Laing O’Rourke, AtkinsRéalis and Morgan Sindall are among the big names that feature heavily on the category shortlists for the Digital Construction Awards 2026. But it’s not just about the big names: there are plenty of smaller businesses and first-time nominees on the shortlists.
Laing O’Rourke either leads or features among eight shortlisted entries. Perhaps the highlight is the Stephen A. Schwarzman Centre for the Humanities at Oxford University being shortlisted for Digital Construction Project of the Year. Laing O’Rourke is also shortlisted twice in the Design Innovation category, while Olivia Zdzylowski, a digital engineer at the contractor, has been shortlisted for Digital Rising Star of the Year.
AtkinsRéalis either leads or features among seven shortlisted entries. Its digital R&D unit is shortlisted for Digital Team of the Year, while its work at Sellafield features on the Best Application of Technology shortlist. Patrick Geragersian, a technology solutions engineer at AtkinsRéalis, is shortlisted for Digital Rising Star of the Year.
Morgan Sindall is shortlisted four times, notably for Digital Construction Project of the Year with the Molecular Sciences Building at the University of Birmingham, and for Digital Collaboration of the Year with Norfolk and Norwich University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust and Gamma AR.
A number of businesses secured a trio of nominations, including the Balfour Beatty Vinci JV working on HS2, Cardiff Metropolitan University, RLB Digital, and the combination of Arup and IES for their work on the zero-carbon Mynydd Isa Campus project in Flintshire.
Project of the year
Competing against Laing O’Rourke and Morgan Sindall for the title of Digital Construction Project of the Year are:
- Brook Mead Academy | LSI Architects/Wates Construction;
- Meridian Water | Taylor Woodrow; and
- One Broadgate | Sir Robert McAlpine/British Land/Focchi/Morrisroe.
The shortlist for Digital Contractor of the year features McAvoy, McLaren Construction and the Roberston Group (a first-time nominee).
Other first-time nominees include Harmony Fire with its IoT-enabled Auro fire door, J Coffey Construction in tandem with Tarmac (for their work on the Oxford Science Park project), Hoppa.ai, Drone Surveying, Limes Consultancy, Wilson James (for its predictive safe space management at Heathrow Airport), and Schindler (for its elevator shaft robot).
Alongside entrants from Laing O’Rourke and AtkinsRéalis, the Digital Rising Star of the Year shortlist is completed by:
- Emine Rachel Taylor-Unlu, assistant information manager at Balfour Beatty Vinci;
- Nathan Reid, founder of Morero and project manager at Urban & Civic; and
- Mia Macfee, assistant GIS consultant at Stantec.
Review the shortlists in full here. Each working day between 13 January and 2 February, DC+ will cover each category shortlist in detail.
There is no shortlist for Digital Construction Champion of the Year: the recipient will be revealed on the night. The winners will be revealed at the gala dinner on 18 March at the London Marriott Grosvenor Square.
Celebrate with the best
You can join the shortlisted entrants by booking your seats at the awards. There is an early bird discount for those who book tables by close of play 23 January.
The Digital Construction Awards are organised by Digital Construction Week, the Chartered Institute of Building, CM and Digital Construction Plus. Sage is sponsoring the Digital Innovation in Productivity category, nima is sponsoring the Digital Team of the Year, and Bluebeam is sponsoring Digital Collaboration of the Year. More sponsors will be announced very soon.
To find out more about the Awards, visit digitalconstructionawards.co.uk. To become an Awards sponsor, email Karolina Orecchini.
