More than 40 outstanding architectural projects across Australia have been recognized at the 2025 National Architecture Awards, showcasing contemporary designs that address critical national challenges including housing shortages, affordability issues, and the climate crisis. The prestigious awards highlight innovative solutions that demonstrate how thoughtful design can transform communities and urban environments.
The six Sydney Metro city stations, which opened in late 2024, captured the most prestigious honor by receiving the Walter Burley Griffin Award for Urban Design. The metro stations, including Martin Place, Central, and Barangaroo, were praised for their legacy-making contribution to transforming the civic experience. This recognition builds on previous accolades, including the NSW Architecture Medallion and a Prix Versailles award.
The Sydney Metro project represented a massive collaborative effort delivered by a consortium of leading Australian and international architectural firms, including Architectus, Grimshaw, Hassell, John McAslan & Partners, Foster & Partners, Cox Architecture, and Woods Bagot. Design responsibilities were strategically divided across the different stations, with each firm bringing their expertise to create a cohesive yet distinctive network.
The jury specifically commended the extensive collaboration and the exceptional quality of the resulting urban environment, noting that the stations exceeded expectations beyond mere engineering achievements. "The Sydney Metro team has understood implicitly that people thrive in well-designed, generous public space and that this forms the foundation of the long process of making good cities great," the judges stated.
In the heritage category, the Australian War Memorial's new entrance and parade ground, led by Studio SC, received national recognition for its seamless integration of new facilities with existing heritage architecture. The judges praised the project for achieving "a harmonious balance between memory and modernity." They noted that "this inspiring extension not only honors past sacrifices but also revitalizes the memorial's role for future generations, reaffirming its place in the heart of the nation."
The Colorbond Award for Steel Architecture went to the Flinders Chase Visitors Centre in South Australia, designed by Troppo Architects. This project demonstrated "an exemplary synthesis of architectural resilience and environmental sensitivity," particularly significant given its construction in the aftermath of the devastating Black Summer bushfires that impacted the region.
BVN's Yarrila Place in Coffs Harbour earned the Sir Zelman Cowen Award for Public Architecture. The innovative project successfully weaves together library, museum, council, and community functions within a single, dynamic architectural form. The jury specifically highlighted its playful Tetris-inspired design, noting that it resulted in "a building that is both resilient and delightful, fostering a unique sense of joy and optimism within the community."
In residential architecture, Studio Bright's Hedge and Arbour House in Victoria took home the Robin Boyd Award. Guided by the client's desire to live closer to nature, the house features a distinctive galvanized steel mesh arbour that wraps around the structure. This design element "functions as a simplifying element that allows the vegetation to subsume the structure," creating a seamless integration with the natural environment.
A remarkable nine-year collaboration between a homeowner and Casey Brown Architecture earned the firm the Emil Sodersten Award for Interior Architecture for Babylon House. The extensive reworking of an existing 1950s home, nestled in bushland on a ridge in Pittwater, New South Wales, created a space that "feels ancient and contemporary all at once," according to the judges. They described it as "a truly beautiful example of working with the essence of an existing building and bringing it back from the brink."
The Daryl Jackson Award for Educational Architecture was presented to Queensland's James Cook University Engineering & Innovation Place, designed by Kirk with i4 Architecture and Charles Wright Architects. The innovative structure was recognized for its stacked adaptive learning spaces, featuring peer-to-peer informal areas arranged around a central atrium that opens to the main campus thoroughfare.
FJC Studio, the Australian firm that won the grand prize at the world's largest architecture festival last year, continued its international success by winning the award for international architecture. Their bold vision for Reuben College at Oxford University was described by judges as "a complex heritage project executed with meticulous care" at one of Britain's most hallowed institutions.
Sustainable architecture was highlighted through Woods Bagot's collaboration with TRCB, TCL, and UDLA on Perth's Metronet Morley-Ellenbrook Line project. The modular, prefabricated construction utilizing natural daylight and ventilation significantly reduced both carbon footprint and construction waste. The project also incorporated works by six Noongar artists, celebrating local Indigenous culture.
The Harry Seidler Award for Commercial Architecture recognized an unexpected winner: a functional shed with staff amenities for workers caring for Victoria's memorial parks. The Searle x Waldron Architecture design for the Northern Memorial Park depot in Melbourne's Glenroy suburb "establishes a new benchmark for the industrial workplace by bringing rare humanity and joy to what could have been a purely utilitarian facility," the judges noted.
Not all winners represent new construction, as demonstrated by the National Award for Enduring Architecture recipient, the Uluru-Kata Tjuta Cultural Centre. Completed more than three decades ago and designed by Gregory Burgess, this seminal work continues to "embody a living partnership between the architect, the Anangu community, and the landscape," according to the judges.
The awards also celebrated small-scale design impact through the Denman Village Park Amenities by Carter Williamson Architects, which received one of two National Awards for Small Project Architecture. This compact urban oasis in Canberra's Denman Prospect suburb achieved "a profound civic and emotional impact through thoughtful, joyful design." Within a modest footprint and utilitarian brief, the architects successfully "transformed a basic amenity block into a memorable and uplifting landmark," demonstrating that significant architectural impact doesn't always require grand scale.
