The AJ Architecture Awards 2025 has announced its winners, celebrating the finest architectural achievements across the United Kingdom. This year's honored projects span diverse categories from Cultural and Housing to Leisure and Workplace developments, featuring everything from innovative office roof extensions to the country's largest indoor arena and modern ferry terminals.
A total of 120 projects were shortlisted across 19 categories for the eighth annual AJ Architecture Awards, which serves as the premier showcase for the UK's best built projects. All winning projects were completed between January 2024 and July 2025. The judging process was particularly rigorous, with expert panels visiting every single shortlisted project in person, traveling countless miles and engaging in extensive deliberations.
The awards include three prestigious discretionary prizes selected by the AJ editorial team. The Architect of the Year award went to RCKa for their exceptional commitment to people-centered design and social purpose. The Design of the Year recognition was given to Bethnal Green Office by Carmody Groarke, praised for its imaginative transformation of a 1970s former textile workshop. The Editor's Choice award was presented to Thomas-McBrien Architects for New Wave House, noted for its thoughtful retrofit approach. Additionally, the prestigious Manser Medal for AJ House of the Year was awarded to Takero Shimazaki's Niwa House, described as a lightweight, pavilion-like structure.
The judging panel included distinguished professionals such as Eleanor Fawcett from Old Oak and Park Royal Development Corporation, Alpa Delpani, head of strategic planning and design at London Borough of Waltham Forest, Robin Nicholson from Cullinan Studio, and strategist Daisy Froud. The judges evaluated projects based on multiple criteria including outstanding design, how well each project met or exceeded its brief, community engagement efforts, spatial excellence, and sustainability measures.
While the September shortlist featured projects from across the UK, this year's winners are predominantly London-based schemes. This concentration highlights the capital's continued architectural innovation, though the AJ remains committed to celebrating architectural excellence nationwide and looks forward to receiving more submissions from outer-London areas in future competitions.
In the Community and Faith category, RCKa Architects won for their Highgate Newtown Community Redevelopment project. This remarkable transformation of a former 1970s Territorial Army Drill Hall site within Camden's Dartmouth Park Conservation Area impressed judges with its comprehensive community approach. The project includes a new community center, children and youth service facilities, a multi-use sports hall, hairdressing salon, laundromat, and cookery school, along with 41 affordable homes specifically designated for refugees. Originally planned to include some private sale units for funding, Camden secured central government funding to make all residential units affordable.
The development features a central public space with new pedestrian routes that physically and socially integrate the site into its neighborhood. The design team overcame significant challenges including contaminated land, existing sewer infrastructure, ancient rights of way, and new substation requirements. Judges particularly praised the extensive community consultation process, which involved 178 stakeholder groups in a co-design process spanning over a dozen workshops. The project cost £19 million, covers 5,447 square meters, and was completed in December 2024.
The Cultural category winner was The National Gallery's Roden Centre for Creative Learning by Lawson Ward Studio with Purcell. This innovative educational space features open-plan learning areas across three stories, connected through strategic use of color and texture. A distinctive yellow gallery wall displays sculptural architectural elements and models designed to encourage sensory learning and investigation. The space includes a bright art studio for hands-on learning, tiered seating leading to a mezzanine with built-in reading nooks, and flexible social spaces for meals and school activities.
Judges were impressed by how the constrained 900-square-meter space was creatively remodeled to engage children of all ages without resorting to overly childish design elements. They noted the mature response to operational challenges including access, security, and proximity to valuable artworks. The project, completed in February 2025, serves as both classroom extension and playground for inner-city students who often lack adequate space for educational experimentation.
The Health and Wellbeing category was won by The Portico by ADP Architecture, a GP surgery in London's Hackney that demonstrates innovative public sector achievement. The £8.8 million project creatively combines the Grade II-listed former London Orphan Asylum from 1823, the 2006 Portico City Learning Centre extension that faced demolition, and new construction into a coherent healthcare facility with surrounding gardens. The restoration removed the historic building from the Heritage at Risk Register while creating accessible routes through its colonnades.
The integrated design allows doctors to prescribe gardening activities, with patients able to join on-site gardening groups. Judges praised how the retrofitting approach achieved the lowest embodied carbon impact despite creating some design challenges. The 1,692-square-meter facility was completed in May 2024 and serves as a healing environment that embraces the local community while respecting the borough's historical significance.
Other notable winners include Saltdean Lido by R H Partnership Architects in the Heritage category. This restoration project in Brighton transformed the Grade II-listed 1938 Streamline Moderne style building designed by RWH Jones, demonstrating heritage's power to regenerate and create community value. The comprehensive restoration preserved the building's distinctive architectural character while updating it for modern use.
