Our very own Matthew Edis from SCS will be judging this years 2026 RIBA Awards.
RIBA’s awards and prizes are an international mark of excellence, recognising the best architecture, architects, research, and students.
Judging process*
The awards and prizes are the most rigorously judged awards for architectural excellence. No award or prize is given unless the project has been visited by at least one jury.
All RIBA Awards are judged by award-winning architects and relevant lay assessors. Before any visits are made, every judge will read and digest the criteria and study all the submitted materials. They will then visit an agreed shortlist of projects, looking in detail at all aspects, interior and exterior; listen to the story that both architect and client have to tell, and ask them about the process and its results.
After discussion with fellow judges, they will arrive at their provisional decisions. Once all visits have concluded, the jury will meet for a final time to decide the awards.
Judging criteria*
RIBA Awards celebrate the discipline of architecture, a discipline that touches and supports so many aspects of our daily lives. An award-winning project is one which balances ideas of beauty and culture, history and context with societal concerns for inclusivity and diversity, ecology and sustainability, all bound together in a memorable and emotional spatial experience.
In judging projects for awards, juries will assess them against the following ten criteria. Differences in project complexity, scale, budget and procurement method are acknowledged, and will be taken into account in the judging process.
- Is it skillfully composed, in plan, section and elevation? Does it possess exceptional qualities of form, scale, space, light and material?
- Does it show ambition, whether in its understanding of cultural continuity or its pursuit of invention? Does it respond to and support its context?
- How does the project meet or exceed the client’s brief and aspirations? Does it make a wider contribution to society?
- Does its form and construction reflect its required design life? Is it robust, flexible and adaptable? Is it carefully detailed and well made?
- Does it use appropriate construction materials and environmental technologies?
- Has it made good use of any existing structures on its site, either through the retention and reuse of fabric or the recycling of materials?
- Has the project taken effective steps to minimise its resource use, and does it contribute positively to biodiversity both on and off-site?
- Is it sympathetic and imaginative in its treatment of listed structures and in its response to historic contexts?
- Does the project meet the highest standards for inclusive accessibility?
- Does the project respond generously to the external environment? Does it enhance or create new public space and green infrastructure?
*Taken from the RIBA
