These awards celebrate architectural excellence in the renewal and repurposing of existing buildings. This year’s 18 categories emphasise the reuse of existing structures and materials, and the lessons learnt. The third set of shortlisted categories to be announced are Fit-out; Private/individual renovation (up to £800,000); Private/individual renovation (£800,000 and over); and Project under £800,000.
Fit-out brings together projects that demonstrate the potential of interior architecture across workplaces, cultural venues and hospitality – all with circularity in mind. Barr Gazetas’ 42 Wigmore Street office refit joins Gort Scott’s Portman Estate headquarters on the five-project shortlist, alongside AOC Architecture’s reinvention of Bradford’s National Science and Media Museum’s galleries and public entrance.
HUT Architecture’s design centre for an international wood surfaces manufacturer and Rural Office’s restoration of a rural south Wales theatre foyer – shortlisted for this year’s AJ Small Projects – complete the category.
Private/individual renovation has once again been divided into two value bands, reflecting the diversity of this year’s residential entries. The under £800,000 shortlist includes ten projects ranging from modest extensions to comprehensive refurbishments, with Theis + Khan Architects, TYPE and Material Works among those recognised. T Parsons Design’s A-Typical Terrace appears alongside Will Gamble Architects’ Muttram Veedu, Studio naama’s Skyler House and ANYY Architects’ Spruce House, with Connolly Wellingham Architects, OEB Architects and Stylus Architects also securing nominations.
In the £800,000 and over bracket, larger-scale home transformations and rural conversions take centre stage. Hayhurst & Co’s Hampstead Town House – also shortlisted for a London RIBA Award this year – joins GS Architecture’s Passive House, also in Hampstead, while Artel31’s House in a Barn appears alongside Napier Clarke Architects’ Bodney Beach House. Paul Archer Design’s Hebron House and Gresford Architects’ The Old Orchard complete the six-project shortlist.
The Project under £800,000 category showcases smaller-budget schemes delivering significant architectural impact. Cultural, educational and conservation projects sit alongside inventive workplace and residential interventions, with The Manser Practice’s Goodwood Art Gallery shortlisted alongside NOOMA Studio’s wellbeing garden for an international school. Citizen Architects’ repair of Old St Leonard’s Hall joins CarverHaggard’s Raw Material, while Baillie Baillie Architects’ Watchmaker’s Workshop and ConForm Architects’ Komorebi complete the shortlist.
Formerly known as the AJ Retrofit Awards, the awards programme was renamed the AJ Retrofit & Reuse Awards in 2024 to better reflect the expanding scope of retrofit practice, from adaptive reuse to decarbonisation and whole-life carbon reduction.
More than 110 projects have been shortlisted across this year’s awards. Each practice has presented its project to the judges in a virtual session comprising a five-minute presentation followed by up to 10 minutes of questions. The 28-strong jury includes net zero carbon manager Tania Jennings, Max Fordham partner and director of sustainability Hero Bennett and associate professor at the London School of Architecture Ruth Lang.
The winners will be announced at the AJ Retrofit & Reuse Awards on Thursday 24 September at a new venue this year – the Grade II-listed Art Deco live events and music hall The Troxy in east London.
The final shortlisted projects in other categories will be revealed tomorrow. You can find out more about the AJ Retrofit & Reuse Awards here.
Last week, the AJ announced that keynote speeches from Grafton co-founder Shelley McNamara and OMA partner Reinier de Graaf will bookend the AJ’s CircularBuild 2026 event, to be held on 16 September in central London.
CircularBuild 2026, which will also include contributions from Mace, Landsec, and Great Portland Estates, will be held at Convene in the City of London.
The event, now in its fifth year, is an evolution of the annual AJ Retrofit Live event, which was inspired by our RetroFirst campaign for the reuse of existing buildings.
Shortlists
Fit-out
National Science and Media Museum by AOC Architecture
Source: Hufton + Crow
- 42 Wigmore Street by Barr Gazetas
- Kronospan Design Centre by HUT Architecture
- National Science and Media Museum by AOC Architecture
- Park and Dare by Rural Office
- The Portman Estate Head Office by Gort Scott
Private/individual renovation (up to £800,000)
Muttram Veedu by Will Gamble Architects
Source: James Retief
- A-Typical Terrace by T Parsons Design
- Burwash Cottage by Theis + Khan Architects
- Dorset Cottage by TYPE
- Etta House by Stylus Architects
- Hackney Bay House by Material Works Architecture
- Muttram Veedu by Will Gamble Architects
- Northly Farm by Connolly Wellingham Architects
- Simple Addition by OEB Architects
- Skyler House by Studio naama
- Spruce House by ANYY Architects
Private/individual renovation (£800,000 and over)
The Old Orchard by Gresford Architects
- Bodney Beach House by Napier Clarke Architects
- Hampstead Passive House by GS Architecture
- Hampstead Town House by Hayhurst & Co Architects
- Hebron House by Paul Archer Design
- House in a Barn by Artel31
- The Old Orchard by Gresford Architects
Project under £800,000
Watchmaker’s Workshop by Baillie Baillie Architects
Source: Jim Stephenson
- Goodwood Art Gallery by The Manser Practice
- Halcyon London International School Wellbeing Garden by NOOMA Studio
- Komorebi by ConForm Architects
- Old St Leonard’s Hall by Citizen Architects
- Raw Material by CarverHaggard
- Watchmaker’s Workshop by Baillie Baillie Architects
The 2026 AJ Retrofit & Reuse Awards are sponsored by
