Lecture
What’s next for our existing buildings?
RIBA and VitrA talks
Great Hall at Barts North Wing, St Bartholomew’s Hospital
12 May 2026
Our director Ben Speltz will give a talk as part of this year's RIBA x Vitra Talks series. He will discuss the practice's approach to working with existing buildings, drawing on a range of projects such as: Hospitalfield Arts, a complex amalgam of medieval buildings in Scotland; Düngerbau, an old chemical factory converted into workspace; and Royal Belge, a sixties office building transformed into a mixed-use program of restaurant, hotel and gym.
Photography René Dürr - Project Düngerbau
Related news
Royal Belge has been shortlisted for the RIBA International Awards 2026. Selecting projects from five continents, the award recognizes a broad range of designs addressing global challenges such as climate change, resource scarcity, social equity, and rapid urbanization. Royal Belge is praised for its adaptive reuse strategies, extending the life of a modernist icon. The jury will visit the projects in the coming month.
International workshop
Landscape, architecture and garden
Las Palmas, Gran Canaria
12-13 November 2026
On Thursday the 12th of November, Peter St John will give a lecture at the School of Architecture ULPGC, Gran Canaria, as part of their international workshop focusing on landscape, architecture and gardens. Peter will discuss the practice’s work at Hospitalfield, an arts organisation in Arbroath, Scotland. The project won the International Carlo Scarpa Prize for Gardens 2026.
Royal Belge is featured in the 63th issue of a+t, which is the first in the new 2ndHAND series. The issue discusses buildings in Belgium, France and Switzerland that are hybrid in program as well as construction.
Royale Belge, a collaboration by Caruso St John Architects with Bovenbouw Architectuur and DDS+, has been shortlisted for the RIBA 2026 International Prize. Four projects were shortlisted from the 34 schemes given RIBA International Awards for Excellence in June.
The jury will visit the projects next week and the winner will be announced at this year's Stirling Prize ceremony on 15 October 2026.
On Thursday, 10 September, Hospitalfield will host an afternoon in conversation at Custom Lane in Edinburgh. Titled The Site Conscious Practice of Artists; the Problem of the Rural Landscape is its Beauty, the event explores how cultural organizations can create hospitable, porous environments that nurture slow artistic practice while engaging broad public audiences.
The RIBA International Awards have been announced, and our project Royal Belge is a winner!
The awards aim to highlight design that tackles global challenges, and Royal Belge is praised for its adaptive reuse strategies, extending the life of a modernist icon.
A new publication about Hospitalfield is out now. Published by Fondazione Benetton Studi Ricerche on the occasion of the 34th Carlo Scarpa Prize for Gardens. The book tells the story of Hospitalfield, from its 13th century origins as a hospital to an art school founded by Patrick Allan Fraser, and to the current program of artist residencies and community programs.
Hospitalfield is awarded the 34th International Carlo Scarpa Prize for Gardens, 2025-2026, a prize awarded to a place with the capacity to transmit natural, historical and cultural values, devised and organised by the Fondazione Benetton Studi Ricerche. The prize is named in honour of Carlo Scarpa (1906-1978), the architect and creator of gardens. There will be a public ceremony in Treviso to celebrate the prize.
Phase 2 of our Masterplan for Hospitalfield Arts, the Studios, have been shortlisted for the RIAS Awards 2026 in Scotland. This phase focuses on the more private areas of the site, creating studios and workshops with excellent access. Centered on the Rear Yard, this phase includes the renovation of the 1901 studios, conservation of the 1845 Patrick Allan Fraser Studio, refurbishment of the Drawing School, and construction of a new studio building.
The ARCH-E Consortium and the Architects’ Council of Europe (ACE) are organizing a conference on Architectural Design Competitions (ADCs). The program includes a keynote lecture by Adam Caruso at the start of the day, followed by panel discussions with European practitioners and policymakers as well as workshops and presentations on key topics in the field. The conference is held at the Royal Belge building in Brussels.
Royale Belge has won the Contemporary Heritage Award at the third edition of the Brussels Architecture Prizes. The prizes celebrate contributions to the spatial quality of Brussels.
Peter St John will be the keynote speaker at the annual Solemn Opening Ceremony of the Order of Architects in Belgium. He will discuss Caruso St John’s work on transforming existing buildings in Europe.