As part of this year’s new RSUA Architecture Awards, three People and Practice Awards have been introduced. They are the Rising Star Award, the Practice of the Year Award and the Lifetime Achievement Award.
The winners of the RSUA People and Practice Awards will be publicly announced at the Gala Evening of the RSUA Architecture Awards on Thursday 14 May 2026 in the Ulster Hall.
Also announced at the Gala Evening will be the winners of each Project category. The project shortlist can be viewed here.
In recognition of the significant and often unseen contribution made by architects in the early stages of their career, RSUA launched the RSUA Rising Star Award. Nominations for this year’s Award were open to RSUA members and ARB registered architects and who had completed their RIBA Part 2 or equivalent after 1 September 2016.
The shortlisted nominees for RSUA Rising Star 2026 are:
An architect at FaulknerBrowns, Alex qualified in 2023 after completing his master’s at Queen’s University Belfast and now helps lead major international masterplanning projects from the Belfast studio. Alongside practice, he has made a significant impact in heritage preservation, successfully nominating Belfast’s Assembly Rooms to the World Monuments Fund 2025 watchlist and contributing to efforts to secure its future for public use.
Eunan Deeney is an architect based in Co.Tyrone. A First Class Honours graduate of Ulster University and recipient of the Ulster Architectural Heritage Society Writing Prize, he has worked at Allies and Morrison, TODD Architects and NEST Architects, leading projects from concept through construction with a strong commitment to place-led design.
Jamie Garfield is an ARB and RIBA registered architect at Gravity Architects in Derry. He leads community focused projects from inception to delivery, including the Gasyard Centre & Ulster University Sports Dome. He coordinates multidisciplinary teams, mentors junior staff, and champions design-led, context-responsive architecture that delivers meaningful social value.
Matthew is a registered Architect in the UK with ARB & RIBA having completed his studies in Queens University Belfast graduating with Distinction in 2017. During this time, Matthew’s work has been published and exhibited internationally as well as winning several awards including the RIAI Master Thesis excellence award, the RIBA Eyeline award and the RSUA Early Career Competition. Professionally, he has gained experience at leading Architectural studios working at a variety of scales, including Foster + Partners, Clancy Moore, and most recently ALWA.
Orlaith Maguire is a qualified architect at TODD Architects, progressing from Part 1 to Part 2 after earning a Distinction in her Master’s. She combines large-scale commercial expertise with impactful community projects, demonstrating a rare ability to balance private and public interests with creativity, leadership, and professional rigour.
The Practice of the Year Award recognises an architects’ practice which stands out for its achievements over recent years, with a particular focus on the past year.
The shortlisted practices for Practice of the Year 2026 are:
Arigho Larmour Wheeler Architects is an award-winning RIAI and RIBA/RSUA chartered practice with studios in Belfast and Dublin, creating thoughtful, contemporary architecture that responds to place, people and context, including historic and listed buildings across the UK and Ireland, with a focus on collaboration, design excellence, and sustainability.
Hall Black Douglas, based in Belfast, was established as a partnership in 1986 by Rodney Hall, Mervyn Black and Stephen Douglas. Hall Black Douglas’s approach to architectural practice continues to demonstrate how the design skill of architects can be applied to diverse design challenges across a broad spectrum of scales, specialisms and sectors from urban design and new build projects to conservation, sustainability and adaptive reuse.
Studiorogers has operated from the North Coast since 1995 and opened a Belfast City Centre Office in 2024.It has acquired a reputation for high quality Housing and Hospitality design across NI as well as Commercial, Ecclesiastical, Conservation and Private Residential work. It employs 14 staff over the 2 Offices.
White Ink Architects is an employee-owned practice bridging vision with practical reality. The practice specializes in high-density residential and mixed-use schemes across the UK & Ireland, balancing design with technical expertise. Their approach embraces complexity in projects, making challenging budgets work without compromising quality. Their success comes from passionate people.
Congratulations to the architects and practices shortlisted!
