---
title: "City of Richmond gives out 2026 Lulu Awards for urban design"
description: "Four projects received Lulu Awards at a City council meeting on October 26, including a trail over a historic ditch and a Brighouse riverside complex."
canonical_url: "https://voche.me/bc/richmond-2026/news/richmond-lulu-design-awards-november-2026"
last_updated: "2026-11-06T17:13:53.925Z"
---

The City of Richmond gave out its 2026 Lulu Awards for urban design on October 26 at a city council meeting, recognizing four projects and six honourable mentions for work that improves the city's built environment and public spaces.

"The Lulu Awards recognize projects that make Richmond a better place to live, work and gather," outgoing Mayor Malcolm Brodie said at the meeting, which the Richmond News described as his final city council meeting. Mayor Rob Howard took office after the October 17 election.

## The Brighouse Homestead Trail

The Brighouse Homestead Trail section in the Oval Precinct received the ecological design and innovation award.

The trail starts at the corner of Gilbert and River roads and connects to the waterfront trail. The award-winning section passes over a ditch created by Richmond pioneer Samuel Brighouse in the 1880s, according to the Richmond News. At the time, the primary mode of transportation in the area was by boat along the Fraser River and its sloughs. As Brighouse developed his farm, he created ditches to replace the natural sloughs and built dikes to protect his estate from flooding.

The area sits between a 12-storey apartment building and an environmentally sensitive zone. The original ditch is surrounded by ash and other trees and protected by a metal mesh pathway above it. Aspac Developments built the section; PFS Studio and Dialog designed it.

## Hollybridge by River Green

Hollybridge by River Green won two awards: the Residential and Mixed Use award and the Public and Institution Open Space award.

The first award recognized the complex for its integration of surroundings and uses, and building separation to preserve river views, the Richmond News reported. The second was for separating public and private space with what the City's program described as "playful features, heritage references and native plantings."

## RC at CF Richmond Centre

The RC at CF Richmond Centre also received the Residential and Mixed-Use award, for making a clear distinction between commercial and residential areas with an "intentional, landscaped residential edge that responds well to its city context," according to the Richmond News.

## Honourable mentions

Four projects received honourable mentions in 2026, the Richmond News reported:

- Hummingbird Child Care Facility, in the Public and Institutional Buildings category
- Cavendish, a townhouse complex on No. 1 Road near Williams Road, for Landscape Innovation
- Minoru Park Lakes District Renewal, for Public and Institutional Open Space
- Waterfront Park and Dike Ecobench at 6500 River Rd., also for Public and Institutional Open Space

## Visiting the trail

The Brighouse Homestead Trail is a public trail that any resident can walk today. The section over the historic ditch is off Gilbert Road near the Dinsmore Bridge, well hidden but just steps from the road, the Richmond News reported. The full trail runs from Gilbert and River roads to the waterfront.

## Sitemap

See the full [sitemap](/bc/richmond-2026/sitemap.md) for all pages.