Representing Australia on the Global Stage: Swan Hill Specialist School named a 2026 ArchDaily Building of the Year Nominee
Media Release, Wednesday 29th January 2026
Swan Hill, Victoria, Australia
Swan Hill Specialist School by WHDA is one of the nominees for the ArchDaily 2026 Building of the Year Awards.
Now in its 17th year, the award is shaped by a community-driven process open to the global architectural public. Each year, thousands of architects and design enthusiasts worldwide participate by voting, offering a broad and international perspective on the projects that are genuinely influencing the discipline and advancing architectural discourse.
The award follows a two-stage process. Every year, the public narrows down thousands of entries by nominating their favorites for a shortlist of finalists. Once the finalists are revealed, a second round of voting determines the 15 category winners; projects that represent the best in global architecture today. This year, Swan Hill Specialist School is competing within the Educational Architecture category.
"To be recognized by the ArchDaily community would be an incredible milestone," says Redmond Hamlett, Director at WHDA. "We love what we do. Creating community net-benefit through our projects is a fantastic feeling - it’s why we exist. To be a recipient of this award places our work within a global dialogue and highlights the impact of the Swan Hill Specialist School project within its local context and the wider built environment." Further he adds, “This competition is both broad and diverse, and there are some incredible entries out there. However, just to participate and represent Swan Hill, Victoria, Australia in the world’s largest community driven architecture award is both mind-boggling, but an exciting opportunity – we look forward to seeing how the community votes.”
The nomination stage begins on January 27 and runs until February 10, 2026. This stage determines the finalists who will move on to the final vote. Winners will be officially announced on February 19, 2026.
Support the project and vote here. (Link: https://boty.archdaily.com/us/2026/candidates/181595/swan-hill-specialist-school-slash-whda)
About ArchDaily
ArchDaily is the global reference for architecture. For over 17 years, it has served as the industry’s trusted voice, providing the tools and inspiration that empower architects to create meaningful change and shape the built environment.
About WHDA
WHDA is an award-winning design and architecture practice based in Melbourne led by Redmond Hamlett and Douglas Wan with a primary focus on community and residential architecture.
We play our part in the enduring project of contextual modernism; to harness rationalist design rigour for humanist needs. To this end we layer design responses from environment, culture and local histories with the aim of producing engaging architecture with a strong identity.
We are experienced in a wide range of projects including educational, community, residential and commercial buildings. We provide a full range of architectural services for client groups including community engagement processes for community organisations and institutions that are building educational and other community facilities in Victoria.
About Building of the Year
The ArchDaily Building of the Year Awards is the world’s largest community-driven architecture award. It occurs on a yearly basis, recognizing the best projects published on ArchDaily during the previous year in 15 categories. With thousands of votes every year from the architecture community in over 100 countries, more than 3,000 projects are narrowed down to 15 winners.
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