Projects by Bennetts Associates, Haworth Tompkins, and Henley Halebrown, have been named as finalists in the Religion & Culture category for the 2024 Architecture Today Awards.
National Theatre – NT Future by Haworth Tompkins, 2015. Photo by Philip Vile.
Supported by AccuRoof, the Brick Development Association, Leviat, The Concrete Centre, Total Synergy, and VMZINC, the over-arching aim of the awards is to engender a focus on building performance evaluation and shared learning that is essential if we are to bring about the step change in performance the industry so desperately needs.
AT’s Awards Committee has shortlisted 31 buildings across ten categories: Residential; Individual house; Education; Healthcare; Hospitality & Leisure; Mixed Use; Religion & Culture; Infrastructure & Public Realm; Workplace and International.
This also year saw the second iteration of the AT Awards Student Prize, sponsored by VMZINC, for projects that tackle the retrofit or reuse of an existing building and/or explicitly address issues relating to long term performance, adaptability, demountability and reuse. Three projects from students across three different universities have been chosen as finalists, all of which you see here.
Each project team will present to our expert jury at a day of live crits on 18 September 2024 at The Building Society in London.
The winners of the Architecture Today Awards will be announced at a party at Battersea Power Station on 21 November 2024.
Photos by Andy Haslam and Neil Rodgers
Junction Goole by Henley Halebrown, 2009
Goole, Yorkshire
Junction, an arts and civic centre in Goole, opened in November 2009, includes a 173-person auditorium, workshop, foyer, café, council chamber, community room, and offices. This compact, flexible building reuses the foundations and steel frame of an existing 1980s market building, creating an external performance space and covered market areas. A raised central roof section accommodates cinema projection and enhances civic presence.
A canopy provides shelter and space for market stalls. The building is clad in charcoal grey cement panels, with a timber-frame structure revealed below, lined in polished gold stainless steel. This design transforms the building into a distinct sculptural form.
Photos by Philip Vile
National Theatre – NT Future by Haworth Tompkins, 2015
London, SE1
The NT Future masterplan regenerated Denys Lasdun’s Grade II* listed National Theatre, reflecting its changed context, while enabling the National Theatre company’s creative growth. Completed in 2015, it re-engaged the NT with the river, creating new public space and linking it dynamically to the South Bank and city, offering new facilities and opportunities.
NT Future responded sensitively to Lasdun’s design, enhancing public openness and addressing the theatre’s changed context. It removed confusing additions like insensitive lighting and mismatched signage, replacing them with elements inspired by Lasdun’s detailing. This transformation revitalised the original vision, allowing the design concept to be experienced anew.
Photos by Peter Cook
Storyhouse by Bennetts Associates, 2017
Chester
Storyhouse, Chester’s flagship theatre, cinema, and city library, revitalised the 1930s Odeon cinema into a cultural hub in 2017. Managed by a new multi-arts organisation, it quickly became central to Chester’s cultural life, welcoming millions and reshaping local perceptions.
The building’s design is pivotal, offering versatile spaces for large crowds, a day-long café, and quiet study areas. Below ground, a 100-seat cinema is accessed via a mezzanine café and bar. The foyer flows through the old proscenium to the 800-seat main auditorium, with suspended red-painted steel stairs blending old and new.
A modern extension with a copper-clad rooftop studio theatre complements the Odeon, providing panoramic city views. Recognised for design and community impact, Storyhouse remains a vibrant hub for Chester.
