AHI Architecture Award 2025 – Europe’s building culture as a mirror of the present

The AHI Architecture Award 2025 is once again positioning itself as an important European benchmark for quality, innovation and responsibility in dealing with built heritage. At a time of increasing ecological and social challenges, the award shows how the transformation of existing architecture is becoming a strategic instrument of spatial production – and why building culture in the 21st century is far more than just aesthetic or historical maintenance.

With a focus on interventions in existing historical buildings, public urban spaces, planning strategies and cultural mediation, the AHI Architecture Award 2025 offers a panorama of positions that locates European architectural practice between preservation, conversion and public added value. The award-winning projects from Belgium, Spain, Greece and Italy exemplify how regional identity, architectural heritage and contemporary requirements can be combined to create future-oriented designs.

The AHI Architecture Award 2025 was presented in Barcelona in June – traditionally at the place where it was founded. Since 2011, the initiative has seen itself as a European platform for the promotion of architectural quality in dealing with historical contexts. What began as a Catalan project has now established itself as a continent-wide forum for discussion and best practice.

In the current edition, a total of 238 projects from 24 countries were submitted. They document a cross-disciplinary examination of building on existing buildings: not only on a material level, but also on a social, cultural and planning level. The AHI Architecture Award 2025 recognizes not only spectacular renovations, but also subtle reinterpretations, long-term development strategies and formats of cultural mediation.

The major role played by public clients is striking. Almost all of the award-winning projects were initiated by cities, regions or state institutions. This illustrates the growing responsibility of the public sector with regard to the preservation, activation and reinterpretation of building culture.

Built Heritage” category: Transformation in Antwerp

In the Built Heritage category, an intervention on a medieval building ensemble in Antwerp, Belgium, received an award. The project impresses with its clear attitude to the historical substance and the architectural quality of the new elements. The aim was not to preserve history as a museum, but to transform it into an active, publicly accessible place. The historic structure was precisely restored, while a new building functions as a self-confident but respectful addition. The AHI Architecture Award 2025 recognizes not only technical competence, but also conceptual clarity.

“Exterior Spaces” category: urban space as a social sounding board

In the Exterior Spaces category, a public square in the Spanish city of Olot was reinterpreted. The design is based on a subtle understanding of the existing topography and historical structure. The aim of the intervention was not a spectacular redesign, but the quiet restoration of a place for the urban collective. The design creates spaces for encounters, play and contemplative use – without detracting from the historical weight of the site. In the spirit of the AHI Architecture Award 2025, the project is an example of how contemporary design can enter into a productive dialog with existing history.

“Urban Planning” category: Between antiquity and modernity

The award in the Urban Planning category went to a master plan project for ancient Corinth in Greece. It aims to create an integrative link between the archaeological site and today’s urban structure. The planning not only takes conservation aspects into account, but also sees the site as an active part of a contemporary urban landscape. The AHI Architecture Award 2025 thus emphasizes that sustainable urban development is inconceivable without cultural and historical continuity.

“Dissemination” category: mediation as an architectural practice

The Dissemination category was awarded to a publication dedicated to the documentary processing of ruins and traces of historical architecture. The combination of cartography, photography and text creates a multimedia work that appeals to both professionals and interested laypeople. The jury of the AHI Architecture Award 2025 thus recognizes the growing importance of mediation work within architecture – as a bridge between the professional world and society.

In addition to the main categories, the AHI Architecture Award 2025 also presents two special awards. The first – as part of the New European Bauhaus initiative – went to a project in Belgium that transforms a former industrial plant into a participatory center for circular economy and social participation. The second – a Restoration Special Mention – went to Italy for the methodical and consistent restoration of a medieval bell tower. Both projects set new standards in dealing with existing structures: ecologically, functionally and socially.

These special prizes make it clear that the discussion about building culture increasingly includes issues of participation, inclusion and sustainability. The AHI Architecture Award 2025 thus shows that architecture in existing buildings is more than mere maintenance – it is a tool for actively shaping society.

A special feature of the AHI is its digital archive, which now documents more than 1400 projects from over thirty countries. It functions not only as a reference work, but also as a living repository of knowledge on European conversion culture. For architects, conservationists, city administrations and teachers, the archive offers a valuable resource for reference, inspiration and international comparability.

The AHI Architecture Award 2025 gives this collection new impetus and contributes to further sharpening the understanding of architecture as a socially relevant practice. The focus is not on spectacular large-scale projects, but on the careful, intelligent and long-term handling of existing buildings.

The AHI Architecture Award 2025 conveys a clear picture: the future of building does not lie in radical new construction, but in the creative use of what already exists. The award-winning projects show that historical substance is not an obstacle, but a resource – for cultural identity, ecological sustainability and social innovation.

Whether urban square, cultural building, master plan or book publication – they are all united by the claim to understand architecture as an open, integrating discipline. The prize thus functions not only as an award, but also as a source of inspiration, an archive and a European voice for architectural quality.

In times of resource scarcity, climate crisis and growing social fragmentation, the AHI Architecture Award 2025 offers convincing answers to central questions of our built environment. And reminds us that the past is not a thing of the past – but an active part of the architecture of tomorrow.

Read more about the BDA Architecture Award for young architects here