Meet the jury: 2026 ArchitectureAu Award for Social Impact

The 2026 ArchitectureAu Award for Social Impact jury brings together leading figures across architecture, research and social policy.

Now in its fourth year, the award program recognises the significant impact that built works created for public benefit can have on the communities that occupy them.

The award criteria focus on demonstrable social benefit and the quality and originality of the design thinking that delivered it. Last year's award was jointly won by Habilis by Collins and Turner - an adaptive reuse social housing project for people living with chronic mental illness in Sydney - and the Munarra Centre for Regional Excellence by ARM Architecture - a First Peoples-led education facility in regional Victoria.

The jury for 2026 includes:

Andrew Nimmo is a director of Sydney-based design studio Lahznimmo Architects, which he founded in 1994 with partner Annabel Lahz. The firm's work is widely published and has received numerous awards. Nimmo maintains a special interest in architectural criticism and journalism and is a regular contributor to architectural journals. He has delivered professional lectures throughout Australia, is regularly invited to be a guest critic and lecturer at Australian universities, and was an adjunct professor in the Faculty of Architecture, Design and Planning at the University of Sydney. Nimmo is a past president of the New South Wales Chapter of the Australian Institute of Architects and a life fellow.

Ceridwen Owen is an associate professor in architecture and design at the University of Tasmania, co-lead of the Diverse Inclusions research lab, and a partner with Core Collective Architects. Owen's research and practice focus on design for health and social inclusion, particularly cognitive and sensory diversity and trauma-informed design. She collaborates with academics and practitioners across disciplines, including neuroscience, nursing, occupational therapy, public health, psychology and education. Her work bridges research and practice, with current projects exploring the creation of enabling environments in disability housing, education, healthcare, and women's refuges.

Sarah Lynn Rees is a Palawa woman descending from the Plangermaireener and Trawlwoolway people of North-East Tasmania. Based in Birrarung-ga (Melbourne), she is an architectural practitioner, an academic and a writer. She is also prominent advocate and advisor with a firm commitment to Indigenising the built environment. Lynn Rees is an associate principal at Jackson Clements Burrows Architects, a lecturer at Monash University, and was the inaugural co-chair of the Australian Institute for Architects First Nations Advisory Committee. She is also a co-creator of Deadly Djurumin; director of Parlour: gender, equity, architecture; and a director on the board of the Australian Centre for Contemporary Art.

Jess Scully is the executive director of RadicalxChange (RxC), a foundation and global network driving transformative systems change. She is a non-executive director of Parents for Climate, a senior associate at the Sydney Policy Lab, a member of Women for Election's Political Advisory Board, and the author of Glimpses of Utopia: Real Ideas for a Fairer World, which explores solutions to climate and inequality crises. As a former Sydney councillor and deputy lord mayor, she established a Meanwhile Use housing model to address gendered violence and the housing crisis; introduced a framework for an inclusive economy through Community Wealth Building; and encouraged the city to engage a citizens' jury to shape its 2030-2050 strategic plan. Scully has also worked as a World Bank consultant on urban transformation in Indonesia, advised the NSW Minister for the Arts, hosted Saturday Afternoons on ABC Radio, and founded and directed Vivid Ideas, Australia's largest creative industries event.

Joining the jury will be Katelin Butler, the editorial director at Architecture Media, alongside jury convenor Rory Hyde, an Associate Professor in Architecture, Curatorial Design and Practice at the University of Melbourne.

Entries close 5pm on 10 April 2026 and can be submitted by any built environment professional, individually or in a group. Entered projects must be for or about Australia, or completed by an Australian-based or -affiliated practitioner. Projects must be completed (built). A cash prize of $5,000 is awarded to the winner. See previous winning and commended projects here, and entry requirements here.

The ArchitectureAu Award for Social Impact is organised by Architecture Media, and supported by presenting partner Melbourne School of Design and supporting partners Latitude Group and Pepto Lab.