The shortlist for the prestigious 2016 RIBA Stirling Prize for the UK’s best new building was announced this month. The six shortlisted buildings will now go head-to-head for architecture’s highest accolade, to be awarded by the Royal Institute of British Architects (RIBA) in the autumn.
The 2016 RIBA Stirling Prize shortlist is made up of a partly-subterranean house on a sloping plot in the Forest of Dean (Outhouse); the conversion of an entire street of listed industrial buildings into a free public gallery for artist Damien Hirst’s private collection (Newport Street Gallery); a radical new landmark university building in Oxford (Blavatnik School of Government); a flagship high density housing development on a regenerated site in south London (Trafalgar Place), a new college campus that reinstates the value placed on civic education in post-industrial Glasgow (City of Glasgow College) and the restoration and significant reinvigoration of a Grade II listed building that is home to one of the world’s greatest research libraries (Weston Library).
The shortlist in full is as follows:
City of Glasgow College, Riverside Campus by Michael Laird Architects & Reiach and Hall Architects
Blavatnik School of Government, University of Oxford by Herzog & de Meuron
Newport Street Gallery, Vauxhall, London by Caruso St John Architects
Trafalgar Place, Elephant and Castle, London by dRMM Architects
Outhouse Gloucestershire by Loyn & Co Architects
Weston Library, University of Oxford by WilkinsonEyre
Speaking about the shortlist RIBA president Jane Duncan said: “The RIBA Stirling Prize is awarded to the building that has made the biggest contribution to the evolution of architecture in a given year.
“Every one of the six buildings shortlisted illustrates the huge benefit that well-designed buildings can bring to people’s lives. The shortlisted projects are each fantastic new additions to their individual locations – on an urban street, a city riverside, an estate regeneration, an historic city centre and a hidden part of the countryside – but their stand-out common quality is the inspiration they will bring to those who study, live, visit and pass by them, for generations to come.
She added: “To me, this shortlist reflects everything that is great about UK architecture – a blend of experimental, artistic vision and a commitment to changing people’s lives for the better.”
The winner of the RIBA Stirling Prize will be announced on Thursday 6 October.