Stirling Prize shortlist marks thirty years of the award

Six buildings are in the running for the 2026 RIBA Stirling Prize, the UK's most prestigious architecture award, which celebrates its 30th year and will be decided in just over two weeks.

The winner will be announced live at Old Billingsgate in London on 15 October.

The shortlisted architects

The shortlisted practices are Sergison Bates; Bennetts Associates; Mary Duggan Architects with RUFF Architects; Renzo Piano Building Workshop with Adamson Associates; Haworth Tompkins; and Witherford Watson Mann Architects.

The buildings cover a wide range of types: a new public square above one of London's busiest transport interchanges, the reuse of a 1970s theatre as a cultural venue, a high-density housing development, two projects for Cambridge colleges and a family home on the edge of Epping Forest.

Familiar names

Witherford Watson Mann won last year's prize for the Appleby Blue Almshouse in Southwark, south London, and is back in contention with a new wing for the Grade I listed Clare College in Cambridge.

This is the second time Renzo Piano Building Workshop has been shortlisted. Its first appearance was with The Shard, which lost out on the award in 2014.

All in England

As in previous years, all six shortlisted buildings are in England. Two are in London, two in Cambridge, one in Essex and one in Hertfordshire.

About the prize

The Royal Institute of British Architects has awarded the Stirling Prize since 1996. It is named after the architect James Stirling and goes to the building judged to have made the greatest contribution to the evolution of architecture in the past year. Past winners range from art galleries and schools to housing and transport projects.

For architecture fans, the announcement on 15 October is one of the highlights of the year, and the shortlisted buildings are open to visit or to see from the street in most cases.