Meet the RIBA International Awards for Excellence 2021 winners
We reveal winners from across the globe that scooped a gong at the RIBA International Awards for Excellence 2021

The Royal Institute of British Architects (RIBA) has just announced its winners for the 2021 RIBA International Awards for Excellence, and it is a rich and diverse list. From cultural destinations to infrastructure, healthcare designs and private homes, the winning list celebrates great building design in all its forms.
The awards are of the world’s key architectural recognitions, and the 16 winners were rigorously judged by a panel who visited every single building. This year, the winning designs are spread across 11 countries.
Winners of the RIBA International Awards for Excellence 2021 include:
- Expansion of the University Hospital of the Santa Fe de Bogotá Foundation, Colombia, by El Equipo Mazzanti/Giancarlo Mazzanti
- Artist’s Retreat at Pittugala, Sri Lanka, by Palinda Kannangara Architects
- Lianzhou Museum of Photography, China, by O-office Architects/Jianxiang He & Ying Jiang
- Alila Yangshuo hotel, China, by Vector Architects
- Amorepacific Headquarters, South Korea, by David Chipperfield Architects Berlin
- Friendship Hospital Satkhira, Bangladesh, by Kashef Chowdhury/Urbana
- James Simon Galerie, Germany, by David Chipperfield Architects Berlin
- Kohan Ceram Central Office Building, Iran, by Hooba Design Group
- Renovation of The Captain’s House, China, by Vector Architects
- The National Memorial For Peace And Justice, USA, by Mass Design Group
- The Polygon Gallery, Canada, by Patkau Architects
The Polygon Gallery, Canada, by Patkau Architects.
‘The 2021 RIBA International Awards for Excellence are presented to an ambitious and diverse range of projects from a wide range of established and upcoming architects’ practices. It is particularly important to be considering excellence in architecture at this time – in this fast-changing world, where governments, clients and society need the skills and insight of architects,' says RIBA president Alan Jones.
‘Our global awards show how well-considered, well-delivered and well-performing architecture has the immense potential to improve lives and communities. We are very pleased to be able to celebrate some of the most innovative, ingenious and impactful architecture in the world – designed by some of the most talented architects of our time.’
‘The RIBA International Awards for Excellence take place every two years and aim to ‘recognise the most significant and inspirational projects around the world’. The awards are judged by a panel of eminent personalities in the field, this year including Lu Wenyu of Amateur Architecture Studio, and Dorte Mandrup of Dorte Mandrup. The culmination of each cycle is the announcement of the coveted RIBA International Prize 2021, which will take place in November 2021.
Artist’s Retreat at Pittugala, Sri Lanka, by Palinda Kannangara Architects.
Lianzhou Museum of Photography, China, by O-office Architects/Jianxiang He and Ying Jiang.
Alila Yangshuo, China, by Vector Architects.
Amorepacific Headquarters, South Korea, by David Chipperfield Architects Berlin.
Friendship Hospital Satkhira, Bangladesh, by Kashef Chowdhury/Urbana.
James Simon Galerie, Germany, by David Chipperfield Architects Berlin.
Kohan Ceram Central Office Building, Iran, by Hooba Design Group.
Renovation of the Captain’s House, China, by Vector Architects.
The National Memorial For Peace And Justice, USA, by Mass Design Group
INFORMATION
Receive our daily digest of inspiration, escapism and design stories from around the world direct to your inbox.
Ellie Stathaki is the Architecture & Environment Director at Wallpaper*. She trained as an architect at the Aristotle University of Thessaloniki in Greece and studied architectural history at the Bartlett in London. Now an established journalist, she has been a member of the Wallpaper* team since 2006, visiting buildings across the globe and interviewing leading architects such as Tadao Ando and Rem Koolhaas. Ellie has also taken part in judging panels, moderated events, curated shows and contributed in books, such as The Contemporary House (Thames & Hudson, 2018), Glenn Sestig Architecture Diary (2020) and House London (2022).
-
Puiforcat brings something new to the table with a wooden cutlery set
Jasper Morrison's collection for Puiforcat features cherry wood cutlery finished with fuki-urushi lacquering, a first foray into wood for the silverware company
-
A clifftop Rethymno house tells a story, framing views as far as the Libyan Sea
This house in Rethymno on the Greek island of Crete, designed by architects Gkotsis Serafimidou, is rich in local and natural materials – an oasis at which to disconnect
-
Waldorf Astoria Maldives rolls out a rare Ferrari joyride for guests
Waldorf Astoria Maldives, in partnership with Hedley Studios, allows guests to test-drive a scaled-down, all-electric version of Ferrari’s 250 Testa Rossa
-
The 2025 Obel Award is scooped not by an architect or building, but by a movement
HouseEurope! has won the 2025 Obel Award; the non-profit organisation has been advocating for ecological and social transformation in the built environment
-
Kazuyo Sejima and Ryue Nishizawa on harmony, nature and their RIBA gong
The SANAA duo are celebrating their RIBA Royal Gold Medal 2025 in London today, and talked to us about self-reflection, the year ahead, and the need to create harmony in our environment
-
Liu Jiakun wins 2025 Pritzker Architecture Prize: explore the Chinese architect's work
Liu Jiakun, 2025 Pritzker Architecture Prize Laureate, is celebrated for his 'deep coherence', quality and transcendent architecture
-
Young Climate Prize 2025 winners: the creatives designing for a better tomorrow
The winners for the Young Climate Prize 2025 cycle by The World Around have been announced, crowning a new generation of changemakers; we go behind the scenes and reveal the process and winners
-
And the RIBA Royal Gold Medal 2025 goes to... SANAA!
The RIBA Royal Gold Medal 2025 winner is announced – Japanese studio SANAA scoops the prestigious architecture industry accolade
-
The RIBA House of the Year 2024 winner is a delightful work in progress
The winner of the RIBA House of the Year 2024 is Six Columns in south London – the home of architect and 31/44 studio co-founder William Burges
-
RIBA International Prize 2024 goes to 'radical housing' in Barcelona
RIBA International Prize 2024 has been announced, and the winner is Modulus Matrix: 85 Social Housing in Cornellà, designed by Peris + Toral Arquitectes in Barcelona
-
Meet the 2024 Royal Academy Dorfman Prize winner: Livyj Bereh from Ukraine
The 2024 Royal Academy Dorfman Prize winner has been crowned: congratulations to architecture collective Livyj Bereh from Ukraine, praised for its rebuilding efforts during the ongoing war in the country