Six contenders have been shortlisted for the 2021 RIBA Stirling Prize for the UK’s best new building.
Photograph by Hufton + Crow
This year, projects vying for the Stirling Prize range in scale and use from a mosque in Cambridge to a boating museum in the Lake District and a bridge in Cornwall.
Now in its 25th year, the RIBA Stirling Prize returns after a break in proceedings in 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Goldsmith Street by Mikhail Riches with Cathy Hawley was the winner of the last Stirling Prize to be held in 2019.
“The 2021 RIBA Stirling Prize shortlist demonstrates the innovation and ambition that lies at the heart of exceptional architecture,” said RIBA president Simon Allford.
“…The six projects vary tremendously in their location and use – but they are united in their ingenuity and creativity, their consideration of their local environment and historical context, and their use of high-quality materials. In their architects’ attention to detail, and their clients’ tenacity and commitment, these six projects set themselves apart,” he adds.
“As we navigate major global challenges, from a global pandemic to the climate emergency, this shortlist demonstrates the critical role that UK architects play in creating thoughtful and sustainable places and spaces.”
The six buildings shortlisted for the 2021 RIBA Stirling Prize are:
Photograph by Christian Richters
Windermere Jetty Museum by Carmody Groarke
Cumbria
2019
“Nestling into the eastern shore of Lake Windermere, the Jetty Museum creates a compelling composition of vernacular forms which achieves an unusual reconciliation of the reassuringly familiar with the strikingly contemporary. When seen from the lake its dark shed-like buildings are embedded in the wooded hillside behind, but on arrival the Museum exudes the confident identity of a major cultural institution,” reads the jury statement.
“The unique setting demanded a scheme with a clear vision and of the highest quality. The resulting building has been handled with sensitivity and deftness. It has a restrained and simple beauty that is boldly confident in its design and delivery.”
Photograph by Jack Hobhouse
Key Worker Housing by Stanton Williams
Eddington, Cambridge
2019
“The urban approach of ‘loose’ interconnected courtyards is very successful and creates a delightful series of spaces. The walk from Market Square through four interwoven courts to reach Landscape Court is a pleasure, and easily accessible by all. The landscaping, both hard and soft, is particularly successful in integrating the buildings within a holistic and rigorous external environment,” reads the jury citation.
“Overall the sequence of buildings and spaces between them is a delightful example of how a rigorous approach to form, materials and details can create a harmonious environment and make a great place. Eddington is emerging as a fascinating example of place creation and urban planning and this Key Worker Housing scheme has helped to establish a high benchmark for forthcoming phases.”
Photograph by Jim Holden
Tintagel Castle Footbridge for English Heritage by Ney & Partners and William Matthews Associates
Cornwall
2019
“This new bridge is beautifully executed at all scales, from the way it respects the silhouette of the landforms it abuts, down to the tactile detail of its path, made from slate on edge,” reads the jury report.
“This is much more than a bridge. It is a connector, an enabler, an interpreter and a spectacle all within its own right.”
Photograph by Morley von Sternberg
Cambridge Central Mosque by Marks Barfield Architects
“The urban intervention of inserting a mosque capable of welcoming 1000 worshipers within a low rise, residential neighbourhood, without dominating it, is masterful. Its presence is clear but modest, considering the size of the mosque relative to the two storey terrace houses around it,” reads the jury’s statement.
“Central Cambridge mosque is a demonstration of how architecture can embody religious and cultural philosophy and traditions while utilising sustainable and contemporary materials. It is a building of evident programmatic clarity and function, where one of those essential functions is religious contemplation and delight. It has created a new, 21st century, non-denominational British mosque that is both specific to its place and time and which resonates with wider Islamic and religious buildings. To have achieved this in Cambridge, with its world famous tradition of structural expression in religious architecture yet without contrivance is a remarkable achievement.”
Photograph by Ed Reeve
Kingston University London – Town House by Grafton Architects
London
2019
“Of the two ambitious projects from the same client to make the shortlist, the Town House is the more conventional architectural project. It is very accomplished. The challenging brief framed a bold aspiration to design the beating heart for Kingston University within a building worthy of the international stage. Combining two dynamically opposed uses – dance studio and library – the result is both technically and spatially excellent, generating a warm, dynamic energy that truly captures the spirit of learning,” reads the jury citation.
“This building is about high quality at every scale, from the choice of materials, to the more abstract characteristics of warmth and flow. The muted colour palette and detailing too is controlled and expertly executed: nothing is out of place, everything is considered, and the result is a rich, beautiful canvas against which to set young creative minds free. ”
Read Louis Mayes’ review of Kingston University London – Town House
Photograph by Timothy Soar
15 Clerkenwell Close by Groupwork
London
2017
“15 Clerkenwell Close’s non descriptive title belies the astonishing architectural triumph that dwells at the simple address, occupying a plot of land a stones throw from Clerkenwell Green. The 7 storey building is the architect’s own development comprising one or two flats per floor, a double height architect’s studio at basement and ground and the architect’s home on the top floor,” reads the jury report.
“15 Clerkenwell Close is brave, ambitious, highly innovative and bespoke, where risks have been taken and have paid off, resulting in a truly imaginative, intriguing and astonishing work of architecture.”
Shortlists for the RIBA Neave Brown Award for Housing and Stephen Lawrence Prize were also revealed this week.
Neave Brown Award for Housing 2021 shortlist:
- 95 Peckham Road by Peter Barber Architects
- McGrath Road by Peter Barber Architects
- Key Worker Housing by Stanton Williams
- Blackfriars Circus by Maccreanor Lavington
Stephen Lawrence Prize 2021 shortlist:
- Chapel by Craftworks
- Floating Church by Denzien Works
- Maggie’s Cardiff by Dow Jones Architects
- The Water Tower by Tonkin Liu
- Walmer Castle and Gardens Learning Centre by Adam Richards Architects
- Wooden Roof by Tsuruta Architects
All three prize-winners will be announced at a ceremony in Coventry Cathedral on 14 October 2021 as part of the UK City of Culture celebrations.
