RIBA unveils shortlist for best international building of 2026

The Royal Institute of British Architects has unveiled the shortlist for the RIBA International Prize 2026. The four buildings in the running range from the transformation of an office tower in Brussels into a new city hub, to creating a naturally ventilated university campus and worker-first textile factory in Bangladesh.

“The RIBA International Prize shortlist represents the full range of what the prize seeks to recognise - buildings that are rigorously designed, deeply considered, and genuinely meaningful to the people and places they serve,” said RIBA Awards Group chair Neil Gillespie. “Each project demonstrates an exceptional understanding of its context, showing how architecture can enrich everyday life while responding with imagination and purpose to the complex challenges shaping our built environment.”

The winning project will be unveiled on October 15th. In the meantime, the four shortlisted projects are:

BRAC University (Dhaka, Bangladesh) by WOHA