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RIBA Stirling Prize 2015 round-up

noImage Melanie Luff

Burntwood School (C) Rob Parrish

The antithesis to the Carbuncle Cup and the architectural equivalent to the Booker Prize, the prestigious Stirling Prize showcases the best of British Architecture. This year, however, it has caused controversy with its unusual selection of finalists including a concrete clad low rise and a 1950s comprehensive school.

Named after the great British architect, James Stirling, The Stirling Prize was born in 1996 in the wake of its predecessor ‘The Building of the Year Award’.

Now in its 20th year, it has been hugely influential in changing public opinion on ‘modern’ architecture (particularly that of the 1980s and 1990s). Architecture.com believe that ‘by the late 1990s ‘Cool Britannia’ had replaced conservatism (both with a big and small ‘c’) and an improving British economy had made design cool again.’

With a mixture of commercial and residential properties up for consideration, the panel of judges from the Royal Institute of British Architects (RIBA) selected six properties for their shortlist of buildings – each chosen for their ‘high architectural standards and substantial contribution to the local environment’.

However, the prestigious architecture award has been criticised this year for its ‘uninspiring’ choices with some UK’s leading architects branding the selection ‘too narrow’, ‘politically correct’ and ‘not bad but not amazing’.

PropertySales.com takes a look at the shortlist and the winner to see for ourselves:

 

A photo posted by @riba on

 

Darbishire Place, London

Designed by Niall McLaughlin architects and built in 2014, Darbishire Place is a residential building in East London.

Built for the housing association Peabody, they are well known for providing social housing in London and for recruiting the finest architects to do so.

Constructed to replace an Edwardian mansion block destroyed by a V2 bomb in World War II, the building subtly compliments the remaining buildings ‘without mimicking them’ and seamlessly integrates old and new.

NEO Bankside, London

The London riverside is rapidly becoming home to luxury residential developments. Set among the single-storey eighteenth century alms houses of Southwark and the towering Tate Modern, the strikingly contemporary NEO Bankside has been described as ‘some of the best new landscaping in London’.  

Designed by Rogers Stirk Harbour and Partners and John Robertson Architects, the four angular luxury apartment buildings have an obvious focus on three-dimensional geometry.

Merging public and private space, the private residential towers sit within a communal garden with shops and cafes at the base.

 

A photo posted by @riba on

 

Maggies Cancer Care Centre, Lanarkshire 

Designed by renowned hospital designers Reiach and Hall Architects, Maggie’s Centre was built on what was previously a housing estate.

This ‘modest, low building’ is built more like a contemporary house than a care centre. The building’s design is open and uplifting ‘offering a degree of separation from the nearby hospital grounds’. Its aim is to ‘build the bridge between the impersonality of cancer-care in big hospitals and the niche architecture’.

The Whitworth, Manchester

Fusing together art, architecture and nature, the extension to the nineteenth century Whitworth Gallery in Manchester has been remodelled by London based architectural group MUMA.

The new fashionable building has expanded John Bickerdicke’s original 1960s build, reassessing the buildings relationship with space and ridding it of the worst 60s features (like suspended ceilings).

The new architecture with its stainless steel facade was described by RIBA as ‘sympathetic but entirely original’ incorporating some of the building’s original features like exposed timber.

 

A photo posted by @riba on

 

University of Greenwich, Stockwell Street Building, London

Built on the UNESCO World Heritage site in Greenwich, the Stockwell Street Building is a conceptually strong and urban design.

It has been commended for its use of space, with allotments on the roof, terraces and underground lecture theatres. The experimental build also houses the universities main library, a shop, café and the departments for architecture, landscape and the arts.

Burntwood School, Wandsworth

This year, Burntwood School in Wandsworth was crowned the ‘clear winner’ of the coveted Stirling Prize.

The original modernist structure was designed by renowned architect Sir Leslie Martin and the reimagining of the 1950s school was overhauled and transformed by Allford Hall Monaghan Morris (AHMM).

Re-using the existing space and blending conventional classrooms with contemporary spaces, the architects created an additional six faculty buildings and two larger cultural buildings linking to the original.

 

A photo posted by @riba on

 

The judges commented that Burntwood was ‘the most accomplished of the six shortlisted buildings because it demonstrates the full range of the skills that architects can offer to society.’

President of RIB, Jane Duncan, said:

‘They have produced delightful, resourceful and energy efficient buildings that will benefit the whole community in the long term. With the UK facing a huge shortage of school places, it is vital we learn lessons from Burntwood. I am delighted to present architects Allford Hall Monaghan Morris with the 2015 RIBA Stirling Prize.’

What do you think of the nominees? Please add your comments.

 
 

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About The Author

Mel wrote for all titles in the Dynamis stable including BusinessesForSale.com, FranchiseSales.com and PropertySales.com as well as other global industry publications.

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