The Royal Society of Ulster Architects (RSUA) has awarded the Liam McCormick Prize for Ulster’s Building of the Year to the Monaghan Peace Campus, designed by Hall Black Douglas Architects. The project also won the Architects’ Choice Award which polled the views of 300 local architects.
The centre, designed for Monaghan County Council, joins a list of the finest buildings in Ulster to have won the prize which includes the Student Hub at Queen’s University Belfast’s Business School, the Lyric Theatre and Giant’s Causeway visitor centre.
The judges said, “Monaghan Peace Campus is an exemplary public building that demonstrates the strength of architecture as civic infrastructure. It transforms a constrained and dilapidated brownfield site into a generous, inclusive and confident shared space, offering Monaghan a new civic focus at the edge of its town centre.”
The Public Choice Award, in which almost 4,000 people cast their vote, was won by Nest Architects for their King’s Road House project which saw a Victorian 3-storey semi-detached house in Belfast beautifully adapted and extended.
The other 13 other project winners including McConnell’s Distillery at the Crumlin Road Jail, Ardnashee School in Derry and two social housing projects, were announced at a Gala Dinner at the Ulster Hall on 14 May 2026.
Ciarán Fox, Director of RSUA, said, “Architecture is for everyone. That has been the primary focus of this year’s awards. It has been a fantastic celebration which really showcases all the different types of projects that architects are delivering. It’s been a joy to see how architects’ creativity and problem-solving skills are helping communities, boosting the economy and lifting the soul.”
“Thanks to everyone who took part in our Public Choice Award. It was our first time running it and we were delighted to see there was so much interest. People get it, architecture matters, and they love to explore that mix of projects, each with its own particular beauty and function.”
The full list of Award winners were:
| Project name | Architect(s) | Location | Client | Awards |
| Monaghan Peace Campus | Hall Black Douglas | Monaghan | Monaghan County Council | – Liam McCormick Prize – Architects Choice Award – Regional Public Building Award – Accessible & Inclusive Design Award |
| King’s Road House | Nest Architects | Belfast | Chris & Amy Taggart | Public Choice Award |
| Tollymore | McGonigle McGrath | Newcastle | James & Gabrielle Burns | New Home Award |
| Sam’s Cottage | Patrick Bradley Architect | Ballymena | Marie & Stephen Roulston | -Home Upgrade Award -Project Architect Award |
| The Savoy | McGarry-Moon Architects | Bangor | Clanmil Housing | Social Housing Development Award |
| Ross Street Mews | Studiorogers Architects | Belfast | Radius Housing Association | Social Housing Development Award |
| The Residences at King’s Hall | TODD Architects | Belfast | KH (Balmoral) | Private Housing Development Award |
| Northern Ireland Fire & Rescue Service – Learning & Development College | Kennedy FitzGerald Architects and Arcadis | Cookstown | Northern Ireland Fire & Rescue Service | Regional Public Building Award |
| Ardnashee School & College – Northland Road Academy | Samuel Stevenson & Sons | Derry/ Londonderry | Education Authority | -Local Public Building Award -Client of the Year Award |
| Queen’s Quay Kiosk | MMAS Architects & OGU Architects | Belfast | Belfast City Council with Maritime Trust | Small Project Award |
| McConnell’s Distillery at Crumlin Road Gaol | Like Architects | Belfast | Belfast Distillery Company | Conservation Award |
| Shankill Shared Women’s Centre | TODD Architects | Belfast | Belfast City Council and Shankill Shared Women’s Centre | Community Award |
| Custom House Belfast | TODD Architects | Belfast | Straidorn Properties | Regeneration Award |
| Irish Salt Mines Exploration (ISME) New Headquarters | Knox Clayton Architects | Carrickfergus | Irish Salt Mines Exploration (ISME) | Work & Leisure Award |
| Meadow of Eve | Arigho Larmour Wheeler Architects | Dublin | Private client | Ireland & Great Britian Award |
The RSUA Architecture Awards 2026 were sponsored by:
