Patty Hopkins honoured as this year’s Architect of the Year Awards winners revealed

The winners of the Architect of the Year Awards 2025 were announced last night at a ceremony held at the Marriott Grosvenor Square in London, where 17 practices and individuals shared 20 awards celebrating the best in UK architecture.

Haworth Tompkins received the top honour, the Gold Award, selected from the winners of the other categories. The practice also won Best Architect Employer of the Year and Higher Education Architect of the Year, confirming its continuing influence across the sector.

This was the second time Haworth Tompkins has received the Gold Award, having previously won in 2014. 

The Lifetime Achievement Award went to Patty Hopkins, recognising her long-standing contribution to British architecture and key role in founding Hopkins Architects. The Young Architect of the Year Award was presented to CAN, highlighting the practice’s innovative body of work.

Other winning practices included Levitt Bernstein, which won Housing Architect of the Year. Piercy & Company took Office Architect of the Year, while FaulknerBrowns received Public Building Architect of the Year. Howells was named Retail and Leisure Architect of the Year and AHR won Net Zero Architect of the Year.

The awards were hosted by TV and radio personality Colin Murray, with judging chaired by Ben Flatman, Building Design’s architectural editor, and Thomas Lane, group technical editor. They said the awards reflected “the breadth and quality of architectural practice across the UK” and commended the high standard of entries in categories for both new and existing buildings.

A new addition this year was the UK Design Capital of the Year award, recognising civic leadership and design ambition at city scale. Manchester was named the inaugural winner, selected from a shortlist that included Cambridge, Glasgow and Newcastle upon Tyne.

Judges praised Manchester’s “clear strategic direction and its success in linking design ambition with long-term planning and investment”, citing the city’s collaboration between public and private partners in housing, culture and regeneration.

Building Design’s editorial director Chloe McCulloch said: “We are delighted to recognise Manchester as the first UK Design Capital of the Year. The city has shown real vision and leadership in improving the urban environment for those who live and work there. Its continued commitment to design quality, regeneration and collaboration sets an example for others across the country.”

The Architect of the Year Awards, organised by Building Design, are the only architectural awards in the UK that recognise achievement across a body of work rather than a single project.