World’s Best Architecture 2021 Announced

Architizer, the world’s leading online platform for architecture, announces the winners of the 9th Annual Architizer A+Awards. Founded on the premise of democratizing architecture, the A+Awards is the industry’s largest and most international awards program and honors the best architecture and spaces from across the globe.

After a year of unprecedented social and environmental challenges, this season’s theme—Architecture for a Changing World—celebrates the architects and designers whose work strives to create a more resilient built environment for generations to come. 2021 winners include innovative projects by renowned firms and emerging practices alike, among them:

• Tadao Ando Architect & Associates (Hei Art Museum, Shunde, China)
• Heatherwick Studio (Maggie’s Leeds, Leeds, United Kingdom)
• Diana Kellogg Architects (The Rajkumari Ratnavati Girls’ School, Jaisalmer India)
• VTN (Vo Trong Nghia) Architects (Stepping House, Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam)
• Caspar Schols (ANNA Stay, Denbosch, Netherlands)
• Studio Zhu Pei (Jingdezhen Imperial Kiln Museum, Jingdezhen, China)

The full list of winners can be found at https://winners.architizer.com/2021/.

“Market success is not enough… we care about our standing as innovators within our discipline. To receive recognition for airports and office towers is especially satisfying because it means that all project categories can be the occasion for great architecture. That’s what we believe.” Patrik Schumacher, Partner, Zaha Hadid Architects

In its 9th season, the A+Awards received over 5,000 entries from 100+ countries, including countless pioneering projects that respond to the most pressing global challenges today—from climate change and the COVID 19 pandemic to urbanization and economic inequity. Notable Jurors included Professor Lesley Lokko (Founder & Director, African Futures Institute), Tom Kundig FAIA, RIBA (Principal/Owner, Olson | Kundig), Nader Tehrani (Founding Principal, NADAAA; Dean, Cooper Hewitt School of Architecture), Alison Brooks (Principal & Creative Director, Alison Brooks Architects), Fernanda Canales (Founder & Director, Fernanda Canales Arquitectura), and many more.

A Jury-selected Winner and a Popular Choice Winner were awarded in each of the 94 categories, with over 400,000 votes cast by the voting public.

In addition to the Jury and Popular Choice winners, Special Honoree Awards will be presented to a handful of outstanding projects this year that demonstrates the extraordinary power of architecture to catalyze change in communities worldwide.

“The designers behind these projects come from vastly different geographies and personal experiences, but they all share at least one thing in common—they possess the creative courage not just to iterate on the present, but to forge entirely new ideas for the future.” Paul Keskeys, Content Director, Architizer

In partnership with A+Awards official partners AIA NY, the Royal Architectural Institute of Canada, and v2com newswire, the online Winners celebration will continue throughout the summer and fall. Also back for its seventh edition, the annual Winners’ compendium ARCHITIZER: The World’s Best Architecture, will be published by Monacelli Press
in November 2021. This stunning hardbound book is the definitive guide to the year’s best buildings and spaces.

Key Dates

A+Awards Launch: January 4, 2021

Winners Announced: July 6, 2021

About the A+Awards

The Architizer A+Awards is the world’s largest awards program for architecture and building products, celebrated by a global audience of 400+ million. The program’s mission is to nurture the appreciation of meaningful architecture around the world and champion its potential for a positive impact on everyday life.

About Architizer

Architizer’s core mission is to empower architects, via our marketplace connecting architects and product manufacturers, and via our inspiring content, awards program, and global reach spotlighting the world’s best architecture. We connect architects with the tools they need to build better buildings, better cities, and a better world.