2025 has been a year of looking closely – at buildings that endure, at ideas that travel, and at practices quietly reshaping the values of architecture. From the long view offered by the Architecture Today Awards to encounters with unexpected projects, places and people around the world, AT editor Isabel Allen looks back on a year rich in surprise, conviction and renewed optimism about what architecture can still achieve.
The year kicked off with a special issue on the winning projects in the Architecture Today Awards for buildings that stand the test of time, and drew to a close with the celebration of the new crop of winners at Richard Seifert’s Space House, freshly spruced up by Squire & Partners and Seaforth Land. It’s always a joy when the awards throw a spotlight on work that hasn’t been on our radar. One of the standout moments of this year’s awards was Studio Saar’s Secure Sanand, an Indian electronics factory that sets new standards for the design of industrial buildings, a typology that is habitually overlooked. In December I visited the project with photographer Timothy Soar, and was bowled over by the factory, but also by a programme of research and design projects the practice is doing to create high-quality community space and civic realm in the places it calls home.
Another surprise winner was the Indian city of Chandigarh, commissioned by Nehru in the early 1950s as the new capital of the Punjab. When we launched the awards four years ago, we fondly imagined there might be occasions when an individual or organisation might be moved to submit somebody else’s work; simply as a mark of admiration or respect. So we were delighted when architect Ian Macready made an eloquent case for the Chandigarh on behalf of its original architects – Le Corbusier along small-but-mighty international team including Aditya Prakash, Maxwell Fry and Jane Drew.
Macready isn’t entirely without a vested interest. He is so enamoured by Le Corbusier’s masterwork that he has launched a business, Architourian, organising tours of the city, along with a trip to Lutyens’ New Delhi and high-end relaxation and recuperation at Amaya, the idyllic mountain resort designed by Bijoy Jain of Studio Mumbai. Mindful that not all Architecture Today readers have the time, money or inclination for a lengthy, extravagant holiday, he is currently working up plans for a pared – and priced – down itinerary which goes heavy on the architecture, with a view to running a bespoke trip for Architecture Today readers in 2026. Do let me know if you might be interested in coming, and we’ll send you the itinerary as soon as the plans are fixed.
In the meantime, I’m heading to Izmir in Turkey, for Christmas where I’ll be checking in with the fabulous Office of Displaced Designers, who are currently focusing on She Repairs, an initiative to provide female refugees with the skills and tools to improve their families’ homes and lives. They desperately need funds to cover their costs – please do support them if you can.
My picks from 2025:
Photograph by Henry Woide
Regenerative Architecture Index
The Regenerative Architecture Index (RAI), launched with UK Architects Declare in 2024, gathered serious momentum, with entries rocketing from 68 practices in 2004 to 118 practices in 2025. Its success is largely down to our collaboration with a handful of extraordinary clients. Lawrence Bates from the Wildheart Trust announced the shortlist – selected from the 2024 RAI – for the International School of Rewilding on the Isle of Wight. As I write Beau Lotto and his team at Hummingbird Learning Labs are reviewing Expressions of Interest from RAI practices for a school/cultural campus in Somerset. A key ambition for 2026 is to raise awareness of RAI practices and values amongst more mainstream developers.red in difficult times.
Browse the 2025 Regenerative Architecture Index special issue of AT
Photograph by Iwan Baan
Doris Duke by Mecanoo
In April I visited Jacob’s Pillow, a dance centre with a long history of championing diversity, accessibility and self expression, deep in the hills of Western Massachusetts, USA. The pretext for the visit was the completion of the Doris Duke theatre by Dutch practice Mecanoo, a defiant celebration of liberal values and indigenous cultures delivered in difficult times.
Photograph by Hal Pand
Torre Velasca, Milan
In May the British Council for Offices conference took place in Milan, a great excuse to explore the city – with the added bonus of a view of BBPR’s Torre Velasca from my hotel room window. Completed in1958, the project was inspired by traditional Lombard architecture and contempt for the reductive, repetitive Modernism that was on the march worldwide.
Read Ian Volner’s assessment of Torre Velasca
Photograph by Ste Murray
Arklow Wastewater Treatment Plant by Clancy Moore
This year saw an increased focus on Irish architecture, culminating in the launch of Architecture Today in Ireland launched in partnership with Schüco. We were particularly enamoured with Clancy Moore’s wastewater treatment plant at Arklow, County Wicklow, which showed what it takes to elevate essential infrastructure into a celebratory and optimistic civic landmark.
Read Eimear Arthur’s review of Arklow Wastewater Treatment Plant
Photograph by Triplecaña (Wikipedia Commons)
Bagsværd Church, Copenhagen by Jørn Utzon
Architect John Pardey treated AT readers to a regular series of personal reflections on influential buildings across the world. A personal favourite is his account of Utzon’s Bagsværd Church, Copenhagen, a composition of vaulted concrete ‘clouds’ completed in 1976.
Read John Pardey’s reflections on Bagsværd Church
Photograph by Agnese Sanvito
Materials Library: Bennetts Associates
We were particularly pleased to publish a peek behind the curtains at Bennetts Associates, not least because it offered a chance to catch up with Ali Francis, joint winner of the first ever VMZinc Student Prize in the Architecture Today Awards. In an unexpected career pivot she has since taken a role as a project manager at Opera. We can’t wait to see what she does next.
National Theatre – NT Future, by Haworth Tompkins
I’m always astounded at the eloquence – and, crucially, the willingness to reflect on past mistakes and triumphs and impart lessons learnt – shown by the architects and clients behind the winning projects in the Architecture Today Awards. The AT team is currently in the process of recording presentations on all of this year’s projects, but all last year’s winners are available to view. It’s hard to pick a favourite, but I might just single out the story of how the National Theatre as evolved in the 50 years since its completion, and the work that’s being done to set the stage for 50 years to come.
