WINNERS OF ARCHITECTURE’S STIRLING PRIZE AND ANDREW DOOLAN AWARD ANNOUNCED
The Accordia housing project in Cambridge, England, was the surprise winner of the international RIBA Stirling Prize for architecture announced on Saturday, reports Mark Beech for Bloomberg. The low-rise houses, which made headlines when they faced protests from local residents, beat other buildings such as Zaha Hadid’s acclaimed ski-lift stations near Innsbruck in Austria and the new Westminster Academy in London. “This is architecture that treats adults as grown-ups and children as people,” the judges said of the Accordia project, giving it the thirty-four-thousand-dollar prize, at a ceremony in Liverpool. Accordia involved three firms of architects and designers: Feilden Clegg Bradley Studios, Alison Brooks Architects, and Macreanor Lavington. The Royal Institute of British Architects award is open to buildings anywhere in the European Union.
Meanwhile, this year’s Andrew Doolan Best Building in Scotland Award—bestowed by the Royal Incorporation of Architects in Scotland—was given to Reiach and Hall Architects for the Pier Arts Center in Orkney. According to the Architects’ Journal, the Edinburgh-based practice, which also had its new arts faculty building for the University of St Andrews short-listed, triumphed over the likes of Zaha Hadid, previous winners Page/Park, and Gareth Hoskins to land the prestigious prize. In total, seven buildings fought it out for the forty-two-thousand-dollar cash award—currently the biggest cash prize in British architecture. However, the judges were particularly impressed with the “seemingly effortless way” Reiach and Hall’s gallery in Stromness sat with its surroundings. The Pier Arts Center houses a permanent gallery space, showcasing a collection of British contemporary art and new temporary galleries. More on the award’s short list can be found here.
