Shortlist revealed: Australian Urban Design Awards 2026

04 Mar 2026 By architectureau

Twenty-seven projects across three categories have been shortlisted for the 2026 Australian Urban Design Awards.

Three of four categories have disclosed their shortlists. These include Built Outcomes, Research and Advocacy, and Strategic Design and Policy. A fourth category, Urban Design Champions, has not released a shortlist but will reveal the category winner during the awards ceremony in Canberra on 24 March 2026.

The 2026 Built Outcomes jury comprises Matt Pullinger, director of Matthew Pullinger Architect; Bill Tsakalos, city architect and director of transformational design at Blacktown City Council; Leigh Woolley, director of Leigh Woolley Architect; and Emily Wong, editor of Landscape Architecture Australia.

The 2026 jury for the Research and Advocacy, and Strategic Design and Policy categories includes Anna Chauvel of Design and Place, Placemaking NSW; Cameron Caldwell, Member for Fadden, Liberal National Party of Queensland; Ben Driver, senior lecturer in urban development and design at UNSW; and Bridget Smyth, city architect and executive manager of city design and public art at the City of Sydney.

The 2026 Urban Design Champions jury consists of Elizabeth Watson-Brown, Member for Ryan, Australian Greens; Tina Perinotto, managing editor of The Fifth Estate; Danièle Hromek, director and design lead of Djinjama; Ian Woodcock, senior lecturer in urbanism at the School of Architecture, Design and Planning, the University of Sydney; and Jennie Officer, director of Officer Woods Architects.

Since 1996, the awards program has recognised urban design contributions and innovations that improve the performance of Australian cities for communities.

Balam Balam Place - Kennedy Nolan, Open Work and Finding Infinity

Barangaroo Station Park - Arcadia

Campbelltown Multi-storey Mobility Hub - Hill Thalis Architecture and Urban Projects

Green Square Public School and Community Spaces - BVN

Jewell Station Village - Neometro

Merri Northcote - Six Degrees Architects

Metro Tunnel - Hassell, WW+P Architects and RSHP

New Footscray Hospital - Cox Architecture, Billard Leece Partnership (BLP) and Tract

St Kilda Pier Redevelopment - Jackson Clements Burrows Architects with Site Office Landscape Architecture and AW Maritime

Surry Hills Village - SJB, Studio Prineas and Aspect Studios

Adaptive Reuse City House Initiative (ARCHI) - City of Adelaide

Design for Climate Design for Change - Marra and Yeh Architects

Learning to Walk Again - Learning to Walk Again

Safer Cities program - Transport for NSW

Sydney's Food Landscapes: Agriculture, Planning, Sustainability - Dr Joshua Zeunert and Dr Alys Daroy

The Grassening - "The Grassening" Team

ULI Australia, and Department of Transport and Planning (Victoria) Net Zero Imperative: Technical Assistance Panel (TAP) - Street Trees as Essential Infrastructure - The Urban Land Institute (ULI) Australia, and the Department of Transport and Planning (Victoria)

Base Farm Greendale Master Plan - Terroir in association with Matthew Pullinger, Realm Studios, Yerrabingin, Atelier Ten, Costin Roe and Urbis

Campbelltown 3D City Centre Digital Twin - McGregor Coxall

City of Vincent - City of Vincent and the local businesses of Vincent

Doomadgee Future Planning Project - Doomadgee Aboriginal Shire Council, Circ Design and Meridian Urban

Kanamaluka/Tamar Master Plan: Infrastructure and Amenities - Fitzgerald Frisby Landscape Architecture

Ku-ring-gai Transport Oriented Development (TOD) Alternative - A Place-Led Strategic Planning Framework - Ku-ring-gai Transport Oriented Development (TOD) Alternative - A Place-Led Strategic Planning Framework

NSW Housing Pattern Book - Government Architect NSW with the NSW DPHI Strategic Planning and Policy Team

Redleaf Masterplan - Oculus and Landcom

The Rocks/Tallawoladah Women's Safety Strategy - Placemaking NSW with Arup and Transport for NSW

Thebarton Masterplan - Renewal SA, Arup, Breathe Architecture and TCL

The Australian Urban Design Awards are co-convened by the Australian Institute of Architects, the Australian Institute of Landscape Architects and the Planning Institute of Australia, and supported by principal partner Bondor Metecno and supporting partner Dulux.