The Royal Institute of British Architects (RIBA) has announced The Rockbund Project as one of 34 winners of the RIBA International Awards for Excellence 2026. The project evolved over nearly two decades (2006–23) as a complex restoration of eleven diverse colonial-era buildings in Shanghai's former European concession – just north of the famous Bund. The buildings were restored and adapted for a mix of cultural and commercial uses while some were sensitively adapted and extended. The masterplan also incorporated three new buildings by Arquitectonica. On the southern fringes of the site, the Andrews & George Building (1887) was extended by eleven storeys to create a new tower that mediates between the historic urban fabric with the new, high-rise city beyond. The street frontage looks over a park towards the river, while a network of pedestrian alleys and lanes connect through the site.
Photograph by Fangfang Tian