The holder of the Driehaus Prize 2026 is John Simpson

John Simpson (second from left) during a visit to Notre Dame in 2014, with Martin Horáček and Thomas Gordon Smith (emeritus dean of the School of Architecture at Notre Dame) standing to his right, surrounded by other architects and family members. Photo: archive of M. Horáčka.

British architect John Simpson was announced as the laureate of the Driehaus Prize for Classical Architecture on January 28, 2026. The most prestigious global award for contemporary traditionalist architects, accompanied by a financial reward of $200,000, was awarded to him by a commission established by the School of Architecture at the University of Notre Dame in the USA. Its members include architects Stefanos Polyzoides (dean of the School of Architecture at Notre Dame), Michael Lykoudis (former dean of the school), architects Demetri Porphyrios and Ben Bolgar, architects Melissa DelVecchio, Elizabeth Plater-Zyberk, and Julia Treese, and developer Robert Davis. John Simpson will receive the award at a ceremony in Chicago on March 21, 2026.

John Simpson was born in 1954. He studied in London at the Bartlett School of Architecture. In 1980, he co-founded the studio John Simpson and Partners, operating under the name John Simpson Architects since 2012. He focuses on projects of buildings in traditional architectural styles, restoration of monuments, planning of public spaces and urban complexes, and furniture design. He originally combines the classical architectural language with vernacular tradition (rustic Doric, etc.). The studio has offices in London and Venice, and a division focused on projects in the USA. John Simpson also teaches at the University of Buckingham, in Cambridge, and at other architecture schools.

John Simpson gained attention in the 1980s with designs in the classicist style for London. In the 1990s, he designed colleges in Cambridge and city buildings in Poundbury; tourists may recognize the Queen's Gallery from 2002 (now the King's Gallery), a museum with royal collections at Buckingham Palace in London. In 2019, a new building for the School of Architecture at Notre Dame in Indiana was completed according to his design, where the most significant school emphasizing classical design operates, and where the Driehaus Prize is decided.

Along with the Driehaus Prize, the Henry Hope Reed Award ($50,000) is awarded for the cultivation and promotion of traditional construction and art. This year, it was received by Philippe Villeneuve (born 1963), a French architect-conservator, who led the restoration of several significant monuments in France, particularly the Notre-Dame Cathedral in Paris following the fire in 2019. As the jury emphasized, Villeneuve "had the courage to turn to… French President Emmanuel Macron to explain his opinion, and despite strong opposition, he convinced him,” to support the restoration of the cathedral's historical appearance without contrasting new elements.

> https://driehausprize.nd.edu/laureates/john-simpson/
> https://www.johnsimpsonarchitects.com