NEWS | GN Architects Wins the First RIBA Royal Institute of British Architects Asia Pacific Award
On December 17, 2025, the Royal Institute of British Architects (RIBA) announced the jury results of the First RIBA Asia Pacific Awards at the RAFA Celebration venue in Shenzhen. "Seaside Pavilion on Chai Shan Island, Zhoushan", a work by GN Architects, won the Final Award in the Temporary Architecture category of this awards program.
Distinguished figures in the global architecture industry attended the awards ceremony, including Sir Peter Cook, Wolf D. Prix (co-founder of Coop Himmelb(l)au), Kengo Kuma, and Patrik Schumacher (partner of Zaha Hadid Architects). Chris Williamson, President of RIBA, presented awards to the 8 final winning teams.
△ GN Architects's work "Seaside Pavilion on Chai Shan Island，Zhoushan" wins the Final Award
Founded in 1834, the Royal Institute of British Architects (RIBA) has become one of the most historically profound and influential professional institutions in the global architecture field. Over nearly two centuries, RIBA has always led the pursuit of excellence in architecture through its rigorous educational accreditation system, professional practice supervision (such as PEDR record review), and the selection of high-standard world-class awards. It has become an important cornerstone connecting tradition and the future and shaping global architectural practice.
As an important part of the RIBA International Awards, the evaluation of this RIBA Asia Pacific Awards adopted the "Live Design Review" mechanism. On December 16, the jury set up 9 review rooms to conduct on-site reviews of 63 shortlisted projects from the Asia Pacific region, and finally selected 8 winning projects.
△ GN Architectsconducting on-site defense
GN Architects's team presented the intervention strategy of the Chaishan Island project to the jury composed of 30 architects and completed the defense on the design logic and site response. As the winner of the First RIBA Asia Pacific Awards, this project will directly participate in the review process of the 2026 RIBA International Awards for Excellence.
△ RIBA President Chris Williamson presents the award to GN Qicheng Design
It is reported that the shortlisted projects of this competition span 13 countries and regions, including Australia, China, Japan, Singapore, Sri Lanka, India, Bangladesh, Vietnam, etc. The project design units also include design firms from Europe, the Americas, Australia and other regions. The final winning works of this competition are as follows:
University of Bangladesh, WOHA
CapitaSpring, BIG - Bjarke Ingels Group
House of Memories, Studio Gravitas, Eleemente & Bodh Design Group
Qianhai Museum, Architectural Design and Research Institute of South China University of Technology
Ruixue Multi-Functional Exhibition Hall, College of Architecture and Urban Planning, Tongji University
Chaishan Island Seaside Pavilion, GN Architects
Taoxichuan Ceramic Culture and Creative Park, Zhang Jie, Beijing Tsinghua AnDi Architectural Design Co., Ltd., Tsinghua Tongheng Urban Planning and Design Institute
Xiwusutu Village Community Center, Hohhot, Inner Mongolia University of Technology Architectural Design Co., Ltd.
As a cross-border event, this RAFA Celebration presented a peak dialogue of ideas and visions. The three-day event gathered top minds in the global architectural design field.
△ Kengo Kuma, Sir Peter Cook, Patrik Schumacher, Wolf D. Prix
In addition, the RAFA Special Exhibition specially curated a thematic activity "Women in Architecture Digital Nexus: She is an Architect", aiming to explore the diverse balance of the architectural industry ecosystem and present the diverse creativity and professional influence of female architects in the contemporary field. Female architects from GN Qicheng Design and their outstanding works were also invited to be exhibited at the special exhibition.
△ The special exhibition venue and GN Architects's work "Weifang Zhongyi Longhu Healthy Town"
