We have been keenly following developments on the RIBA International Prize ever since its inaugural edition was launched in 2016. Spanning continents, building styles and typologies, this is the ultimate architectural recognition for design excellence across the globe – and Wallpaper* is partnering with the RIBA to follow the process and champion the worthy candidates once more.
The long list of nominees has just been announced, and it’s one that is varied, as it is rich. The prestigious award will explore buildings such as ‘a tranquil chapel wrapped within a forest canopy (the Sayama Forest Chapel in Japan) to the bold reimagining of a grain factory into a new contemporary art museum (Heatherwick Studio’s Zeitz MOCAA in Africa)’, explain the organisers.
There’s houses, such as the Cabbage Tree House by Peter Stutchbury in Australia; large-scale public works, such as King Fahad National Library in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia by Gerber Architects; and commercial buildings, such as the BBVA Bancomer Tower in Mexico City, designed as a collaboration between Rogers Stirk Harbour + Partners and Legorreta + Legorreta. The impressive list includes 62 masterpieces from almost 30 countries.
The award’s Grand Jury is headed this year by Elizabeth Diller, of New York-based Diller Scofidio + Renfro. The panel – also including Joshua Bolchover, co-founder of Rural Urban Frameworks and winner of the 2016 RIBA International Emerging Architect, and lay juror Wayne McGregor CBE – will now study carefully the candidates to create a shortlist, from which they will select the worthy winner late next year. The results of the RIBA International Prize will be announced in December 2018. We can’t wait.
The Beyazit State Library by Tabanlioglu Architects in Istanbul.
Cabbage Tree House by Peter Stutchbury Architecture in Bayview, Australia.
Central European University by O'Donnell + Tuomey in Budapest, Hungary.
Factory in the Forest in Penang, by architects: Design Unit Sdn Bhd with Chin Kuen Cheng Architect, engineers: Web Structures and Design Unit.
King Fahad National Library by Gerber Architekten, in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.
Budapest's Metro Line 4 by Palatium Studio Ltd., with Budapesti Építőművészeti Műhely Ltd., Gelesz és Lenzsér Építészeti Ltd., Puhl és Dajka Építész Iroda Ltd., sporaarchitects Ltd., VPI Építész Studio Ltd., Palatium M4 Projekt Ltd.
The Mulan Weichang Visitor Centre
by HDD, in China.
The ROGIC -ROKI Global Innovation Centre in Japan, by Tetsuo Kobori Architects.
The Sancaklar Mosque in Istanbul, by EAA-Emre
Arolat Architecture.
Structures of Landscape in Montana, USA by ENSAMBLE STUDIO.
Vertical Forest housing in Milan by Boeri Studio with Studio Emanuela Borio and Laura Gatti.
Zeitz Museum of Contemporary Art Africa by Heatherwick Studio with Van Der Merwe Miszewski Architects (VDMAA), Rick Brown Associates, Jacobs Parker, in Cape Town.
INFORMATION
For more information visit the RIBA website
-
Out of office: The Wallpaper* editors’ picks of the weekFrom sumo wrestling to Singaporean fare, medieval manuscripts to magnetic exhibitions, the Wallpaper* team have traversed the length and breadth of culture in the British capital this week
-
Doshi Retreat at the Vitra Campus is both a ‘first’ and a ‘last’ for the great Balkrishna DoshiDoshi Retreat opens at the Vitra campus, honouring the Indian modernist’s enduring legacy and joining the Swiss design company’s existing, fascinating collection of pavilions, displays and gardens
-
Issey Miyake’s shape-shifting A/W 2025 collection transforms the paper bag into something you can wear‘Can anything be considered a garment, as long as it’s on the body?’ says creative director Satoshi Kondo of the art-infused collection, which sees the everyday reimagined
-
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
-
Power Hall’s glow-up shines light on science and innovation in ManchesterPower Hall at The Science and Industry Museum in Manchester was given a spruce-up by Carmody Groarke, showcasing the past and future of machines, engineering and sustainable architecture
-
Celebrate the angular joys of 'Brutal Scotland', a new book from Simon Phipps'Brutal Scotland' chronicles one country’s relationship with concrete; is brutalism an architectural bogeyman or a monument to a lost era of aspirational community design?
