Dezeen has unveiled its highly anticipated architecture shortlist for the 2025 Dezeen Awards, featuring exceptional buildings from renowned studios including AIM Architecture, Olson Kundig Architects, and Herzog & de Meuron. The comprehensive selection represents the pinnacle of contemporary architectural achievement from around the globe.
The impressive shortlist encompasses 92 projects competing across 17 distinct architecture categories, with participating studios representing 30 countries worldwide. This diverse geographic representation includes entries from Australia, Mexico, Indonesia, Uganda, Taiwan, and the Czech Republic, demonstrating the truly international scope of modern architectural excellence.
Australia leads the shortlist with 12 nominated projects, followed by the United States and China, each with nine shortlisted entries. The United Kingdom follows with seven projects, while Mexico rounds out the top five with six shortlisted buildings. This distribution reflects the global nature of innovative architectural design and the widespread talent across multiple continents.
The shortlisted projects showcase remarkable diversity in both design approach and functional purpose. Notable entries include a social housing block in Barcelona featuring "non-hierarchical" floor plans that challenge traditional residential hierarchy, a performing arts center in Uganda constructed entirely from earth bricks using sustainable local materials, and an innovative L-shaped house in New York that combines plywood interiors with playful architectural details.
Additional standout projects demonstrate creative approaches to renovation and adaptive reuse. The shortlist features a cork-wrapped 1970s house in London that exemplifies sustainable renovation practices, an artisanal mezcal production facility in Mexico that integrates traditional craftsmanship with modern design, and a thoughtfully designed courtyard house in Belgium built entirely with reclaimed materials.
This year's Dezeen Awards 2025, presented in partnership with Bentley, will reveal all shortlisted categories throughout the week. The interior design shortlist will be published Tuesday, followed by the design shortlist on Wednesday and the sustainability shortlist on Thursday. The nomination-based Designers of the Year and Bentley Lighthouse Award shortlists will be announced Friday and the following Monday, respectively.
Ben Saltmer, Dezeen Awards judge and head of lifestyle design at Bentley, praised this year's selections, stating, "In this third year of our partnership, Dezeen Awards continues to showcase true innovation. This year's architecture shortlist includes some jaw-dropping buildings created by a rich pool of talented designers from all over the world."
The distinguished architecture jury responsible for scoring the shortlisted projects includes prominent architects Patty Hopkins, Manuelle Gautrand, Olajumoke Adenowo, and Vo Trong Nghia. Their expertise ensures that only the most exceptional projects advance to the final selection phase.
The shortlist spans numerous categories including urban and rural houses, housing developments, house renovations and extensions, civic projects, cultural projects, workplace projects both small and large, leisure and wellness facilities, education projects, heritage projects, hospitality projects, infrastructure and transport projects, small projects, mixed-use developments, and landscape and urban design projects.
Notable category highlights include the House (urban) category featuring projects like Clifton House in Sydney by Anthony Gill Architects and Hudson L-House in Hudson Valley by Steven Holl Architects. The Cultural project category showcases the Bidi Bidi Performing Arts Centre in Uganda by Hassell and the Sun Tower in Yantai, China by Open Architecture.
The Workplace project categories feature impressive entries such as the Fourth Ward Office Project in Atlanta by Olson Kundig Architects and The Tip of Nordø in Copenhagen by Cobe, Vilhelm Lauritzen Architects, and Third Nature. The Heritage project category includes remarkable adaptive reuse projects like the 136 Chartrons in Bordeaux by ZW/A Zweyacker & Associés.
Winners of each project category will be announced during a live ceremony at the Dezeen Awards party on November 25 at Exhibition White City in London. All 17 category winners will then compete for the prestigious architecture project of the year title, which is sponsored by Programa. Tickets for the celebration event are currently available for purchase, offering attendees the opportunity to celebrate alongside nominees, winners, and esteemed judges.
