Anticipation about who will snap a coveted spot among the country’s best architecture of the year has been building, ever since the RIBA announced its regional awards during the spring. Now, the wait is over, as the major architectural institution has just revealed its 2018 National Award winners – a 49-strong list of worthy winners.
The list always comprises a wide range of typologies and scales, as the RIBA awards – with the exception of specific categories, such as the House of the Year – cast the net far and wide across the nation’s newest architectural gems. The result? A series of winners that appear as extensive as possible, ranging from the tiny sculptural Bethnal Green Memorial, which commemorates the 173 people who died in the Bethnal Green tube disaster of 1943, to large-scale cultural landmarks such as the Tate St Ives, or skyscrapers like the Leadenhall Building in the City of London.
Even so, common threads start to appear across the winning designs. It is a welcome trend that several were created for the direct benefit of local communities, operating with more than a single function – for example, Chester’s Storyhouse, a library-by-day and theatre-by-night. Housing – always a contentious topic in the capital and across the country – also features quite prominently, as does heritage, spanning from reuse and regeneration to the sensitive use of materials.
‘For over 50 years the RIBA Awards have celebrated the best new buildings, large or small; shining a light on trends in the construction industry, and illustrating why the UK’s architects and architecture have an enviable global reputation,’ says RIBA president Ben Derbyshire.
The next step? The announcement of the 2018 RIBA Stirling Prize shortlist of course; which will take place on the 19 July, with the big winner finally crowned this autumn.
53 Great Suffolk by Hawkins\Brown in London.
15 Clerkenwell Close by Groupwork + Amin Taha Architects in London.
25 Savile Row by Piercy&Company in London.
Albert Works by Cartwright Pickard Architects in Yorkshire.
Bethnal Green Memorial by Arboreal Architecture in London.
Bloomberg London by Foster + Partners.
Bushey Cemetery by Waugh Thistleton Architects in the East chapter.
Caroline Place by Amin Taha + Groupwork in London.
Chadwick Hall by Henley Halebrown in London.
City Of London Freemen’s School, Swimming Pool by Hawkins\Brown in the South East.
Gasholders London by WilkinsonEyre with Jonathan Tuckey Design in London.
Kings Crescent Estate Phases 1 and 2 by Karakusevic Carson Architects with Henley Halebrow in London.
Knox Bhavan Studio by Knox Bhavan Architects in London.
Liverpool’s Royal Court by Allford Hall Monaghan Morris.
Lochside House by Haysom Ward Miller Architects in the North West.
Maggie’s Oldham by rRMM in Manchester.
New Tate St Ives by Jamie Fobert Architects with Evans & Shalev.
Nucleus, The Nuclear Decommissioning Authority and Caithness Archive by Reiach And Hall Architects.
Old Shed New House by Tonkin Liu.
R7 Kings Cross by Duggan Morris Architects with Weedon Architects in London.
Royal Academy Of Music – The Angela Burgess Recital Hall and The Susie Sainsbury Theatre by Ian Ritchie Architects Limited in London.
Royal Albert Wharf Phase 1 by Maccreanor Lavington Ltd. in London.
Shaftesbury Theatre by Bennetts Associates in London.
Sibson Building by Penoyre & Prasad in the South East.
St Augustine’s Church by Roz Barr Architects in London.
St David’s Hospice, New In Patient Unit by KKE Architects
Storey’s Field Community Centre and Nursery by MUMA, Cambridge.
Storyhouse by Bennetts Associates with Ellis Williams in the North West.
The Department Store by Squire and Partners in London.
The Leadenhall Build by Rogers Stirk Harbour + Partners in London.
The Sultan Nazrin Shah Centre by Niall McLaughlin Architects in Cambridge.
University Of Birmingham Indoor Sports Centre by Lifschutz Davidson Sandilands.
University Of Roehampton Library by Feilden Clegg Bradley Studios LLP in London.
Victoria and Albert Museum Exhibition Road Quarter by AL_A in London.
West Court Jesus Collge by Niall McLaughlin Architects in Cambridge.
Weston Street by Allford Hall Monaghan Morris in London.
INFORMATION
-
In the frame: Layer is a new high-tech platform for displaying unique pieces of generative artA museum-grade canvas renders digital art with spectacular precision, cutting-edge tech and exacting industrial design
-
Chrome tableware to make your dining setup shineOnce a hallmark of industrial and midcentury design, chrome is shining once again. The latest expression? Metallic dinner-, drink- and serveware that embody sophistication
-
Serenity radiates through this Mexican home, set between two ravinesOn the cusp of a lakeside town, Mexican home Casa el Espino is a single-storey residence by Soler Orozco Arquitectos (SOA)
-
Meet Forefront, a cultural platform redefining the relationship between art and architectureForefront co-founder Dicle Guntas, managing director of developer HGG, tells us about the exciting new initiative and its debut exhibition, a show of lumino-kinetic sculptures in London
-
Corten curves and contemporary flair transform this terraced house in LondonCagni Williams Associates’ sensitive refurbishment of a south London Edwardian house features a striking and sustainable Corten steel extension
-
You may know it as ‘Dirty House’ – now, The Rogue Room brings 21st-century wellness to ShoreditchThe Rogue Room – set in the building formerly known as Dirty House by Sir David Adjaye, now reinvented by Studioshaw – bridges wellness and culture in London's Shoreditch
-
The architectural innovation hidden in plain sight at Frieze London 2025The 2025 Frieze entrance pavilions launch this week alongside the art fair, showcasing a brand-new, modular building system set to shake up the architecture of large-scale events
-
RIBA Stirling Prize 2025 winner is ‘a radical reimagining of later living’Appleby Blue Almshouse wins the RIBA Stirling Prize 2025, crowning the social housing complex for over-65s by Witherford Watson Mann Architects, the best building of the year
-
‘Belonging’ – the LFA 2026 theme is revealed, exploring how places can become personalThe idea of belonging and what it means in today’s world will be central at the London Festival of Architecture’s explorations, as the event’s 2026 theme has been announced today
-
Join us on a first look inside Regent’s View, the revamped canalside gasholder project in LondonRegent's View, the RSHP-designed development for St William, situated on a former gasholder site on a canal in east London, has just completed its first phase
-
The Royal College of Art has announced plans for renewal of its Kensington campusThe Royal College of Art project, led by Witherford Watson Mann Architects, includes the revitalisation of the Darwin Building and more, in the hopes of establishing an open and future-facing place of creativity
