The Royal Institute of British Architects (RIBA) has announced the six buildings in the running for the 2025 RIBA Stirling Prize, considered “the UK’s most prestigious architecture award.”
Similar to recent shortlists, which have seen the majorities of the standard six finalists located in London, four of this year's six shortlisted projects are located in the English capital, while the other two projects are elsewhere in England: Cambridge and Hastings.
With scales and typologies more diverse than geographies, this year's shortlisted projects nevertheless “demonstrate architecture’s unique ability to address some of the most urgent challenges of our time,” according to newly sworn-in RIBA President Chris Williamson in a statement, “responding with creativity, adaptability and care.”
At one end of the spectrum are a social housing project and two small residential projects, while at the other end are a vertical college campus, a biomedical research hub, and the preservation of a UK icon. With such a wide-ranging selection of projects—The Times calls it “Big Ben vs small house”—the jury* has its work cut out for it.
Here is the list, in alphabetical order by name:
- Appleby Blue Almshouse by Witherford Watson Mann Architects
- The Discovery Centre (DISC) by Herzog and de Meuron / BDP
- Elizabeth Tower by Purcell
- Hastings House by Hugh Strange Architects
- London College of Fashion by Allies and Morrison
- Niwa House by Takero Shimazaki Architects
Photos of the shortlisted projects follow, with brief descriptions courtesy of RIBA. The winner of the 2025 RIBA Stirling Prize will be announced during the Stirling Prize ceremony taking place at the Roundhouse in London on October 16, 2025.
“Replacing an abandoned care home, Appleby Blue radically reimagines the traditional almshouse to foster community and reduce isolation among residents. The layout flips a centuries-old typology, placing communal spaces at its heart to encourage interaction, while bay windows at street level connect residents to the outside world. Thoughtful details, such as the timber-clad interior, discreet accessibility features and terracotta paved hallways bursting with benches and planters, aim to deinstitutionalize the typical model of older people’s housing. The result is a new standard for inclusive social housing in later life.”
“AstraZeneca’s Discovery Centre radically redefines the research facility, blending cutting-edge laboratories with welcoming public spaces. The surprisingly low-rise, sawtooth-roofed building adopts a curved triangular plan, forming an inviting interface for Cambridge’s Biomedical Cluster. At its heart, a publicly accessible courtyard echoes the city's iconic college quadrangles, one of the buildings many tributes to Cambridge’s heritage. Inside, 16 glass-lined laboratories are connected by clever interconnecting corridors that balance stringent security with transparency, putting science on display. Flexible lab stations and open-plan layouts foster innovation in a bold new prototype for research facilities.”
“Housing the symbolic ‘Big Ben’ bell—the timepiece of the nation—the most comprehensive restoration of Elizabeth Tower in 160 years is a conservation masterpiece. Traditional materials and bespoke craftspeople were sourced from across the UK to honor the tower’s original design, rectifying previous restoration missteps and repairing newly uncovered damage from the Second World War. Careful details, such as reinstating the Victorian color scheme on the clock faces and reintroducing the St George’s Cross, return the tower to its former glory. Subtle improvements to accessibility, including a new visitor lift, have also opened up the monument to a broader audience for the first time.”
“Instead of demolishing an aging hillside home, Hastings House reuses and celebrates the existing structure and materials to create a house of contrasts. A restrained, updated Victorian front gives way to a modern, timber framed rear, while a rough concrete courtyard celebrates its industrial character. A series of stitched extensions step up the hillside, blending inside and outside to cleverly create light-filled, open spaces. The result goes beyond a house extension, transforming the entire home and producing a lesson in restrained, inventive reuse.”
“Located in the cultural heart of the Queen Elizabeth Park in Stratford, the new home for the London College of Fashion brings together its 6,000 staff and students for the first time. A constrained site prompted a vertical campus rising to 17 stories, with dramatic staircases unfurling through a shared ‘heart space’ to encourage collaboration. A restrained palette of materials allows the building to act as a canvas for its occupants, while long sightlines and flexible workspaces promote adaptability. Subtle nods to the area’s industrial history create the feeling of a thriving ‘factory for fashion.’”
“Meaning ‘Garden Home’ in Japanese, Niwa House is a pavilion-like oasis built on a previously derelict South London plot. Sprawling across and downwards to navigate planning constraints, this ‘horizontal home’ is a masterclass in craftsmanship and restraint. Subtle interventions, such as a flowing open-plan layout and integrated accessibility features create a seamless experience for its wheelchair-user resident while future-proofing it for later life, demonstrating how inclusive design can be functional yet elegant. A hybrid timber and stone structure, paired with floor to ceiling windows, bathe each room in light, while a courtyard garden rising through both floors underlines the serene sense of escapism.”
*The 2025 RIBA Stirling Prize Jury:
- Ingrid Schroder (Chair), Director of The Architectural Association (AA) School of Architecture
- Anna Lisa McSweeny, UK Network Lead, Built by Nature (Sustainability Expert)
- Simon Gillis, Technical director at Autodesk
- Victoria Tang-Owen (Lay Assessor), Creative Director, Designer, Consultant and Brand Collaborator
- Neill McClements, Director, Grimshaw (and winner of RIBA Stirling Prize 2024)
- Chris Williamson, RIBA President