Some of the best new residential, commercial, and public buildings from regional New South Wales have been named in the Australian Institute of Architects 2025 NSW Regional Architecture Awards.
Selected from a shortlist of 36 architectural projects by a jury of industry experts, the 21 winners and commendations can be seen as a window into the changing built environment of contemporary regional Australia.
The 2025 winning cohort showed a pathway forward for sustainable and heritage buildings, including insightful adaptive reuses and considered renovations and additions. They have also shone a spotlight on design that has a deep connection to context and an intrinsic consideration of culture and Country.
This year’s jury comprised of Jarad Grice, Sam Crawford Architects; Carly Martin, Akimbo Architecture; and Eddie Page, Maxwell & Page Architects.
Jury chair Grice said, “It was a privilege for Carly, Eddie, and I to serve as jurors for the Regional Division awards this year. With more entries than ever before, we were presented with the unenviable task of whittling down a shortlist for which we were rewarded with the opportunity to experience 16 admirable works of regional architecture.”
The jury embarked on a five-day jury tour right across regional NSW, going as far north as Brunswick Heads and as far south as Rosedale.
“This is only the second year that the jury has visited shortlisted regional projects in person. We can confirm the great value of this process. Seeing projects first-hand greatly enhanced our understanding of them, and the awards given are a testament to the rigor and quality of the Institute’s NSW Regional Awards program,” Grice observed.
“Regional architects have the incredible opportunity of being more intimately connected to the richness of the Australian landscape than those of us working in dense urban environments. As we continue to develop an Australian architecture, the greatest work will recognise the responsibility we have to Country and to the knowledge and history of the Indigenous inhabitants of the land that was stolen, on which we live and with which our stories are now entwined,” Grice added.
2025 Regional Architecture Awards & Commendations
Commercial Architecture
Award – Hotel Marvell | HGA Studio | The Bundjalung Nation of Byron Bay – Arakwal People, the Minjungbal People and the Widjabul People
Educational Architecture
Award – New Boarding House, Yanco Agricultural High School, SINSW | ARM Architecture | Wiradjuri Country
Heritage
Commendation – Sadlier Residence | Source Architects | Wiradjuri Country
Interior Architecture
Commendation – Yukari House | Tanev Muir Architects | Arakwal People of the Bundjalung Nation
Award – Bonito | HGA Studio | The Arakwal People, the Minjungbal People and the Widjabul People of the Bundjalung Nation
Award – Women's Trauma Recovery Centre, Shellharbour | Edmiston Jones | Wodi Wodi People, Dharawal Country
Public Architecture
Commendation – Coffs Harbour Jetty Foreshore Community Building | King and Campbell | Gumbaynggirr Country
Award – Bathurst Animal Rehoming Centre (BARC) | Welsh and Major | Wiradjuri Country
Small Project Architecture
Award – Wallabies Watch | StudioMODA | The Arakwal People, the Minjungbal People and the Widjabul People of the Bundjalung Nation
Urban Design
Award – Coffs Harbour Jetty Foreshore Community Building | King and Campbell | Gumbaynggirr
Residential Architecture – Houses (New)
Commendation – Brahminy House | HGA Studio | The Arakwal People, the Minjungbal People and the Widjabul People of the Bundjalung Nation
Commendation – House Nabiac | Nicholas Flatman Architecture | Katang-speaking Aboriginal people of the Biripi and Worimi Tribes
Award – High Tide House | Ware Architects | Arakwal Bumberlin People of the Bundjalung Nation
Award – House in the Dry | MRTN Architects | Kamilaroi/Gomeroi of the Kamilaroi Nation
Award – Rosedale House | Scale Architecture | Yuin Country
Residential Architecture – Houses (Alterations and Additions)
Commendation – Yukari House | Tanev Muir Architects | Arakwal People of the Bundjalung Nation
Award – House in Narrawallee | Architect George | Budawang People of the Yuin Nation
Residential Architecture – Multiple Housing
Award – Cedar on Collins | Kennedy Associates Architects | Wodi Wodi People, Dharawal Country
James Barnet Award
Award – High Tide House | Ware Architects | Arakwal Bumberlin People of the Bundjalung Nation
Medallion
Award – Women's Trauma Recovery Centre, Shellharbour | Edmiston Jones | Wodi Wodi People of Dharawal Country
Timber Award
Award – High Tide House | Ware Architects | Arakwal Bumberlin People of the Bundjalung Nation
Vision Award
Award – Women's Trauma Recovery Centre, Shellharbour | Edmiston Jones | Wodi Wodi People of Dharawal Country
