The Royal Institute of British Architects (RIBA) has today revealed the 16 winners of the RIBA International Awards for Excellence 2021. The Awards, which take place every two years, recognize the most significant and inspirational projects around the world.
The RIBA International awards are open to any qualified architect for spaces anywhere in the world (excluding the UK – as this is determined by the RIBA Stirling Prize). Projects need to exemplify design excellence and architectural ambition and deliver meaningful social impact.
The sixteen award-winning buildings are spread across 11 countries. Each project has been subject to a rigorous judging process with all buildings being visited in person by a local ambassador appointed by the RIBA.
This year’s projects range from significant cultural destinations such as Modern Art Museum and its Walkways in Shanghai to new city infrastructure such as the elegant Lille Langebro pedestrian and cycle bridge in the heart of Copenhagen; from a beautiful artists’ home in Sri Lanka to a new hospital building in Bogotá that connects patients with nature.
The Winners
Alila Yangshuo / Vector Architects (Guangxi,China)
Amorepacific Headquarters / David Chipperfield Architects Berlin + HAEAHN Architecture and KESSON (Seoul, South Korea)
Artists' Retreat at Pittugala / Palinda Kannangara Architects (Athurugiriya, Sri Lanka)
Dongziguan Villagers' Activity Center / gad · line+ studio (Hangzhou, China)
Friendship Hospital, Satkhira / Kashef Chowdhury-URBANA (Shyamnagar, Bangladesh)
James-Simon-Galerie / David Chipperfield Architects (Berlin, Germany)
Kohan Ceram Central Office Building/Hooba Design Group (Tehran, Iran)
Lianzhou Museum of Photography / O-office Architects- Jianxiang He & Ying Jiang (Lianzhou, China)
Lille Langebro / WilkinsonEyre + Urban Agency (Copenhagen, Denmark)
Modern Art Museum and its Walkways / Atelier Deshaus (Shanghai, China)
Msheireb Downtown Doha Masterplan / Allies and Morrison with Arup and AECOM (Doha,Qatar)
The Polygon Gallery / Patkau Architects (North Vancouver, Canada)
Renovation of the Captain's House / Vector Architects (Fuzhou, China)
Expansion of the University Hospital of the Santa Fe de Bogotá Foundation / El Equipo Mazzanti (Bogotá, Colombia)
The National Memorial for Peace and Justice / MASS Design Group (Montgomery, Alabama, USA)
Amongst the 16 winning projects announced today, four projects will be shortlisted for this year’s prize and announced in September. The winner of the RIBA International Emerging Architect Prize and the RIBA International Prize 2021 will be selected by a Grand Jury, chaired by French architect Odile Decq and revealed in November 2021.
The inaugural RIBA International Prize in 2016 was awarded to Grafton Architects for their university building, UTEC (Universidad de Ingeniería y Tecnología) in Lima, Peru. In 2018, the prize was awarded to Aleph Zero and Rosenbaum, for their inspiring new school complex on the edge of the Amazon rainforest in northern Brazil, Children Village.
