Six including new London Bridge station shortlisted for 2019 Stirling Prize

The Royal Institute of British Architects (RIBA) has announced the shortlist for the 2019 Stirling Prize, sponsored by real estate firm Almacantar.

Construction Manager reports that the competition crowns what is considered to be the best new building in the UK.

The six projects are:

1) Cork House, Berkshire

Image: Ricky Jones

Sited within the area of a Grade II Listed mill house dating back to the early nineteenth century, the Cork House is an entirely cork construction, with solid structural cork walls and roof. The building emits next to zero carbon. The biogenic construction of prefabricated cork blocks and engineered timber is carbon negative at completion and has remarkably low whole life carbon. All the components can be reused or recycled, and the expanded cork blocks have been made using by-product and waste from cork forestry and the cork stopper industry.

Client: Matthew Barnett Howland and Dido Milne
Architect: Matthew Barnett Howland with Dido Milne and Oliver Wilton
Contractor: Matthew Barnett Howland (assisted by M&P London Contractors)
Structural engineers: Arup
Fire engineering: Arup
Whole life carbon assessment: Sturgis Carbon Profiling
Cork machining and fabrication: B-Made at The Bartlett UCL
Cork CNC machining: Wup Doodle
Awards: RIBA South Award 2019, RIBA South Sustainability Award 2019 and RIBA National Award 2019

2) Goldsmith Street, Norwich

Image: Tim Crocker

A development just over 100 homes arranged in seven terrace blocks has been designed with energy efficiency in mind. The homes are certified Passivhaus. Parking has been pushed to the perimeter so streets feel safe and work by the architects has kept the standard of workmanship up to a very high level. Social tenants get impressively high specification interiors.

Client: Norwich City Council
Architect: Mikhail Riches with Cathy Hawley
Contractor: RG Carter
Structural engineer: Rossi Long Consulting
Environmental / M&E engineer: Greengauge Building Energy Consultants
Quantity surveyor / cost consultant: Hamson Barron Smith
Project management: MER Construction Services
Landscape architect: BBUK
Certified Passivhaus designer: WARM
Clerk of works: Enhabit (Whole House Energy)
Awards: RIBA East Award 2019, RIBA East Client of the Year 2019 for Norwich City Council, RIBA East Sustainability Award 2019 and RIBA National Award 2019

3) London Bridge Station

Image: Paul Raftery

The removal of the old brick arches at London Bridge Station has created a new significantly sized concourse to accommodate passengers, with RIBA praising the "significant feat of engineering" it took for the railway lines to bridge this space. Dual escalators and step-free circulation take passengers to the platforms above. The new Western Arcade connects the station to the Underground and sensitively reuses the original Victorian railway arches. The station remained open throughout the construction process.

Client: Network Rail
Architect: Grimshaw
Contractor: Costain, Balfour Beatty, Siemens
Structural engineer: WSP / Arcadis
Acoustic engineer: WSP / Arcadis
Landscape architect: WSP / Arcadis
Awards: RIBA London Award 2019, RIBA London Building of the Year Award 2019 and RIBA National Award 2019

4) The Macallan Distillery and Visitor Centre, Moray, Scotland

Image: Mark Power

The new Macallan distillery features a rolling roofscape to echo the form of the surrounding hills. A processional landscaped walkway connects the 18th century laird’s house at the heart of the estate with the new visitor centre. Internally, the building features a warmly lit double curvature timber gridshell roof. The main elevation features a fully glazed section offering views of the Spey river, the source of the water that brought the distillery to the site.

Client: Edrington
Architect: Rogers Stirk Harbour + Partners
Location: Moray
Contract Value: £140m
Contractor: Robertson Construction Group
Quantity surveyor: Equals Consultancy
Structural engineer: Arup
M&E engineer: Arup
Project manager: Equals Consultancy
Awards: RIAS Award 2019 and RIBA Award for Scotland 2019

5) Nevill Holt Opera, Leicestershire

Image: Helen Binet

Following analysis of the history of the site, the architects focused on the idea of a room in stone which then has a cut in the ground that forms the stalls and orchestra pit. A series of further moves insert the seating, roof and rooflight. The new roof and upper walls of the auditorium are all from a lightly sand blasted larch, picking up the more honey coloured hues of the local Clipsham stone. The cladding pattern is informed by the existing stable joists behind. This cladding is also part of a larger acoustic tuning exercise to support young opera singers’ voices.

Client: Nevill Holt Opera
Architect: Witherford Watson Mann Architects
Contractor: Messenger
Structural engineers: Price Myers
Environmental / M&E engineers: Max Fordham
Quantity surveyor / cost consultant: Gleeds
Fire consultant: The Fire Surgery
Historic architecture consultant: Julian Harrap Architects
Planning consultant: Rural Solutions
Theatre planning and acoustics: Sound Space Vision
Awards: RIBA East Midlands Award 2019, RIBA East Midlands Conservation Award 2019, RIBA East Midlands Building of the Year 2019 and RIBA National Award 2019

6) The Weston, Yorkshire Sculpture Park, Wakefield

Image: Peter Cook

The Yorkshire Sculpture Park sits in the grounds of Bretton Hall, an 18th century country park estate. Since its opening in 1977 the Sculpture Park has developed a series of indoor exhibition spaces that complement the sculpture arranged across the landscape. The Weston is the latest addition, providing a visitor centre and gallery. The building sits on the site of a former millstone grit quarry. A monolithic, 50m long wall, is punctuated only by a single opening which forms the entrance. This concrete wall uses a variety of exposed local aggregates to produces a strata-like effect and shields the site from nearby road noise. The wall itself returns around the northern end of the building to shelter and protect the gallery space. To the west the building becomes a glazed timber-framed pavilion giving panoramic views across the park. The project includes sustainable features including green roofs and an unusual passive humidity buffer. 

Client: Yorkshire Sculpture Park
Architect: Feilden Fowles Architects
Contractor: William Birch
Contract value: £3,600,000
Landscapes Architects: Jonathan Cook Landscape Architects
Structural Engineers: Engineers HRW
Environmental / M&E Engineers: Skelly & Couch
Project Management: Turner & Townsend
Quantity Surveyor / Cost Consultant: BWA (Europe)
Award: RIBA Yorkshire Award 2019, RIBA Yorkshire Client of the Year Award 2019, RIBA Yorkshire Building of the Year Award 2019 and RIBA National Award 2019

The architecture prize is judged against a range of criteria including design vision; innovation and originality; capacity to stimulate, engage and delight occupants and visitors; accessibility and sustainability; how fit the building is for its purpose and the level of client satisfaction.

The winner will be announced at a ceremony on 8 October.

Top image: London Bridge Station (Paul Raftery)