ACT Architecture Award Winners

The Territory’s Best New Architecture Unveiled

ACT’s most outstanding new architecture has been revealed in the Australian Institute of Architects’ 2026 Australian Capital Territory Architecture Awards. The awarded projects represent the cutting edge in architectural innovation from the ACT’s sharpest design minds.

The recipients for 2026 act as a roadmap to the new building projects that are shaping the ACT’s contemporary built environment. The Australian Institute of Architects is the country’s peak body for architecture, and the ACT Awards are Canberra’s premier design awards program.

Australian Institute of Architects 2026 ACT Architecture Awards Jury Chair, Alex Lawlor explained the commonalities in this year’s award winners.

“In the current housing crisis, we are seeing housing affordability and availability become key concerns to architects as we rethink urban density and community resilience,” said Lawlor.

“‘The missing middle’ is not a residential typology overly familiar to Canberra, but as the population density changes, we are seeing more examples of density done well. Some of this year’s winners are examples of stellar ‘missing middle’ residential concepts that would look equally at home in other urban areas”

“Across the residential categories, the jury also observed a great adaptation of housing to suit different life stages and to accommodate multi-generational living, aging in place, accommodating ‘sandwich generation’ type living – a more considered approach as to how extended families would live together”

“Increasingly, we are seeing more meaningful collaborations with First Nations people; not just consulting but co-creating in an authentic process that provides better outcomes for the public, not just for indigenous Australians.”

“The civic projects showed a generosity of spirit in what they seek to give back to the urban realm. They exceeded expectations of what public buildings can do in a streetscape”

Each year, the projects in the ACT Architecture Awards are selected by an esteemed panel of industry experts and leaders. A comprehensive in-person judging process by the jury determines the eventual winners of the Awards, which were announced on Saturday, 13th June.

For more information and detail of all the Award Winners go to ACT Architecture Awards