With categories spanning residential, commercial, public and civic architecture, the AIA’s NSW shortlist has been announced. The annual program provides a snapshot of the state’s evolving built environment, highlighting projects that address sustainability, housing, adaptive reuse and community infrastructure across metropolitan and regional NSW. The full shortlist and jury are reprinted below.

This year’s shortlist includes several major public and commercial projects that feature across multiple categories. New Sydney Fish Market by 3XN in association with BVN and ASPECT Studios has been shortlisted for Commercial Architecture, Public Architecture and Urban Design, while 33 Alfred Street by JPW appears in Commercial, Heritage and Sustainable Architecture categories. The Lands by Capella by Hassell in collaboration with Purcell Architecture is recognised in both Commercial, Heritage and Interior Architecture.

Public and infrastructure projects are strongly represented, including Western Sydney International (Nancy-Bird Walton) Airport by COX Architecture, Zaha Hadid Architects and Woods Bagot, alongside transport projects such as Central Station and Crows Nest Metro Station. Regional and smaller-scale works also feature prominently, particularly in the Sustainable Architecture and Small Project Architecture categories, with projects such as Gilgandra Library + Community Hub, Sapling and Tree House reflecting a continued focus on environmentally responsive design and local community outcomes.

The shortlist was determined by juries comprising architects, academics, government representatives and industry leaders from practices including Architectus, SJB, Woods Bagot and Government Architect NSW. Winners of the 2026 NSW Architecture Awards will be announced on 2nd July 2026.

Related: Revisit the 2025 winners here

COLORBOND® Award for Steel Architecture

• Baaka Culture Centre — Kaunitz Yeung Architecture
• Casa Dos — Lippmann Partnership
• Galuwa Recreation Centre — AJC Architects
• Greybox — Welsh + Major
• Gunnedah Hospital Redevelopment — ARCH
• House Gretchen — Lintel Studio for Architecture
• Lune de Sang Sheds 3 & 4 — Choi Studio
• Mark Taylor Oval Pavilion — Archer Office
• Putty Passiv — Anderson Architecture
• Willowdale Sports Pavilion — Sam Crawford Architects with Lymesmith

Commercial Architecture

• 15 Khartoum Rd, MPark — Choi Studio
• 25hours Hotel The Olympia — Tonkin Zulaikha Greer Architects
• 33 Alfred Street — JPW
• 42 Honeysuckle Drive — Bates Smart
• Baaka Culture Centre — Kaunitz Yeung Architecture
• lyf Bondi Junction — Bates Smart
• New Sydney Fish Market — 3XN in association with BVN and ASPECT Studios
• Parkline Place — Foster + Partners with COX Architecture
• Surry Hills Village — SJB and Studio Prineas
• The Lands by Capella — Hassell in collaboration with Purcell Architecture

Educational Architecture

• Eungai Creek Campus — AJC Architects
• Green Square Public School and Community Spaces — BVN
• Macquarie University – Engineering Innovation Building — Woods Bagot
• Oakhill College Hilltop Precinct (Commons & Innovation Hub) — BVN
• St Bede’s Catholic College — SHAC
• UNSW Health Translation Hub — Architectus

EmAGN Project Award

• Alcheringa — Ironbark Architecture
• Clay House — Muci
• Pier Pavilion — Besley & Spresser
• Sapling — Anderson Architecture
• Tree House — ASA (Alexander Symes Architect)

Heritage

• 33 Alfred Street — JPW
• Entertainment Hall White Bay — DunnHillam Architecture + Urban Design with Placemaking NSW
• GSDA Dwelling No.1 Recovery — Hector Abrahams Architects
• Old Bega Hospital — Design 5 – Architects
• Sydney Harbour Bridge Northern Access Cycleway — Collins and Turner with Design 5 architects, Aspect Studios, Eckersley O’Callaghan
• The Lands by Capella — Hassell in collaboration with Purcell Architecture

Interior Architecture

• Brise Soleil — Carter Williamson Architects
• CBRE Sydney — Bates Smart
• GPT HQ — BVN
• State Library NSW Public Areas — Andrew Andersons and Cullen Feng
• Surrey 112 — Smart Design Studio
• Swansea Heads House — Anthrosite
• The Corner Shop House — Downie North
• The Lands by Capella — Hassell in collaboration with Purcell Architecture
• Wollemi Capital — Ciliberto Architects

Public Architecture

• Campbelltown Station Commuter Car Park — Hill Thalis Architecture + Urban Projects
• Central Station — Woods Bagot in collaboration with John McAslan + Partners
• Crows Nest Metro Station — Woods Bagot
• First Steps Count Child and Community Centre — Austin McFarland Pty Ltd
• Gilgandra Library + Community Hub — DunnHillam Architecture + Urban Design
• Mark Taylor Oval Pavilion — Archer Office
• New Sydney Fish Market — 3XN in association with BVN and ASPECT Studios
• Pier Pavilion — Besley & Spresser
• Western Sydney International (Nancy-Bird Walton) Airport — COX Architecture, Zaha Hadid Architects and Woods Bagot
• Willowdale Sports Pavilion — Sam Crawford Architects with Lymesmith

Residential Architecture – Houses (Alterations and Additions)

• Clay House — Muci
• Darlinghurst House — Anthony Gill Architects
• Denj Lane — Carter Williamson Architects
• Fort House — Curious Practice
• House Gretchen — Lintel Studio for Architecture
• House in Rosebery — Architect George
• Kyoto House — Breakspear Architects
• Lilyfield House — Tribe Studio
• Playhouse — Carter Williamson Architects
• Rainbow House — Virginia Kerridge Architect
• Rows End — Retallack Thompson
• Surrey 112 — Smart Design Studio
• The Corner Shop House — Downie North
• Tree House — ASA (Alexander Symes Architect)
• Wilsons Cottage — Casey Brown Architecture
• Zulaikha Laurence ‘Tree Change House’ — Studio ZAWA

Residential Architecture – Houses (New)

• Coogee House III — Tribe Studio
• Cowrie Hole — Curious Practice
• EA House — Bokey Grant
• Enclave House — Bohane Campo
• Exeter House — Luke Moloney Architecture
• Garden Courtyard House — Grove Architects
• Gerroa House — Scale Architecture
• Gingkin — Incidental Architecture
• Holocene House — CplusC Architects + Builders
• House of shadows — Atelier Marks Gaal
• Norton Street — Plus Minus Design
• OK House — Stephen Collier Architect
• Queenscliff House — Chenchow Little
• Saddleback Mountain House — Casey Brown Architecture
• Sapling — Anderson Architecture
• Swansea Heads House — Anthrosite
• Swirling Waters — Peter Stutchbury Architecture

Residential Architecture – Multiple Housing

• Boronia — Turner
• Cowper Street Housing — JPW
• Crossroads — Mackenzie Pronk Architects and Make Projects
• Egan Street 2020 — Kieran McInerney Architect
• Goonellabah Houses — Pearson Architecture
• Habilis — Collins and Turner
• Lacebark — Smart Design Studio
• Newmarket South — Bates Smart, SJB + Neeson Murcutt Neille
• Norton Street — Plus Minus Design
• Surry Hills Village — SJB
• The Cambridge — Architectus
• Waterloo Metro Quarter – Social Housing — Bates Smart

Small Project Architecture

• Broken Workshop — Atelier Luke
• Carpe Diem Pavilion — Collins and Turner
• Gladstone Park Amenities — Benn + Penna Architects
• Magenta Outhouse — Atelier Marks Gaal
• Optus O Pavilion — Architectus
• Permanent Camping Orange — Casey Brown Architecture
• Perry Park Pavilion — Scale Architecture
• The Southern Lookout — AJC Architects

Sustainable Architecture

• 33 Alfred Street — JPW
• Campbelltown Station Commuter Car Park — Hill Thalis Architecture + Urban Projects
• Cowper Street Housing — JPW
• Crossroads — Mackenzie Pronk Architects and Make Projects
• Eungai Creek Campus — AJC Architects
• Field Rooms — MAPA Art and Architecture
• First Steps Count Child and Community Centre — Austin McFarland Pty Ltd
• Gerroa House — Scale Architecture
• Gilgandra Library + Community Hub — DunnHillam Architecture + Urban Design
• Gingkin — Incidental Architecture
• Greybox — Welsh + Major
• Sapling — Anderson Architecture
• Tree House — ASA (Alexander Symes Architect)
• Zulaikha Laurence ‘Tree Change House’ — Studio ZAWA

Urban Design

• Sydney Harbour Bridge Northern Access Cycleway — Collins and Turner with Aspect Studios, Eckersley O’Callaghan and Design 5
• Gilgandra Library + Community Hub — DunnHillam Architecture + Urban Design
• New Sydney Fish Market — 3XN in association with BVN and ASPECT Studios
• Parramatta Light Rail Stage 1 — COX Architecture
• Surry Hills Village — SJB, Studio Prineas and Aspect Studios

Juries

Chair of Juries

• Bill Tsakalos — Blacktown City Council

COLORBOND® Award for Steel Architecture

• Tom Rivard (Jury Chair) — Lean Productions
• Annie Tennant — Placemaking NSW
• Gabrielle Suhr — SJB

Commercial Architecture

• Daniel Bourke (Jury Chair) — fjcstudio
• Amy Dowse — Tzannes
• Basil Richardson — Architectus

Educational Architecture & Small Project Architecture

• Darlene van der Breggen (Jury Chair)
• Nick Gonsalves — Neeson Murcutt Neille
• Patrick Love — lahznimmo architects
• Martina Novakova Lam — Government Architect NSW

EmAGN Project Award

• Bill Tsakalos (Jury Chair) — Blacktown City Council
• Elizabeth Carpenter — fjcstudio
• Allen Huang — Sam Crawford Architects
• Milly Meares — Together Design Studio

Enduring Architecture

• Brian Zulaikha (Jury Chair) — Studio ZAWA
• Liam Fitzgerald — Architectus
• Jansen Che — Lippmann Partnership
• Barbara Flynn — Barbara Flynn Pty Ltd

Heritage

• Kim Crestani (Jury Chair) — Order Architects
• Melanie Schonfeld — Tanner Kibble Denton Architects
• Ryan Wazir — John McAslan and Partners

Interior Architecture

• Leone Lorrimer (Jury Chair)
• Tracey Wiles — Woods Bagot
• Tomek Archer — Archer Office

Public Architecture & Urban Design

• Matthew Pullinger (Jury Chair) — Matthew Pullinger Architect
• Professor Helen Lochhead — UNSW
• Matteo Salval — JPW

Residential Architecture – Houses (Alterations & Additions)

• Stephen Varady (Jury Chair) — Stephen Varady Architecture
• Lyndsey Fitz-Gerald — Potter & Wilson
• Lisa Gervay — Studio Prineas
• Penny Craswell

Residential Architecture – Houses (New)

• Kristin Utz (Jury Chair) — Utz Sanby
• Kati Westlake — Sydney Metro (Transport for NSW)
• Chris Mullaney — Muci

Residential Architecture – Multiple Housing

• Jason Fraser (Jury Chair) — Woods Bagot
• Chi Melhem — EM BE CE
• Nazia Kachwalla — Tonkin Zulaikha Greer
• Julie Power — The Sydney Morning Herald

Sustainable Architecture

• Isabelle Toland (Jury Chair) — Aileen Sage
• Anna Harris — Tanner Kibble Denton Architects
• Jack Gillmer — SJB
• Lucy Rimmer — Government Architect NSW