1881 in architecture

The year 1881 in architecture involved some significant architectural events and new buildings.

Buildings

 * Alþingishúsið in Reykjavík, Iceland, designed by Ferdinand Meldahl, is opened to house the Althing (national parliament)
 * British Museum (Natural History) in London, England, designed by Alfred Waterhouse, is opened
 * Founder's Building at Royal Holloway College, Egham in England, designed by William Henry Crossland, is completed
 * Tweed Courthouse is completed by Leopold Eidlitz in New York City
 * The National Theatre (Prague), designed in 1865–68 by Josef Zítek, is opened officially
 * Construction of St Stephen's Church, Bournemouth, England, designed by John Loughborough Pearson, is begun

Awards

 * RIBA Royal Gold Medal – George Godwin.
 * Grand Prix de Rome, architecture: Henri Deglane.

Births

 * March 29 – Raymond Hood, American Art Deco architect (died 1934)
 * August 2 – Walter Godfrey, English architectural historian and architect (died 1961)
 * date unknown – Nikolai Ladovsky, Russian avant-garde architect and educator, leader of the rationalist movement in 1920s architecture (died 1941)

Deaths

 * January 25 – Konstantin Thon, official architect of Imperial Russia during the reign of Tsar Nicholas (born 1794)
 * April 20 – William Burges, English architect and designer (born 1827)
 * December 14 – Decimus Burton, English architect and garden designer (born 1800)
 * December 18 – George Edmund Street, English architect (born 1824)