, respect existing communities and landscapes, and create value that extends well beyond completion.

That is a considerably more ambitious definition of sustainability than the one the awards began with some two decades ago.

It is also one that might finally be large enough for the problem.

And so finally, the long wait is over.

The winners of the 2026 Sustainability Awards, brought to you by Architecture & Design, are:

Adaptive Reuse
Sponsored by EQUITONE

BAAKA Cultural Centre — Kaunitz Yeung Architecture (KYA)

The BAAKA Cultural Centre in Wilcannia emerged through years of listening and collaboration with the Barkandji community. What began as a cultural facility evolved into something more significant. At its heart is a Keeping Place, identified through community engagement as an essential space for preserving cultural artefacts, supporting language revitalisation and facilitating the transfer of knowledge between generations. The project provides a permanent home for culture, learning, gathering and storytelling, while contributing to local tourism and economic opportunity.

Baaka (HC).jpg — *Photography: Brett Boardman*

Highly Commended: Egan Compact (Kieran McInerney Architect)

egan compact.jpg — *Photography: Oscar Read & Jennifer Soo*

Commercial
Sponsored by CSR

Rosebery Engine Yards — GroupGSA

Breathing new life into an industrial icon, Rosebery Engine Yards transforms century-old warehouses into a sustainable, mixed-use precinct. Positioned on a full 1.9-hectare block, the project champions adaptive reuse, retaining and enhancing the original character while introducing contemporary interventions.

*Photography: Tyrone Branigan, Mike Chorley*

Highly Commended: Sydney Fish Market (3XN GXN Architects in association with BVN Architecture and Aspect Studios)

fish market (HC).jpg — *Photography: Rasmus Hjortshøj, Tom Roe, Martin Siegner*

Community & Social Impact
Sponsored by HVG

Gugan Gulwan Youth Aboriginal Corporation Facility — COX Architecture

COX Architecture, in collaboration with CK Architecture, delivered a new purpose-built facility for Gugan Gulwan Youth Aboriginal Corporation, replacing the ageing building on Grattan Court. More than a building project, the initiative sought to create a culturally safe, inclusive and welcoming place on Country that would support the ongoing success of Gugan Gulwan and strengthen opportunities for First Nations people for generations to come.

Gugan Gulwan Youth Aboriginal Corporation Facility .jpg — *Photography: Adam McGrath (courtesy of Projex) and Thurston Empson*

Highly Commended: BAAKA Cultural Centre (Kaunitz Yeung Architecture)

Emerging Sustainable Architect/Designer
Sponsored by Knotwood

Jasmine Lawrence — Grimshaw

Jasmine-Lawrence-HS-scaled-e1790559052186-1500x1000.jpg

Since graduating from her Master of Architecture degree and joining Grimshaw in 2022, Jasmine has demonstrated a strong commitment to advancing sustainable design through project delivery, industry engagement, knowledge sharing and professional leadership. She believes sustainability should be embedded in architectural decision-making from the earliest stages of design, creating outcomes that are environmentally responsible, commercially viable and culturally meaningful.

Green Building Material/Product
Sponsored by WoodSolutions

Hydrowood - New Reclaimed Timbers — Hydrowood

Hydrowood is a speciality Tasmanian timber recovered from Lake Pieman on Tasmania's remote west coast. When the Pieman River was flooded in 1987 to create the Reece hydroelectric dam, it inundated a large area of native forest. The trees died where they stood. Nearly 40 years later, they remain upright beneath the water, preserved by cold, low-oxygen conditions at depths of up to 26 m.

Highly Commended: RENASCI (Milliken Pty Ltd)

Hospitality and Tourism
Sponsored by Haymes Paint

Uluru-Kata Tjuta Signature Walk — Troppo Architects and HIP V. HYPE

Troppo Architects, working with HIP V. HYPE’s Better Buildings (BSE) team, delivered three new eco-lodge sites for the Uluru-Kata Tjuta Signature Walk in the Northern Territory — a new five-day guided walk between Kata Tjuta and Uluru operated by Australian Walking Company in partnership with the Anangu Traditional Owners.

Highly Commended: Sapling at Rosby (Cameron Anderson Architects)

Sapling at Rosby .jpg — Photography: Amber Creative

Institutional & Public Buildings
Sponsored by NeXTimber by Timberlink

Maribyrnong Civic Centre and Community Hub — DesignInc

The Maribyrnong Civic Centre + Community Hub demonstrates measurable, whole-of-lifecycle sustainability outcomes across environmental, social and economic performance. Anchored by the adaptive reuse of the historic Town Hall, the project minimises upfront carbon while delivering a contemporary, high-performance civic facility integrated with new public realm and community infrastructure.

Highly Commended: The Forest (Woods Bagot)

The Forrest (HC).jpg — *Photograph: Peter Bennetts*

Interior Design
Sponsored by GH Commercial

Nudie Jeans Repair Store, Fitzroy — X+O Pty Ltd

Nudie Jeans is a Swedish denim brand founded in Gothenburg in 2001, recognised for its focus on sustainable and transparent fashion. The brand's product philosophy is built on longevity and circularity: jeans are made from 100 per cent organic cotton, every pair comes with a promise of free repairs for life, and worn-out jeans can be traded in for reuse or recycling. Nudie Jeans publishes detailed supply chain and production data annually.

Highly Commended: Birkenstock at the Maltstore: Continuing the Story (MDS architects + designers)

International Design
Sponsored by Alseal

Tak Fa Regenerative Landscape Destination — Aukara Architecture and development

Situated within the flood-prone agricultural plains of Central Thailand, Tak Fa Café is a regenerative agricultural destination that transforms environmental challenges into opportunities through ecological restoration, integrated water management and sustainable land stewardship.

*Photography: Suphakorn Srisakul and Aukarapon Kaewwiset*

Highly Commended: Material Lab (Multitude of Sins)

Landscape & Urban
Sponsored by Weathertex

Twelve Apostles and Poombeeyt Koontapool Lookouts — Denton Corker Marshall

Guided by the concept ‘Stand Proudly, Tread Lightly’, the designs unite architecture, cultural storytelling and ecological responsibility. Developed in close collaboration with Traditional Owners, the structures embed Eastern Maar heritage at every level. Their forms and finishes reference moieties of the sulphur-crested and red-tailed black cockatoos, integral to Eastern Maar society. One platform evokes clapsticks; another recalls the breaching form of a Southern Right Whale.

12 apostles 2.jpg — *Photography: Neil Bourne, Therese Bourne, Simpson Construction C*

Highly Commended: Medlow Bath Station and Footbridge (DesignInc in collaboration with TZG Architects)

*Photography: Brett Boardman, Francesco Camillo and Arenco*

Multi Residential Dwelling
Sponsored by Nero x American Standard

Cowper Street Housing — JPW and GroupGSA as delivery architects

Initiated by Homes NSW with The King’s Trust Australia, the project replaced 19 ageing social housing dwellings in Glebe with 75 new social homes across two eight-storey apartment buildings and five three-bedroom terraces, providing housing for around 132 residents. It has increased housing supply on the site by almost 300 per cent while mediating between the fine-grain terrace character of Glebe, the masonry warehouse typologies of nearby Pyrmont and the mid-rise urban context surrounding Wentworth Park.

cowperstreet 2.png — *Photography: Alicia Taylor*

Highly Commended: Neighbourhood (Breathe Architecture)

Highly Commended: North Wright Compact Housing (Trella Architecture and Interiors)

north_wright_compact_housing_trellaarchitecture_inteirors_timshawphotography.jpg — *Photography: SLA + Tim Shaw*

Prefab & Modular
Sponsored by DECO

Sydney Fish Market — 3XN GXN Architects in association with BVN Architecture and Aspect Studios

The New Sydney Fish Market shows how prefabrication can shape architecture from the earliest stages of design, rather than simply improving how it is constructed. Delivered on one of Sydney's most constrained construction sites, the project integrates large-scale industrial infrastructure, public waterfront space and a complex timber roof into a coordinated system designed for manufacture, transport and assembly.

Fish market.jpg — *Photography: Rasmus Hjortshøj, Tom Roe, Martin Siegner*

Highly Commended: Uluru-Kata Tjuta Signature Walk — Off-Grid Eco Tourism Development (Troppo Architects and HIP V. HYPE)

Single Residential Dwelling
Sponsored by Billi

Pigeon Passive House — Carland Constructions

Pigeon Passive House is a double-storey, all-electric family home on a 195 sqm lot in Yarraville, on the site of the former Yarraville Racing Pigeon Homing Club. Building to three boundaries inside a heritage overlay on land that had never held a house, the project demolished a run-down shed from the site's pigeon club days and carried that history forward in the design, including a circular window that gives the gable street frontage a bird-box feel.

pidgeon passive house.jpg — *Photography: Dean Bradley*

Co-Winner — Ample House — Green Sheep Collective

Ample House demonstrates how adaptive reuse can deliver contemporary living standards while retaining the environmental, cultural and material value of an existing building.

ample house.jpg — *Photography: Martin Filo*

Highly Commended: Putty Passiv House (Anderson Architecture)

Sustainable Architectural Practice of the Year
Sponsored by Knauf

The Sociable Weaver

The Sociable Weaver Developments takes a whole-of-business approach to environmental performance, integrating carbon management, waste reduction, biodiversity restoration and regenerative land stewardship into the delivery of its developments and broader operations.

he_commons_brunswick_andrew_wuttke_sociable weaver.jpg — *Photography: Andrew Wuttke*

Sustainable Builder/Developer of the Year
Sponsored by Stoneset

Carland Constructions

Carland Constructions exists to build homes that are healthier, more comfortable and built to last a century, rather than simply meeting the minimum the code allows. The business has deliberately transformed from a standard builder into a certified Passive House specialist, making that shift central to its strategy.

CARLAND CONSTRUCTIONS.png — *Image: Supplied*

Editor's Choice
Sponsored by Eco Outdoor

Twelve Apostles and Poombeeyt Koontapool Lookouts — Denton Corker Marshall

12 apostles.jpg — *Photography: Neil Bourne, Therese Bourne, Simpson Construction C*

Best of the Best
Sponsored by Autex Acoustics

Cowper Street Housing — JPW and GroupGSA as delivery architects

cowper street.png — *Photography: Alicia Taylor*

Lifetime Achievement
Sponsored by AWS

Mahalath Halperin — Mahalath Halperin Architects

Mahalath Halperin is an award-winning Australian architect, environmental consultant and sustainability advocate whose career has been defined by a commitment to environmentally responsible, socially responsive and genuinely liveable architecture. Based in Armidale on Anēwan and Kamilaroi Country, she has led her own practice since the 1990s, developing a body of work that demonstrates how rigorous environmental thinking can be integrated into everyday architecture.

A Fellow of the Australian Institute of Architects and registered in NSW and Tasmania, Halperin's expertise extends beyond architecture to building performance, environmental assessment and carbon management. For more than three decades, she has championed holistic, climate-responsive design, particularly in regional Australia, with projects such as Bimble and her own residence, Drumkerin, exploring passive solar design, natural ventilation, thermal performance and sustainable materials.

Her influence extends beyond her built work through professional education, advocacy and community engagement. She has held numerous leadership and judging roles within the Australian Institute of Architects, championed regional practice and delivered sustainability workshops, house tours and lectures.

Her contribution has been widely recognised, including a 2018 National Sustainability Award and Life Fellowship of the Australian Institute of Architects in 2022. Today, Halperin remains an influential voice for sustainable architecture and regional practice.

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Branko Miletic

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