In search of architectural projects that embody transformation and innovation across the world, the Royal Institute of British Architects (RIBA) has revealed 22 winners of the RIBA International Awards for Excellence 2024. The architecture awards strive to celebrate and platform meritorious intervention in the expansive sphere of architecture; the 22 projects brought to light represent a cultural shift in the domain—a deviation that imminently impacts the built environments of current and future generations. The repository of projects encompasses diverse typologies, from private residences and subway stations to museums and school designs, all responding to their respective social, cultural and environmental challenges.

The 22 winners are all in the running for the fourth RIBA International Prize, to be announced in November 2024, alongside the winner of the RIBA International Emerging Architect Prize. “Supporting and working with architects and practices around the globe to promote excellence in architecture is central to RIBA’s purpose. Now in its fourth iteration as an established part of the RIBA Awards calendar, the International Awards recognise and celebrate ambitious and impactful buildings across the world that create meaningful change. It is a privilege for us to reward this collection of the world’s most exceptional buildings,” says RIBA President Muyiwa Oki.

Established in 2015, the RIBA International Prize has evolved as an immensely respected accolade. Through the years, the bi-annual prize has acknowledged buildings that are fuelled by visionary approaches and originality and, most importantly, contribute actively to their users, contexts and communities. The entries are meticulously judged by a group of international experts, with each project visited and closely examined by them. Size, typology, budget or geography: there are no limitations when it comes to the architecture awards; any registered architect in the world can be recognised for disruptive thinking and ingenuity. Talking about the 22 winners of RIBA International Awards for Excellence 2024, Simon Henley, Chair of the RIBA Awards Group, shares, “Each of these projects makes an exceptional contribution to its local area and demonstrates a stimulating architectural response to RIBA’s stringent social, environmental and design values. On behalf of the RIBA Awards Group, I am delighted to award and celebrate these exceptional buildings, their architects and clients across the world.”

A key theme that comes to the fore in the repertoire of winning projects is climate resilience and an effective relationship with nature. In the Bundanon Art Museum and Bridge in Australia, by Kerstin Thompson Architects, a bridge encapsulating a creative learning centre is perched above a wet gully—a framework resilient to seasonal flooding. The Green Field Factory in Bangladesh, by Nakshabid Architects, prioritises the close ties between humans and nature through sight, sound and comfort, while also supporting the building’s surrounding ecosystem. Another project that epitomises a sustainable approach through a vernacular lens is Liknon in Greece by K-Studio. The small museum design and vineyard celebrate the ancient vineyard shelter and the terraced hillside’s natural landscape by allowing the volume to blend in with the sloping topography.

Examples of reinvention and adaptive reuse of existing architecture also partake in the winning projects. Morland Mixité Capitale in France by David Chipperfield Architects Berlin and CALQ is a culmination of an introverted building complex being morphed into an accessible urban campus. Similarly, the ARCity Office undertakes Six Bricolage-houses in China—renovating six houses and inserting mini public spaces into them to devise a new typology of ‘bricolage architecture.’ Caruso St John Architects reimagined an industrial building originally conceived for storage as a mixed-use public asset with Veemgebouw in The Netherlands.

The significance of spaces that foster wellness, mindfulness and a sense of community in the contemporary world is insurmountable, especially with isolation becoming a common phenomenon. RIBA’s selection of projects reflects this crucial discourse. The Punchbowl Mosque in Australia, by Angelo Candalepas and Associates, nudges the entire city to make use of its unique public interior as a place for meetings. In India, the Sharanam Centre for Rural Development by Jateen Lad constructs a sanctuary of security and well-being for the rural poor. To establish social harmony amongst all religions and groups, Sthapotik designed the Shah Muhammad Mohsin Khan Mausoleum in Bangladesh—a cumulation of communal spaces that invite empathy and understanding. The 22 award-winning projects traverse 14 countries and each has been visited in person by a local ambassador appointed by RIBA.

As an international organisation of immense repute and often at the forefront of global architectural discussions, RIBA has been committed to promoting and recognising architectural interventions that are innovative, build stronger communities and safeguard the environment. These tenets can be the touchstone of any project, irrespective of its label or the category it belongs to. Subsequently, the announced winners are multifarious in every aspect—aligned in ethos, yet distinct in their design semantics.

The 22 winners of the RIBA International Awards for Excellence 2024 include:

• Adega Pico Winder & Hotel by DRDH Architects and Sami Arquitectos (Bandeiras, Portugal)
• Ahmedabad University Centre by Stephane Paumier Architects (Ahmedabad, India)
• Bioclimatic School in Guécélard by Atelier Julien Boidot (Guécélard, France)
• Bundanon Art Museum & Bridge by Kerstin Thompson Architects (Illaroo, Australia)
• Casa Catarina by Taller Hector Barraso (Valle de Braco, Mexico)
• Collège Hampaté Bá by Article 25 (Niamey, Niger)
• Engineering Laboratories | Pontificia Universidad Javeriana by Juan Pablo Ortiz Arquitectos TALLER Architects (Bogotá, Colombia)
• Green Field Factory of Karupannya Rangpur Limited by Nakshabid Architects (Rangpur, Bangladesh)
• Jacoby Studios by David Chipperfield Architects Berlin (Paderborn, Germany)
• Jadgal Elementary School by DAAZ Office (Sistan and Baluchestan, Iran)
• Jahad Metro Plaza by KA architecture Studio (Tehran, Iran)
• Jingdezhen Pengjia Alley Compound by Beijing AN-DESIGN Architects (Jingdezhen City, China)
• Liknon by K-Studio (Vourliotes, Greece)
• Modulus Matrix – 85 Social Housing in Cornellà by Peris+Toral Arquitectes (Cornellà, Spain)
• Morland Mixité Capitale by David Chipperfield Architects Berlin and CALQ (Paris, France)
• Neue Nationalgalerie refurbishment by David Chipperfield Architects Berlin (Berlin, Germany)
• Punchbowl Mosque by Angelo Candalepas and Associates (Sydney, Australia)
• Shah Muhammad Mohsin Khan Mausoleum by Sthapotik (Manikgonj, Bangladesh)
• Sharanam Centre for Rural Development by Jateen Lad (near Pondicherry, India)
• Six Bricolage-houses by ARCity Office (Shenzhen City, China)
• Thapar University Learning Laboratory by McCullough Mulvin Architects and Designplus Associates Services (Patiala, India)
• Veemgebouw by Caruso St John Architects (Eindhoven, Netherlands)