Projects include Tuckey Design Studio’s experimental rammed earth house and two schemes in Bristol by AHMM
RIBA has named Levitt Bernstein’s transformation of a former concert hall in Bristol as the best new building in the South West.
The Bristol Beacon scheme scooped Building of the Year at the RIBA South West Awards ceremony yesterday evening, triumphing over a shortlist of 17 projects unveiled in February.
The project is the second phase of work at the grade II-listed venue and has included restoring the building’s Victorian Byzantine architecture, adding a new restaurant within a historic colonnade and remodelling backstage areas.
It was among 11 winners recognised at the ceremony, including an AHMM office scheme, Witherford Watson Mann’s stable-to-home conversion and a house built from rammed earth by Tuckey Design Studio.
Special award recipients included The Pavilion at Cowley Manor by De Matos Ryan, which won the Conservation Award, Sky House by Klas Hyllen Architecture, which won the Sustainability Award, and Holly Tree Cottage by Site Office Ltd, which was named Small Project of the Year.
Architectural Thread’s Claire Fear won Project Architect of the Year for The Buttermarket, with the project’s client Redruth Revival CIC also securing Client of the Year.
RIBA South West and Wessex jury chair Sam Goss, founding director at Barefoot Architects, said visiting the region’s award-winning projects had been a ”powerful and often moving experience”.
”A unifying thread across the winners is their engagement with a continuum of time. Many buildings were neither wholly old, nor new - but rather a careful weaving of historic fabric with contemporary intervention across buildings, landscapes and cityscapes.
”Together, they present a compelling picture of architecture in the region as thoughtful, responsive and deeply rooted in space and time. Indeed, these outstanding projects show that to build well today is to operate within a trajectory; balancing past, present and future needs with confidence, collaboration and care.
”The result is architecture that is sensitive, sustainable and richly engaging - uplifting places, people and the human spirit.”
Liberal Democrat MP for Bath, Wera Hobhouse, added: “Architecture makes a vital contribution to Bath and the wider South West region. It is great to see these projects recognised as part of RIBA’s renowned awards programme, which showcases the very best of architecture across the UK. This year’s winners reflect a clear commitment to innovative, sustainable and socially valuable design. I am delighted to see these projects celebrated, and the positive difference they make across the region.”
RIBA president, Chris Williamson, said: “This is a landmark year for RIBA as we mark 60 years of our Awards and the impact of past winners on society. Over six decades, the Awards have charted a cultural journey across the UK, reflecting how architecture has responded to changing needs in education, industry, work and home life. Today, as in 1966, we celebrate architecture that sets new standards for how we live and shape our communities - and reminds us just how important it is to keep raising the bar.”
RIBA South West Award winners will now be considered for a RIBA National Award in recognition of their architectural excellence, which will be announced on 9 July. The shortlist for the RIBA Stirling Prize for the best building of the year will be drawn from the RIBA National Award-winning projects later in the year.
The 2026 RIBA South West Awards winning projects are:
Assembly, Bristol by Allford Hall Monahgan Morris A major workplace development creating a vibrant community.
Bristol Beacon by Levitt Bernstein (Building of the Year) The transformation of a former concert hall in Bristol.
Holly Tree Cottage by Site Office Ltd (Small Project of the Year) A careful conservation of a 1920’s worker’s cottage in rural Dorset.
House in the South-West by WWM Transformation of former stables into a contemporary family home.
Purdown View by Stride Treglown Passivhaus student housing for the University of West England.
Rammed Earth House by Tuckey Design Studio A house in the country made from site-sourced rammed earth.
Sky House by Klas Hyllen Architecture (Sustainability Award) A modest stepped 1970s bungalow nestled into a Cotswolds hillside.
Stable House by Taw Fitzwilliam Architects A modest, carefully designed self-build.
The Buttermarket by Architectural Thread (Project Architect of the Year - Claire Fear, Client of the Year – Redruth Revival CIC) The community-led regeneration of a historic civic space within a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
The Creamery by Stonewood Design A restoration of a historical industry through contemporary creativity.
The Pavilion at Cowley Manor by De Matos Ryan (Conservation Award) The renovation of a centuries-old estate.
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