The celebrated projects in this year’s awards are, according to the jury chair, “optimistic, with bright outlooks onto the future.”
Yitpi Yartapuultiku (The Soul of Port Adelaide) by Ashley Halliday Architects together with the Yitpi Yartapuultiku Aboriginal Working Group and Wax Design.
The winners of the Australian Institute of Architects 2026 National Architecture Awards have been revealed at a ceremony held at the Queensland Museum in Brisbane.
Forty-four awards and commendations have been bestowed on the best projects across Australia, as well as overseas projects designed by Australian architects, from a pool of 62 shortlisted entries .
Three projects received multiple accolades. The most awards were won by Yitpi Yartapuultiku (The Soul of Port Adelaide) by Ashley Halliday Architects together with the Yitpi Yartapuultiku Aboriginal Working Group and Wax Design, which won the Sir Zelman Cowen Award for Public Architecture, the David Oppenheim Award for Sustainable Architecture and the Colorbond Award for Steel Architecture. Woods Bagot’s The Forest in Hobart also won a National Award for both Educational Architecture and Sustainable Architecture. Finally, The Ablutions at Wybalenna, by Taylor and Hinds Architects with the Aboriginal Land Council of Tasmania, received a National Award for Small Project Architecture, and together with The Homestead Renewal at Wybalenna, also received a Special Jury Prize.
Reflecting on the themes in this year’s awards , jury chair and immediate past president of the Australian Institute of Architects Adam Haddow said, “There was an energy of hope in the projects we saw this year, a sense of communities coming together to challenge assumptions. Architects responded to briefs and looked for more, amplifying the possible to deliver delight and joy – beyond what they were asked to do.
“The value of good architecture is projecting a sense of joy and delight. This year’s winning buildings are optimistic, with bright outlooks onto the future,” said Haddow.
Haddow was joined by Alice Hampson (AHA Alice Hampson Architect), Jeremy McLeod (Breathe Architecture), Isaac McCormack (GHD design), and Dr Helen Norrie (University of Tasmania) on the jury.
Yitpi Yartapuultiku (The Soul of Port Adelaide) – Ashley Halliday Architects together with the Yitpi Yartapuultiku Aboriginal Working Group and Wax Design
Central Station – Woods Bagot in collaboration with John McAslan and Partners
New Footscray Hospital – Cox Architecture and Billard Leece Partnership
Pier Pavilion – Besley and Spresser
Pier Pavilion by Besley and Spresser.
Green Square Public School and Community Spaces – BVN
ECU City – Lyons with Silver Thomas Hanley and Haworth Tompkins
Plant Futures Facility – M3 Architecture
Green Square Public School and Community Spaces by BVN.
205 North Quay – Hassell, REX, and Richards and Spence
New Sydney Fish Market – 3XN in association with BVN and Aspect Studios
65 Dover Street, Cremorne – Fieldwork
205 North Quay by Hassell, REX, and Richards and Spence.
Gugan Gulwan – Cox Architecture with CK Architecture Australia
Eric Street – Officer Woods Architects
Eric Street by Officer Woods Architects.
Palmerston Street House – Robert Simeoni Architects
Stuartholme House – Nielsen Jenkins with Michael Lumby
443 Queen Street – WOHA with Architectus and Kris Kowalski Architects
Merri Northcote – Six Degrees Architects
Adelaide Town Hall – Swanbury Penglase
Entertainment Hall White Bay – Dunn Hillam Architecture and Urban Design with Placemaking NSW
The Lands by Capella – Hassell in collaboration with Purcell Architecture
Adelaide Town Hall by Swanbury Penglase.
Yitpi Yartapuultiku (The Soul of Port Adelaide) – Ashley Halliday Architects together with the Yitpi Yartapuultiku Aboriginal Working Group and Wax Design
Yitpi Yartapuultiku (The Soul of Port Adelaide) by Ashley Halliday Architects together with the Yitpi Yartapuultiku Aboriginal Working Group and Wax Design.
Sydney Harbour Bridge Northern Access Cycleway – Collins and Turner with Aspect Studios, Eckersley O’Callaghan and Design 5 Architects
St Kilda Pier Redevelopment – Jackson Clements Burrows Architects with Site Office Landscape Architecture and AW Maritime
Sydney Harbour Bridge Northern Access Cycleway by Collins and Turner with Aspect Studios, Eckersley O’Callaghan and Design 5 Architects.
Santa Monica Vermont Apartments – Koning Eizenberg Architecture
TDX Ice Factory – NU Architecture and Design
Santa Monica Vermont Apartments by Koning Eizenberg Architecture.
Image: Eric Staudenmaier
St Thomas More Columbarium – Simon Pendal Architect
Magenta Outhouse – Atelier Marks Gaal
The Ablutions at Wybalenna – Taylor and Hinds Architects with the Aboriginal Land Council of Tasmania
St Thomas More Columbarium by Simon Pendal Architect.
Yitpi Yartapuultiku (The Soul of Port Adelaide) – Ashley Halliday Architects together with the Yitpi Yartapuultiku Aboriginal Working Group and Wax Design
Yitpi Yartapuultiku (The Soul of Port Adelaide) by Ashley Halliday Architects together with the Yitpi Yartapuultiku Aboriginal Working Group and Wax Design.
The Ablutions at Wybalenna and The Homestead Renewal at Wybalenna – Taylor and Hinds Architects with the Aboriginal Land Council of Tasmania
The Ablutions at Wybalenna and The Homestead Renewal at Wybalenna by Taylor and Hinds Architects with the Aboriginal Land Council of Tasmania.
The new plan aims to address housing concerns by identifying the support of “infrastructure, design quality, and more social and affordable [homes]” as key priorities.
The new terminal development is part of a larger multi-billion-dollar project aimed at merging flight services into “one central precinct.”
