RIBA unveils shortlist for 2026 Stirling Prize

What RIBA said about the six shortlisted schemes

A house at Fairmead, High Beach, Epping Forest by Sergison Bates

A restrained rural home

Set on the edge of Epping Forest, this family home responds sensitively to its rural setting through restrained material choice and a dignified design sensibility. Varied brickwork and windows of differing shapes and sizes appear to dance across the facade, giving the building an expressive form. Considered construction techniques, including insulating clay blocks finished with lime plaster, allow the structure to both release heat gradually – regulating temperature – and reduce noise. Inside, the house is organised around a dramatic 4.5m high living room bathed in natural light, while conventional corridors are replaced with deep openings in thick walls to link each room, creating a sequence of distinct yet interconnected spaces.  The architecture is at once domestic, playing a generous and sociable host to the rituals of everyday life yet capable of imagining the milestones that give shape to a year.

BEAM, Hertfordshire, by Bennetts Associates 

A rejuvenated community hub 

Located on the banks of the River Lea, this new multi-functional arts venue is an exemplar of intelligent and imaginative civic reuse. Instead of demolishing the ageing 1970s Hertford Theatre, the council-led project retains the original structure, wrapping it in a new striking hexagonal brick form that houses a cinema and events space. Extensive use of cross-laminated timber, an all-electric energy supply and crucially the retention of the original building, establishes BEAM as a compelling model for retrofit.   The design carefully and skilfully creates an animated building form that sits comfortably within the historic townscape and yet at the same time signals BEAM’s important civic role. The new form seems to anticipate the drama, materiality and energy of the fine new and rediscovered interiors.

Lion Green Road  by Mary Duggan Architects (design) with RUFF Architects (delivery)

Generous high-density suburban housing 

Providing an equal mix of affordable and private housing, Lion Green Road offers 157 dwellings, clustered into five prismatic 13-sided blocks that quietly traverse the green hillside of Coulsdon. A landscape-first approach softens the scheme’s underlying density, with winding paths and generous planting weaving between and connecting together the blocks. Shared communal outdoor areas, from play spaces to quiet seating areas, foster a sense of community. Inside, generous, dual-aspect homes maximise daylight and natural ventilation for residents. The plans both at a site and at an individual flat floor plan levels reveal a skilful resolution of complex geometries. The design offers an innovative and imaginative approach to high density suburban housing.  

Paddington Square by Renzo Piano Building Workshop (Paris) in collaboration with Adamson Associates (London)

Transformative piece of urban infrastructure 

A long-standing disconnected site has been reimagined with public realm at its heart, creating a welcoming destination for one of London’s busiest transport interchanges. A generous new public square creates space to pause, meet and gather, while step-free routes and intuitive connections make journeys easier and more inclusive for millions of people. Above ground, the building’s glass facade acts as a “delicate veil”, shifting between reflective and transparent qualities to give the substantial structure an unexpectedly ethereal presence. 

Pembroke, Mill Lane by Haworth Tompkins

Sensitive transformation of a Cambridge college 

The most significant expansion of Pembroke College since the fourteenth century, this sensitive project carefully weaves together new and existing buildings within Cambridge’s Historic Core Conservation Area. Six existing buildings have been carefully retrofitted, benefiting from upgraded insulation, improved glazing and enhanced thermal performance, while the six new building employ passive design measures, including triple glazing, exposed thermal mass and photovoltaic panels to reduce energy consumption.  Open-air timber-framed walkways and biodiverse gardens stitch together the old and new sites, helping open up the college to the public and resulting in a campus that balances heritage, sustainability and requirements for modern use. The success of the project lies in the great skill and care taken to navigate the demands of the sensitive historic context with a mind set on the future. There is a sense both of continuity and the contemporary, each are comfortable in the other’s presence.

River Wing, Clare College by Witherford Watson Mann Architects

A welcoming new college wing 

A new wing for the Grade I-listed Clare College in Cambridge, sensitively transforms a series of underused and undervalued spaces into a warm, informal setting. Constrained site access, highly protected heritage buildings and site with flood and drainage risks have been skilfully navigated to create a beautifully judged dining space for students and staff. Impeccable detailing and a restrained palette of oak, for structure and wall panelling, sit on Purbeck stone floors complementing the building’s existing brick walls. There is an obvious respect for the surrounding college buildings. As they unfold towards the river, the new interiors are of rare poetic quality. This work is contemporary in reality yet ancient in its sensibility, a remarkable illustration of the architects art.