Dezeen Awards 2019 architecture shortlist reveals world's best buildings

The Dezeen Awards 2019 architecture shortlist has been announced. It includes a cultural centre that doubles as public seating in Iran, a house in England made from recycled cork, and a thatched restaurant overlooking Peru's Sacred Valley.

Shortlisted architecture projects this year are from 31 countries across the globe, including Cambodia, Fiji, Peru, Russia and Sri Lanka. China is the country where the most shortlisted projects are located, with six buildings on the list.

Presence in Hormoz, Iran, by ZAV Architects
Rong Cultural Centre by ZAV Architects is shortlisted for the cultural building category. Photo is by Soroush Majidi

In total there are 53 architecture projects across ten categories on this year's Dezeen Award shortlist, revealing the world's best buildings completed within the past two years.

View all shortlisted architecture projects on the Dezeen Awards website ›

Kengo Kuma's V&A Dundee, Coaldrops Yard by Heatherwick Studio and Snøhetta's undersea restaurant have made the shortlist. The list also features work by Japanese studio Katsutoshi Sasaki + Associates, Atelier Masomi from Niger, Indonesian practice RAW Architecture and MDDM Studio from China.

Vietnam practice Vo Trong Nghia Architects and Mexico City-based Taller Hector Barroso both have more than one project on the shortlist.

Mill Centro restaurant by Estudio Rafael Freyre
Mil Centro by Estudio Rafael Freyre is one of five projects shortlisted for rebirth project. Photo is by Gustavo Vivanco

Other highlights from the shortlist include a spiralling wooden temple built for Burning Man festival, a woven bamboo yoga pavilion in the Mexican jungle, a homeless housing project in Los Angeles, and a marketplace with recycled metal canopies in Niger

The shortlist was selected by a panel of leading architects and industry figures, including Sou Fujimoto, Frida Escobedo, Winy Maas, Alison Brooks, Lyndon Neri, Julia Barfield, Kunlé Adeyemi, Doriana Fuksas and Jim Olson.

Luum Temple Tulum by CoLab Design Office
Luum temple by Co-Lab Design has been shortlisted for a Dezeen Award in the small building category. Photo by Cesar Bejar

The longlist of 267 architecture projects were whittled down using three criteria, scoring them according to how beautiful, innovative and beneficial to people and planet they are.

The winner of each project category will be announced online in October. All ten winners will then go on to compete for the title of architecture project of the year, which will be revealed at the awards party in London on 30 October. Shortlisted firms will be sent details of the party soon!

Look out for the interiors, design and studios shortlists, which will be revealed on Dezeen later this week.

View all 53 projects on the Dezeen Awards website or browse the list below:


Urban house

House in Akashi, Akashi, Japan, by Arbol Design
› Tiny Tower, Philadelphia, US, by ISA
› T Noie, Toyota, Japan, by Katsutoshi Sasaki + Associates
› Ha House, Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam, by Vo Trong Nghia Architects
› Stepping Park House, Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam, by Vo Trong Nghia Architects


Rural house

› Sonoma weeHouse, Santa Rosa, US, by Alchemy Architects
Kawakawa House, Piha, New Zealand, by Herbst Architects
Casa Campinarana, Manaus, Brazil, by Laurent Troost
Springhill House, Springhill, Australia, by Lovell Burton Architecture
Smith Residence, Nova Scotia, Canada, by MacKay-Lyons Sweetapple Architects
Cork House, Windsor, UK, by Matthew Barnett Howland with Dido Milne and Oliver Wilton


Housing project

Treehouse, Seoul, South Korea, by Bo-Daa
MLK1101 Supportive Housing, Los Angeles, US, by Lorcan O’Herlihy Architects (LOHA)
The New Brick Tectonic, Malaga, Spain, by Muñoz Miranda Architects
› Entre Pinos, Valle de Bravo, Mexico, by Taller Hector Barroso
› LC 710, Mexico City, Mexico, by Taller Hector Barroso


Residential rebirth project

Rassvet Loft Studio, Moscow, Russia, by DNK
Casa Morgana, Hanover, Germany, by J Mayer H
North Melbourne Terrace, Melbourne, Australia, by Matt Gibson Architecture + Design
› House on the Great Wall, Beijing, China, by MDDM Studio
Exoskeleton House, Wollongong, Australia, by Takt Studio
G-Lab, Bruges, Belgium, by TC Plus


Civic building

The Cloud Town Convention and Exhibition Centre, Hangzhou, China, by Approach Design
Regional Market, Dandaji, Niger, by Atelier Masomi
› Red Cross Volunteer House, Copenhagen, Denmark, by COBE
Alfa Omega School, Tangerang, Indonesia, by RAW Architecture
› Oasis Terraces, Punggol, Singapore, by Serie Architects
Viettel Academy, Hanoi, Vietnam, by Vo Trong Nghia Architects


Cultural building

› Helsinki Central Library Oodi, Helsinki, Finland, by ALA Architects
› V&A Dundee, Dundee, UK, by Kengo Kuma
Evans Tree House, Arkansas, US, by Modus Studio
› UCCA Dune Art Museum, Qinhuangdao, China, by Open Architecture
Rong Cultural Centre, Hormoz Island, Iran, by ZAV Architects


Business building

The Glass Fortress, Bangkok, Thailand, by Archismith
The Royal College of Pathologists, London, UK, by Bennetts Associates
Forsyning Helsingør Operations Centre, Helsingør, Denmark, by Christensen & Co
Vanke Design Community plot A4+B2, Shenzhen, China, by fcha
Star Engineers Factory and Administrative Building, Hanoi, Vietnam, by Studio_VDGA


Hospitality building

XY Yunlu Hotel, Yangjia, China, by Atelier Liu Yuyang
Wild Coast Tented Lodge, Yala, Sri Lanka, by Nomadic Resorts
› Ayla Golf Academy and Clubhouse, Jordan, by Oppenheim Architecture
Under – Europe's First Underwater Restaurant, Lindesnes, Norway, by Snøhetta
Manshausen 2.0, Manshausen, Norway, by Stinessen Arkitektur


Rebirth project

› Pedestrian and cycle footbridge under the Adolphe Bridge, Luxembourg City, Luxembourg, by CBA Architects
The Forest BIG, Taipei City, Taiwan, by Divooe Zein Architects
› Mil Centro, Maras, Peru, by Estudio Rafael Freyre
› Coal Drops Yard, London, UK, by Heatherwick Studio
› LocHal library, Tilburg, Netherlands, by Civic Architects, Inside Outside/Petra Blaisse and Braaksma & Roos Architectenbureau


Small building

Naidi Community Hall, Naidi, Fiji, by CAUKIN Studio
Luum Temple, Tulum, Mexico, by Co-Lab Design Office
› Galaxia, Black Rock Desert, US, by Mamou-Mani Architects
Adventurous Global School, Battambang, Cambodia, by Orient Occident Atelier
A Room for Archaeologists and Kids, Pachacámac, Peru, by Studio Tom Emerson and Taller 5, PUCP