Once again, the shortlist for the annual RIAS Awards is striking in its diversity in terms of scale, location and purpose.

The judges will visit a series of public projects including a museum, library, and healthcare facility, and will see how several historic buildings including an outdoor swimming pool, a 15th century tower house and doocot, and a National Trust for Scotland properties in the Hebrides have been given new leases of life through skilled building conservation.

The shortlist also includes a wide range of private and social housing projects, as well as two new buildings at the University of Edinburgh, which demonstrate the importance of Scotland’s higher education sector in commissioning excellent new architecture.

The 2026 RIAS Awards shortlisted projects are: 

    • Edinburgh Futures Institute (Edinburgh) by Bennetts Associates
    • Hospitalfield Arts Studios (Arbroath, Angus) by Caruso St John Architects
    • Iorram (Highlands) by Baillie Baillie Architects
    • Kilmartin Museum (Kilmartin, Argyll) by Reiach and Hall Architects
    • Neilston Learning Campus (East Renfrewshire) by BDP
    • Paisley Central Library (Paisley, Renfrewshire) by Collective Architecture
    • Parkhead Health & Social Care and Community Hub (Glasgow) by Hoskins Architects
    • Preston Tower, Doocot & Gardens (East Lothian) by GRAS
    • Rosslyn Castle (Midlothian) by Page\Park Architects
    • St Andrew’s Drive Phases 2 & 3 (Glasgow) by jmarchitects
    • Taigh na Coille (Scourie, Sutherland) by WT Architecture
    • Tarlair Outdoor Pool Pavillion (Macduff, Aberdeenshire) by Studio Octopi
    • The Canna House Project for the National Trust for Scotland (Isle of Canna) by LDN Architects
    • Usher Building, University of Edinburgh (Edinburgh) by Hassell

The 14 projects on the shortlist will now each be visited by the 2026 RIAS Awards jury, which includes Elilidh Izat (director, Izat Arundell), Owen Hopkins (director, the Farrell Centre), Chris Dyson (director, Chris Dyson Architects) and Anna Liu (director, Tonkin Liu and RIBA Awards representative).

The winners of this year’s RIAS Awards will be announced at the end of May. As in previous years, the winning projects will also make up the ‘longlist’ for the RIAS Andrew Doolan Best Building in Scotland Award - the pinnacle of the RIAS awards programme. Recipients of the 2026 RIAS Awards are also eligible for recognition in the current Royal Institute of British Architects (RIBA) Awards.

Tamsie Thomson, chief executive of the Royal Incorporation of Architects in Scotland, said: “Our judges have their work cut out to select the 2026 RIAS Awards winners from such an exceptional shortlist.

“Visiting shortlisted projects with the judges is always one of the highlights of my year, and is a thrilling reminder of the talent and skill shown by architects in every corner of the country. This is certainly the first year we have had to commandeer a fishing boat to visit one of the remote island projects, so it’s notepads and sea legs at the ready as we head off to find this year’s winners.”