The Aga Khan Award for Architecture prioritises one thing: social impact. Announced earlier this month, the 2025 shortlist sees the Middle East taking an unprecedented leading role with six of the 19 shortlisted projects spanning Palestine to Saudi Arabia, demonstrating the region's evolving approach to architecture as a tool for cultural preservation and community building.
Unlike awards that celebrate pure architectural innovation or celebrity architects, the Aga Khan Award for Architecture (AKAA) consistently highlights works that serve communities, particularly those with significant Muslim populations. And as is the case annually, this year's $1 million prize fund will be shared among projects that demonstrate how architecture can be a force for cultural continuity, social cohesion, and environmental responsibility.
Six Projects in The Middle East Shortlisted for the 2025 Aga Khan Award for Architecture
The 2025 Aga Khan Award for Architecture shortlist arrives at a pivotal moment when the Middle East is experiencing unprecedented architectural ambition. From NEOM's futuristic visions to Dubai's continued innovation, the region's design conversation often centres on scale and spectacle. The AKAA offers a necessary counterpoint, celebrating projects that prioritise community over celebrity, cultural continuity over disruption.
The six shortlisted Middle Eastern projects demonstrate sophisticated approaches to contemporary challenges: climate adaptation, heritage preservation, community participation in design, and the integration of traditional crafts with modern techniques. They represent architecture's most fundamental purpose, creating spaces where communities can thrive while preserving cultural identity.
For regional architects and developers, these projects offer practical frameworks. The Shamalat Cultural Centre's heritage integration, The Ned Hotel's adaptive reuse strategy, and the Majara Complex's community engagement methods provide repurposable architecture models for sustainable development throughout the Middle East.
The independent Master Jury will conduct site visits this summer before announcing winners, evaluating not just architectural merit but genuine community impact and cultural sensitivity. This rigorous process distinguishes the AKAA from awards based purely on aesthetic judgment, treating architecture as social infrastructure rather than artistic statement.
David Chipperfield Architects
A former Ministry of Interior building gets new life as a 90-room boutique hotel, proving that even brutalist architecture can be transformed into intimate hospitality spaces. Rather than demolishing the imposing concrete structure, Chipperfield's intervention preserves its stark modernist identity while creating spaces that feel both grand and welcoming. It's a masterclass in adaptive reuse that could inspire similar projects across the Gulf, where mid-century modernist buildings are increasingly valued as heritage worth preserving.
Syn Architects / Sara Alissa, Nojoud Alsudairi
Developed from an old mud house transformed by artist Maha Malluh, this cultural space on Diriyah's periphery exemplifies Saudi Arabia's nuanced approach to heritage under Vision 2030. The project juxtaposes traditional mud construction with contemporary interventions, creating spaces where historic architecture integrates naturally into everyday cultural life. It's architecture that feels authentically Saudi rather than performatively traditional.
AAU Anastas
Perhaps the most poignant entry, this three-storey concrete building serves as exhibition space, workshop, and community hub. Built entirely with local artisans and contractors, it's becoming a vital centre for Palestinian craft, design, and innovation. In a region where cultural expression faces constant challenges, such spaces represent acts of resilience as much as architectural achievement.
ZAV Architects / Mohamadreza Ghodousi
This ‘Rainbow Island’ project has ransformed Hormuz through a collection of colourful domed structures that provide sustainable tourism accommodation while actively involving local communities in both construction and operation. It's community-led regeneration that preserves the island's unique landscape while creating economic opportunities for residents.
KA Architecture Studio
This pedestrian-friendly building demonstrates how infrastructure can transcend mere functionality to become civic art. Clad in locally handmade brick with arched vaults of varying heights, the project transforms a neglected urban void into a landmark that celebrates traditional Persian architectural elements through contemporary interpretation.
Oualalou + Choi
Designed to outlive Expo 2020 and be converted into a cultural facility, this pavilion pioneers the advancement of large-scale rammed earth construction methods. It obtained gold LEED certification for its use of passive cooling strategies which keep mechanical air-conditioning to a bare minimum, demonstrating sustainable construction techniques applicable across hot climates. To discover the standout pavilions at the Expo 2025 Osaka, click here.
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The Complete Aga Khan Award for Architecture 2025 Shortlist: 19 Projects Shaping Global Architecture
In addition to the projects mentioned above, these 13 projects complete the shortlist for the 2025 Aga Khan Award for Architecture.
Khudi Bari by Marina Tabassum Architects
This lightweight, modular housing system addresses climate displacement with remarkable ingenuity. Constructed from bamboo and steel connectors, each unit can be assembled or dismantled by three people using simple tools, a scalable solution for communities facing rising sea levels throughout the Gulf and broader region.
West Wusutu Village Community Centre, Hohhot, by Zhang Pengju
At the edge of the Gobi Desert, Zhang Pengju has created something rare: a community building that actually serves the community. Built from reclaimed bricks, this isn't your typical rural centre. It's a masterclass in doing more with less, providing spaces for everyone from elderly residents to returning artists while respecting the Hui Muslim community's religious needs. Sometimes the best architecture is the kind that just quietly gets on with serving people.
Revitalisation of Historic Esna by Takween Integrated Community Development
Addressing cultural tourism challenges in Upper Egypt through physical interventions, socioeconomic initiatives and innovative urban strategies, this project transforms Esna from a neglected site centred on the Temple of Khnum into a prospering historic city. The initiative is holistic, combines preservation with inclusive growth, supporting local communities while attracting cultural tourism. It's heritage conservation that doesn't displace communities, which shouldn't be revolutionary but somehow still is.
The Arc at Green School, Bali, by IBUKU / Elora Hardy
The product of 15 years of bamboo experimentation at Green School Bali, this new community wellness centre is designed on the existing foundations of a former temporary gymnasium. The structure bridges high-precision engineering and local craftsmanship, demonstrating how sustainable materials can achieve architectural sophistication while serving educational communities.
Islamic Centre Nurul Yaqin Mosque, Palu, by Dave Orlando and Fandy Gunawan
Rebuilding after the 2018 tsunami that destroyed the original mosque, Orlando and Gunawan could have played it safe. Instead, they created something that embraces its vulnerability – a building open to the landscape, surrounded by a reflective pool that can be drained when more space is needed. It's architecture that acknowledges tragedy without being defined by it, which takes considerable courage.
Microlibraries by SHAU / Daliana Suryawinata, Florian Heinzelmann
Forget grand cultural institutions – SHAU is proving that 250 square meters can change a neighbourhood. These tiny libraries scattered across Indonesian kampung aren't trying to be Instagram-famous; they're just being useful. With 100 planned by 2045, it's the kind of patient, incremental urbanism that actually works. Revolutionary? No. Effective? Absolutely.
Campus Startup Lions, Turkana, by Kéré Architecture
Using local volcanic stone and integrating rainwater harvesting with solar energy, this educational and entrepreneurial hub creates spaces for technology education in one of the world's most challenging environments. It's a model for how architecture can bridge traditional building methods with contemporary programme needs.
Khan Jaljulia Restoration, Jaljulia, by Elias Khuri
An economical intervention within the remains of a 14th-century Khan (quarry), this project reconnects the Palestinian community with its cultural heritage by transforming an abandoned historic site into an active public space. It's preservation as community empowerment, using minimal resources to maximum social effect.
Revitalisation of Lalla Yeddouna Square, Fez, by Mossessian Architecture and Yassir Khalil Studio
Aiming to reconnect to the riverfront and enhance pedestrian circulation in the medina, this project preserves existing structures while designing new spaces for the benefit of local residents, artisans and visitors from around the world. The intervention balances heritage conservation with contemporary urban needs.
Vision Pakistan, Islamabad, by DB Studios / Mohammad Saifullah Siddiqui
Good architecture doesn't have to abandon history to be relevant. This tailoring training centre by Mohammad Saifullah Siddiqui serves disadvantaged youth whilst channeling Islamabad's confident 1960s modernism and adding those gorgeous jaalis (screens) that make Pakistani architecture so distinctive. It's proof that social architecture can have style, and that style can serve a social purpose.
Denso Hall Rahguzar Project, Karachi, by Heritage Foundation Pakistan / Yasmeen Lari
At 82, Yasmeen Lari is still showing younger architects how it's done. In Karachi, where there is a harsh climate, prone to floods and heatwaves, her studio’s intervention is brilliantly simple: handcrafted terracotta cobbles that soak up rainwater to feed newly planted "forests" that cool the air. It's climate adaptation that doesn't require a PhD in environmental engineering to understand – just traditional materials used intelligently. Sometimes the old ways really are the best
Rehabilitation and Extension of Dakar Railway Station by Ga2D
Designed to accommodate passengers of a new express railway line, this project creates a deliberate contrast between old and new structures. Vehicular circulation was relegated to the back of the site, giving back the forecourt to pedestrian travellers and demonstrating how infrastructure can prioritise human-scale urban experience.
Rami Library, Istanbul, by Han Tümertekin Design & Consultancy
The largest library in Istanbul took up quarters in the former Rami Barracks, a large single-storey structure with high volumes built in the 18th century. A minimal intervention approach was chosen to preserve the original spatial qualities of the structure while accommodating new library functions, showing how historic military architecture can serve contemporary civic purposes.
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The Aga Khan Award ceremony will take place later this year, with winning projects sharing the $1 million prize fund.
