SOCIAL MEDIA ZEITGEIST

From historic restorations to high-impact urban greening, the 2025 Civic Trust Awards offered a vivid snapshot of architecture that puts people, heritage, and the environment at its core. With 68 projects recognised—drawn from the UK, Canada, Germany, India, Sweden, and Egypt—this year’s honours reflect not only aesthetic achievement but also a deeper civic ethos. More than 250 entries were submitted from across these six countries, reinforcing the programme’s growing international significance.

The winning projects exemplified not only design excellence but also strong community engagement, adaptive reuse, and bold approaches to sustainability.

We explore the year’s most notable projects through the lenses of sustainability, community engagement, heritage conservation, and adaptive reuse.

Cities Reclaimed: Greening and Sustainability
Urban transformation was a dominant theme in 2025, led by the West End Project in Camden, which won the Special Award for Sustainability (below). LDA Design’s bold scheme reclaimed car-dominated streets around Tottenham Court Road, replacing tarmac with biodiverse green spaces, new parks, and cycle routes. Sponsored by Derwent London, the award recognised the project’s holistic climate-responsive design, from sustainable sourcing to nature-led placemaking.

In Aberdeenshire, the Gairnshiel Jubilee Bridge by Moxon Architects received a full Civic Trust Award for its restrained and context-sensitive design. The new bridge offers a durable and elegant replacement to a vulnerable 18th-century structure, employing sustainable concrete and recycled materials while maintaining harmony with the Cairngorms landscape.

Architecture with Agency: Community-Led and Social Design
Tower Court in Hackney stood out not only as a full Civic Trust Award winner but also as the recipient of the Special Award for Community Impact & Engagement (below). A collaboration between Adam Khan Architects, muf architecture/art, and Child Graddon Lewis, the project was shaped through deep consultation with the Haredi Jewish community. It incorporates culturally tailored features such as sukkah balconies, generous family-sized layouts, and welcoming communal areas, showing how participatory design can shape inclusive living environments.

Cosway Street, a housing development in Westminster by Bell Phillips Architects, and David Miller Architects (below), also received a Civic Trust Award for its integration of housing and public realm improvements on a constrained urban site. Its form, scale, and relationship to the street reflect careful negotiation between density, quality of life, and architectural clarity.

Reuse and Retrofit: A Sustainable Imperative
The Mary Ward Centre in East London (below) was the recipient of the Special Award for Reuse & Adaptation. Designed by AWW, the project transformed a tired 1980s office building into a vibrant centre for adult education and community services. With 65% of the structure retained and a 40% reduction in embodied carbon, the retrofit demonstrates a model of low-carbon civic renewal without design compromise.

Stanley Arts in Croydon was Highly Commended. This restoration and revitalisation of a much-loved local venue provided new performance and exhibition space while improving accessibility and preserving historic features. The project respected the character of the Edwardian building while ensuring its relevance for contemporary cultural use.

Historic Buildings Reimagined: Conservation Excellence
Two of the UK Parliament’s most iconic structures were jointly awarded the Michael Middleton Special Award, honouring exemplary conservation work. The restoration of Elizabeth Tower by Purcell reinstated the structural and decorative integrity of one of the UK’s most recognisable landmarks, including the return of the original Prussian blue clock faces and the introduction of improved access and safety measures.

The Westminster Hall Conservation Project by Donald Insall Associates similarly blended careful heritage stewardship with modern enhancements. From upgrading environmental performance to installing a new stained-glass window commemorating Queen Elizabeth II, the project reinforced Westminster Hall’s dual role as a national monument and a functioning civic space.

Elsewhere, the Hyde Park Picture House in Leeds (below) was Highly Commended for its sensitive reinvention of a historic cinema. The project added a second screen, improved circulation, and introduced step-free access while maintaining the building’s Edwardian charm, proving that cultural heritage can support contemporary audience needs.

Landmark Public Spaces and Infrastructure
This year’s most prestigious accolade—the Outstanding Achievement Special Award—was presented to Union Terrace Gardens in Aberdeen. Designed by LDA Design and Stallan-Brand for Aberdeen City Council, the redevelopment transformed a neglected park into a vibrant civic heart for the city. Judges praised its fusion of architecture, landscape, lighting, and accessibility as “a triumph of master planning.”

In Egypt, Festival Plaza in El Gouna (below) by Studio Seilern Architects—who had won Special Awards at the previous two Civic Trust Awards—was Highly Commended, it turned a desert location into a vibrant civic square, combining climate-responsive design with spatial drama to create a ) public space that is both durable and poetic.

Another notable recipient was the Dining Hall at Homerton College, University of Cambridge. With its warm, tactile interiors and sculptural timber structure, the project by Feilden Fowles offers a new heart to college life while showcasing low-carbon design in a heritage context.

Architecture That Matters
The 2025 Civic Trust Award winners demonstrate that thoughtful design can bridge the past and the future, resolve complex civic demands, and build places that belong to everyone. Whether through adaptive reuse, accessible public realm, or deeply engaged social housing, the projects celebrated this year are a reminder that good architecture does not simply decorate our environment—it strengthens it.

In a year defined by ecological urgency and social complexity, the Civic Trust Awards affirmed that architecture, at its best, responds to place and people with sensitivity, purpose, and optimism. Many of these winning projects are publicly funded – and we desperate need a programme of investment from government to generate more projects of this quality. We hope to see more opportunities materialise in the coming years.