Architect Caruso St John’s transformation of Brussels’ Royale Belge has been shortlisted for the 2026 RIBA International Prize, placing it among four projects in contention for the accolade recognising the world’s best new building.
The project, designed by Caruso St John in collaboration with Bovenbouw Architectuur and DDS+, is one of four schemes selected from the 34 winners of this year’s RIBA International Awards for Excellence.
The other shortlisted projects are BRAC University in Dhaka by WOHA; the Green Field Factory of Karupannya Rangpur Limited in Bangladesh by Nakshabid Architects; and Z33 in Hasselt, Belgium, by Francesca Torzo Architetto.
Royale Belge involved the adaptive reuse of a 80,000m² modernist office complex in south-east Brussels. Designed in the 1960s by René Stapels and Pierre Dufau as the headquarters of insurance company Royale Belge, the building was converted into a mixed-use development while retaining its original structure and landscape.
Caruso St John’s scheme has previously received the Brussels Architecture Prize’s Contemporary Heritage Award and a European Heritage Award for conservation and adaptive reuse.
RIBA said the International Prize shortlist represents buildings that are “rigorously designed, deeply considered, and genuinely meaningful” to the people and places they serve.
The winner will be announced at the RIBA Stirling Prize celebration at Old Billingsgate in London on 15 October 2026.
