The Royal Institute of British Architects (RIBA) has announced the shortlist for the RIBA Client of the Year 2025, sponsored by . Now in its 27th year, the annual award celebrates the crucial role of clients in championing outstanding architecture.
This year鈥檚 shortlist recognises six exceptional clients for their role in delivering transformative and considered projects which benefit the communities around them. This includes the preservation of a historic landmark (Strategic Estates/UK Parliament for Elizabeth Tower), a sustainable cohousing development (Bridport Housing CLT for Hazelmead, Bridport Cohousing), a reimagined almshouse (United St Saviour鈥檚 Charity for Appleby Blue Almshouse), and a rehabilitation centre for women (One Small Thing for Hope Street). A seaside community hub (Tendring District Council for Sunspot) and a reinvented women鈥檚 prison (Scottish Prison Service for HMP & YOI Stirling) also make the shortlist.
Simon Henley, Jury Chair, Founding Director of Henley Halebrown, said:
鈥淭his year all our finalists are community groups and public bodies, all with an ambitious brief that has changed the lives of those who encounter their buildings. While the shortlisted clients have a range and variety of experience, they all showed real courage and resilience in pursuing their goals for these projects whilst facing multiple challenges and complexities over many years.
These buildings are therefore often born out of enduring, close working relationships between the client and the architect. Each has benefited from a collaborative design process and a high degree of trust which has resulted in these clients鈥� facilitating great architecture.鈥�
The six shortlisted clients are:
- Bridport Housing CLT for Hazelmead, Bridport Cohousing by
The largest completed cohousing development in the UK. The scheme comprises 53 climate-resilient homes, a common house, and shared green spaces, with the client demonstrating a strong commitment to affordable, sustainable, and community-focused living.
- One Small Thing for Hope Street by
Designed to reimagine rehabilitation for women and their children and offer a compassionate alternative to custodial sentences, the client envisioned for Hope Street to be a home rather than an institution. The design brief focuses on dignity and trust, featuring communal lounges, activity rooms, a coffee shop, and counselling spaces, all within a warm, domestic architectural language.
- Scottish Prison Service for HMP & YOI Stirling by
A new 100-person facility for Women in Custody in Scotland, with the client centring the design ethos on creating a gender specific, trauma informed, and therapeutic environment throughout. Open spaces such as large courtyards and garden spaces were also incorporated to encourage movement, interaction and reflection 鈥� key components in the rehabilitative ethos that underpinned the project.
- Strategic Estates/UK Parliament for Elizabeth Tower by
The restoration of the Elizabeth Tower 鈥� home to Big Ben - was the most extensive in the tower鈥檚 160-year history. In turn, the success of the project was testament to the client鈥檚 ambition and commitment to maintaining its historical landmark status. The client was pivotal in ensuring sensitive and comprehensive repairs were undertaken while safeguarding its future as a cultural monument and heritage site.
- Tendring District Council for Sunspot by
Rooted in the client鈥檚 strong vision to reignite the area鈥檚 economy and identity of the community, 24 low-cost business units sit alongside a covered market, community garden, bus shelter, caf茅, public WCs, and outdoor events space. Sunspot has become a joyful landmark, a new hub for the community, and a catalyst for wider regeneration.
- United St Saviour鈥檚 Charity for Appleby Blue Almshouse by
United St Saviour鈥檚 Charity (UStSC), a Southwark-based charity of almost 500 years, set out the ambition to re-interpret the traditional almshouse, offering high-quality social collective housing for older people. With increased levels of social isolation among older generations, the design focused on creating spaces to encourage chance meetings and interact easily with other residents.
The Client of the Year Award shortlist is selected from winners of the RIBA Regional and National Awards 2025. The winner will be announced at the Stirling Prize ceremony on 16 October 2025.
This year鈥檚 jury comprised: Simon Henley, Founding Director, Henley Halebrown (Chair), Sophy Twohig, Director, Hopkins Architects, RIBA Awards Group Member, Kathy Dacre, Founding Member of Shakespeare North Trust, Recipient of RIBA Client of the Year Award 2024, Kate Guy, Social Housing Development Director, Ibstock, RIBA Client of the Year Award Sponsor.
ENDS
Notes to editors:
- Media contact: jenny.webber@riba.org
- Previous winners of RIBA Client of the Year include Shakespeare North Trust and Knowsley Metropolitan Borough Council (2024), Onion Collective (2023), Thornsett Group Plc (2022), Cambridge Mosque Trust (2021), Network Rail (2019), Argent LLP (2018), Bedales School (2017), Westmorland Ltd (2016), National Theatre (2015), Manchester Metropolitan University (2014) and the National Trust (2013).
- The RIBA Client of the Year Award is sponsored by Ibstock plc. Ibstock plc is a leading manufacturer of clay bricks and concrete building products, with a proud history of nearly 200 years of manufacturing excellence. Its products and solutions are a vital and indispensable part of the built environment, the cornerstone of every building project. Operating from 38 sites across the UK, with over 150 million tonnes of clay reserves across 23 active quarries, Ibstock plc is a business at the heart of building, continuously developing solutions that take the construction industry forward. Not only delivering products that set the standard for aesthetic appeal and performance, the company also leads the way into a truly sustainable future. Its people provide the passion and inspiration that can make a real and tangible difference, constantly striving to innovate and working together with its customers, partners and suppliers. www.ibstockplc.co.uk
- The (RIBA) is a global professional membership body that serves its members and society in order to deliver better buildings and places, stronger communities and a sustainable environment. . Follow on Twitter for regular updates
