2025 NSW Architecture Awards – Winners Unveiled

A celebration of innovation, sustainability and the power of place.

The very best in NSW architecture have been named in the Australian Institute of Architects’ 2025 NSW Architecture Awards. Revealed in a gala celebration at Sydney’s ILUMINA on Friday 20 June, the award winners offer a vivid snapshot of the ever-changing built environment across the state.

This year’s awarded projects speak to a profession stepping up to meet some of the biggest challenges facing our communities – climate resilience, housing equity, cultural recognition, and urban transformation – through work that is both imaginative and deeply grounded.

The 72 winners and commendations (listed below) were selected from a remarkable 284 entries. A comprehensive judging process determined the shortlisted entries and eventual winners. Chosen by a jury of industry experts from a shortlist of 137 projects, this year’s winners display a breadth of architectural thinking that reveals not just how we live today, but what our built environment could be tomorrow.

This year’s winning projects are united by a number of defining themes. Chief among them is a commitment to designing with care: care for Country; for communities; for heritage; and the environment. Examples of innovative adaptive reuse strategies prove that great design does not need to begin from scratch. New housing models explore how higher-density living can enhance, not diminish, quality of life. Sustainability considered from the very start of the design process places future resilience front and centre, not as a bonus but as a baseline. Another theme that emerged for the juries was the value of collaboration across disciplines and practices, with several awarded projects the result of partnerships that yielded richer, more complex outcomes.

Jury Chair of Chairs, Annabel Lahz LFRAIA, reflected on the breadth of this year’s awards program:

“The NSW Chapter’s Architecture Awards program recognises more than design excellence—it promotes public awareness, encourages best practice, and sets benchmarks for quality, sustainability, and social impact. With 284 entries across 13 categories, judged by 37 jurors through 137 site visits, the scale of the program reflects its significance,” said Lahz.

“Architecture today extends beyond buildings, encompassing diverse contexts and addressing complex social, environmental, and cultural challenges. This year’s awarded projects highlight the breadth of the profession and its positive impact on everyday life—from small-scale additions to major infrastructure, these works enrich the spaces we live, learn, work, and move through.”

NSW Chapter President, Elizabeth Carpenter FRAIA, stated that:

“This year’s NSW Architecture Awards highlight a profession not only responding to urgent challenges, but leading with integrity, innovation and care. The awarded projects are powerful reminders that architecture is both an art and a responsibility—one that connects communities, strengthens cultural understanding, and shapes more sustainable and inclusive futures. Congratulations to every entrant, finalist and winner—you are part of a collective effort to build something better,” said Carpenter

Each year, the NSW Architecture Awards juries includes a venerated panel of industry experts. Their commitment has helped ensure that the awarded projects truly represent the breadth and depth of architectural excellence in NSW.