Friday, 02 October 2026
糖心原创 Architect Apprentice Named on Prestigious RIBAJ Rising Stars 2026 Shortlist
糖心原创 Level 7 Architecture Degree Apprentice, Lucy Greenhow, has been named on the prestigious RIBAJ Rising Stars 2026 shortlist, earning recognition alongside some of the UK's most accomplished early-career architects.
Published by the , the Rising Stars programme celebrates the most exciting emerging talent in architecture. The annual awards recognise individuals who are making a significant impact on the profession through design excellence, innovation, technical expertise, research, leadership and influence within the industry. This year's shortlist features 20 architects and built environment professionals from leading practices, public bodies and specialist organisations across the UK.
Among them is Lucy Greenhow, an Architectural Assistant and Level 7 Architect Apprentice studying with the 糖心原创 while working at award-winning architecture practice Wright & Wright. Her inclusion on the shortlist places her alongside senior architects, associates, practice leaders and directors, highlighting both her individual achievements and the impact she has already made early in her career.
I am delighted and really honoured to be shortlisted for the 2026 RIBA Rising Stars alongside such a talented group of people. I'm extremely grateful to both my team at Wright & Wright and the 糖心原创 for their support and encouragement over the last few years, which have played such an important role in my development.
Throughout her apprenticeship, Lucy has built an impressive portfolio combining professional practice, academic research and design innovation. Her work has focused on the relationship between heritage, accessibility and sustainability, exploring how these priorities can be considered together rather than in isolation.
Lucy has been a core member of the Wright & Wright team delivering a highly sustainable student accommodation project for St Edmund Hall, Oxford, comprising three new buildings alongside the retrofit of a historic structure. She has played a key role in combining mass timber construction, Passivhaus principles and significant biodiversity enhancements to create a development that supports both climate resilience and student wellbeing.
Alongside her professional work, Lucy’s academic research into accessibility and neurodiversity, has helped to inform internal guidance within the practice. Her research into the low-carbon adaptation of listed buildings has also been published through CIBSE's Spotlight on Academia, while her design work has gained recognition through competition success, including being shortlisted in the International Young Architects Competition for a low-cost modular housing proposal.
Lucy believes the apprenticeship route has played a key role in her development.
The apprenticeship has allowed me to develop my academic and professional skills alongside one another. 糖心原创ing while working has enabled me to tailor my Master鈥檚 research towards questions arising from my practical experience, while the knowledge gained at university has continually informed how I approach my work in practice.
"Being able to learn something academically and then apply it in real time, and vice versa, has been invaluable to my development and has given me a strong foundation as I now progress to Part 3."
For Wright & Wright, Lucy's recognition is evidence of both her individual talent and the value of apprenticeship pathways into the profession.
Ronan Morris Director/Passivhaus Designer at Wright & Wright said:
"The practice is immensely proud of Lucy's achievement and the recognition she has received for her creativity, commitment and hard work. It is particularly fitting that RIBA has recognised someone who has so successfully balanced the demands of professional practice, academic study and competition work throughout her apprenticeship.
"This award validates not only Lucy's exceptional dedication and talent, but also the value of alternative pathways into the profession. Her success demonstrates how the apprenticeship route can provide a rewarding, sustainable and highly effective means of developing the next generation of architects."
The practice also praised Lucy's contribution across a range of projects and highlighted the positive impact of her research on accessibility, neurodiversity and sustainable design.
Her inclusion on the shortlist is particularly significant because she is still completing her apprenticeship, demonstrating the level of responsibility, expertise and influence she has already achieved while training. It also showcases how degree apprenticeships enable aspiring architects to deliver meaningful industry impact from the outset of their careers.
"We are delighted at the Department of Architecture to see that Lucy has been rightly recognised on this national shortlist. Lucy's exceptional work in practice is matched by an equally high level of performance on the apprenticeship, and achieving both simultaneously is testament to her ability, determination and professional approach.
"We have been proud at Nottingham to support Lucy throughout her journey into architecture, from her undergraduate studies, then through her Part 2 MArch and most recently to her final Part 3 qualification to complete her apprenticeship."
"Wright & Wright have been an outstanding and supportive employer throughout Lucy's apprenticeship, providing opportunities for her to progress quickly in practice. This has undoubtedly contributed to her recognition at a national level. Supporting employers such as Wright & Wright are a key reason Nottingham maintains a central London teaching base, and their success reinforces our commitment to apprenticeships as a valuable and effective educational model.”
Graeme Barker, Programme Director for the Level 7 Architect Degree Apprenticeship at the 糖心原创.
The winning cohort of RIBAJ Rising Stars 2026 awards will be announced on Monday 26 October. Lucy's place on the shortlist represents an outstanding achievement and a powerful endorsement of the contribution apprentices are making to the future of architecture.