The Royal Institute of British Architects (RIBA) has announced the winners of the prestigious 2017 RIBA National Awards for architecture.
The 49 winners include an ecological straw-clad office building in Norwich (The Enterprise Centre); an exemplary social housing development next to a railway viaduct in London (Silchester); the world’s first ‘vertical pier’ (British Airways i360); the ‘top-notch’ transformation of Leicester Cathedral including the rediscovered tomb of Richard III (Leicester Cathedral's Richard III Project 'With Dignity and Honour'); and a striking new biomass power plant in Sheffield (Blackburn Meadows Biomass).
RIBA National Award-winning buildings set the standard for good architecture. The shortlist for the highly coveted RIBA Stirling Prize for the UK’s best building of the year will be drawn from the list of 49 RIBA National Award-winning projects announced.
Other highlights from the winners include:
- Victoria Gate Arcades – an instant landmark for Leeds, this large, new shopping centre has a consistent crafted feel (right down to the car park),taking its design cues from the nearby 19th century arcades, with its woven geometric pattered façade acting as a nod to the city's bygone wool trade.
- Wolfson Tree Management Centre – the carbon footprint has been kept to a minimum in these two new timber buildings at the National Arboretum in Gloucestershire. Constructed by local trainee carpenters it uses locally sourced timber to both form the structure and clad the buildings.
- Dyson Campus Expansion – three new buildings have been added to this Wiltshire HQ including a café, multi-purpose sports centre and R&D facilities. The external reflective glass disappears into the landscape, a mirror to its lush landscaped surroundings.
- Tate Modern Blavatnik Building (also known as Switch House) – this monumental extension to Tate Modern on London’s Bankside has generous gallery spaces leading to a free rooftop gallery offering a near-panoramic view of the capital. The complexity of the building’s perforated chain mail façade sets a new standard for the use of brick.
- Dujardin Mews - The first phase of the wider regeneration of Ponders End in north London, is the first council-led, social housing delivered by the local borough of Enfield in 40 years. These much needed new homes, built in the vernacular of London brick, set a benchmark for the regeneration of Enfield.
RIBA President Jane Duncan said: “Congratulations to the clients and their design teams for the extraordinary talent, ambition and enthusiasm that has led to this year’s roll-call of phenomenal buildings.
“RIBA National Awards provide insight into emerging design trends, as well as showing how well the profession responds to economic drivers. I am delighted to see such confident, innovative and ambitious architecture delivered in such challenging times.
“The lack of high quality new housing is a huge issue in the UK so I am particularly pleased to see great examples of well designed, sustainable new homes amongst our award winners. Derwenthorpe in York is a fantastic socially and environmentally sustainable housing development; in London, Silchester and Ponders End are both great examples of estate regeneration bringing thoughtful and community based affordable housing to the capital. Sadly though, these projects are exceptions. We all deserve a well-designed, affordable home, wherever we live in the country. I encourage other local authorities, developers and clients to look at these projects as exemplars.
“I am pleased to award a selection of high-quality new school buildings such as The Laboratory, Dulwich College and new music facilities at Wells Cathedral School, that will benefit generations of children and teachers. However, after a few boom years, which saw a clutch of award winning, cost effective state school buildings, it’s disappointing that there are none on this year’s list. Well-designed schools support improved student achievement, and staff and student wellbeing and should be part of educational aspirations for all our schools, not just those in the fee-paying sector.
“This year’s list also reveals the power of well-designed buildings to provide excitement and pleasure; the new Hastings Pier, Brighton’s radical vertical pier the i360 and the Leeds’ Victoria Gate shopping centre are part of a new generation of destination buildings, set to delight visitors and locals alike. Biomass plant Blackburn Meadows shows that contemporary British industrial and infrastructure architecture can be as iconic and as beautiful as its Victorian predecessors.”
“Brick remains the top choice for many projects in London; Tate Modern's Blavatnik Building and Barrett’s Grove are two excellent examples. This traditional building material remains very much part of modern London's architectural vernacular. In the rest of the country, timber is growing in popularity; its versatility and relative affordability have seen it embraced across the country from intricate external lattice timber cladding at Bedales School to the beautifully crafted interiors of repurposed industrial unites in Manchester at Finlays Warehouse.”
