1981 in architecture

The year 1981 in architecture involved some significant architectural events and new buildings.

• JPMorgan Chase Tower, Houston, Texas designed by I. M. Pei is completed.
• Sydney Tower in Sydney, Australia is completed and opened.
• Colonius in Cologne, Germany is completed.
• Fifth Avenue Place (Calgary) in Calgary, Alberta.
• Sangath in Ahmedabad, India, a studio designed for himself by B. V. Doshi, is completed.
• The Riyadh TV Tower in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia is completed.
• The National Palace of Culture opens in Sofia, Bulgaria.
• Howell High School in Howell, MI is completed as the most expensive high school at the time in the State of Michigan.
• The Marriott World Trade Center originally known as the Vista Hotel, is completed in Lower Manhattan, New York as a part of the World Trade Center complex.
• The Humber Bridge in England, the longest suspension bridge in the world by the length of central span (1981–1998), designed by Freeman Fox & Partners (consulting engineers) and R. E. Slater (architect) is opened to traffic.

• AIA Gold Medal – Josep Lluís Sert.
• Architecture Firm Award – Hardy Holzman Pfeiffer Associates.
• Grand prix national de l'architecture – Gérard Thurnauer, Pierre Riboulet and Jean-Louis Veret.
• Pritzker Prize – James Stirling.
• RAIA Gold Medal – Colin Madigan.
• RIBA Royal Gold Medal – Philip Dowson.
• Twenty-five Year Award – Farnsworth House.

• March 7 – Roy Grounds (born 1905)
• April 10 – Charles Cowles-Voysey (born 1889)
• July 1 – Marcel Breuer (born 1902)
• September 1 – Albert Speer (born 1905)
• December 2 – Wallace Harrison (born 1895)
• date unknown – Kanippayyur Shankaran Namboodiripad, Nambudiri Brahmin and Royal Architect (born 1891)