Lambeth Palace wins 2026 BREEAM Award for Refurbishment and Fit Out Excellence

Lambeth Palace has won the 2026 BREEAM Award for Refurbishment and Fit Out Excellence, recognising the transformation of one of the country’s most significant historic buildings through an ambitious programme of conservation and environmental improvement.

Completed by Wright & Wright for the Church Commissioners for England, the three-year refurbishment was the first major renewal of the Palace in more than 70 years. The project achieved BREEAM Excellent with a final score of 74%, alongside a 77% reduction in primary energy use and an improvement in the building’s EPC rating from G to A.

Achieving this level of performance across an estate with fabric dating back almost 800 years required environmental improvements to be worked into the existing architecture rather than imposed upon it. A new Energy Centre uses air source heat pumps, photovoltaic panels provide renewable electricity, and 160 historic windows were upgraded with energy-efficient double glazing. Existing radiators were retained and reused wherever possible, with rainwater harvesting and extensive fabric repairs forming part of the wider programme.

The Palace being the oldest Grade I-listed building to achieve BREEAM Excellent, sets an important precedent for the decarbonisation of highly protected historic buildings.

It is also Wright & Wright’s second BREEAM Excellent project for the Church Commissioners at Lambeth. The new Lambeth Palace Library, completed in 2020, previously achieved the same rating, establishing a wider approach to environmental performance across the historic estate.

The BREEAM Award adds to a growing body of recognition for the Palace refurbishment, which has also received the 2026 Museums + Heritage Award for Sustainable Project of the Year and the House & Garden Award for Conservation Project of the Year.