Six UK buildings have been shortlisted for the coveted annual RIBA Stirling Prize. The award, now in its landmark 20th year, is the UK's highest architectural accolade for the most original, imaginative and well-executed designs, and – drum roll! – nominees have just been announced.
They are: the Burntwood School in Wandsworth by Allford Hall Monaghan Morris; Darbishire Place, Peabody housing, E1 by Niall McLaughlin Architects; Maggie's Lanarkshire by Reiach and Hall Architects; NEO Bankside, SE1 by Rogers Stirk Harbour + Partners; the University of Greenwich Stockwell Street Building, SE10 by Heneghan Peng Architects; and The Whitworth at the University of Manchester by MUMA. The latter was also recently awarded Museum of the Year.
The list is certainly varied, and this year's includes several considered, community-focused projects, such as the Wandsworth school and Niall McLaughlin's low key Darbishire Place housing. Big cultural projects were not left out – Manchester's Whitworth is a case in point, while the University of Greenwich Stockwell Street Building was praised by the judges as a 'delightful building', located in a UNESCO World Heritage site.
With previous winners including the Liverpool Everyman Theatre by Haworth Tompkins (2014), the Evelyn Grace Academy, London by Zaha Hadid Architects (2011) and the Maggie's Centre at Charing Cross Hospital, London by Rogers Stirk Harbour + Partners (2009), this year's recipient will be in good company. The winning design will be announced during a ceremony at the RIBA headquarters in London on 15 October – watch this space.
