Arigho Larmour Wheeler Architects has taken the House Extension Refurbishment award at the Building and Architect of the Year Awards 2026, earning recognition for a project that demonstrates how contextual sensitivity and contemporary design ambition can work as one.

On the Bay presented the judges with an architectural response that is both confident and highly resolved. Working within a sensitive coastal setting, the practice drew on vernacular forms and reinterpreted them through a contemporary lens, producing a scheme that feels rooted in its place without resorting to imitation or pastiche.

The judges described the project as "a confident and highly resolved architectural response within a sensitive coastal setting," noting that the careful handling of materials and the deliberate framing of views results in "a composed and accomplished piece of architecture that sits comfortably within its landscape."

That quality of restraint is increasingly rare in residential refurbishment, where the temptation to overstate can undermine the relationship between a building and its surroundings. On the Bay resists that impulse at every turn, achieving coherence through discipline and a clear understanding of what the landscape demands.

The Building and Architect of the Year Awards 2026 ceremony took place on Thursday, 23rd April 2026 at the Crowne Plaza Hotel, Santry.

View the full list of winners at the official awards website.