London Bridge station makes 2019 Riba Stirling Prize shortlist

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Paul Raftery

The redeveloped train station at London Bridge is one of six buildings up for the 2019 Riba Stirling prize.

Others in line to be named the UK’s best new building include a rural opera house, a whisky distillery in Scotland and an experimental house made of cork.

Riba, the Royal Institute of British Architects, will announce the winner of its highest accolade in October.

Bloomberg’s European headquarters – the largest stone building in the City of London – won last year’s prize.

RIBA President Ben Derbyshire said the 2019 shortlist was testament to “the enviable global reputation of UK architecture”.

The nominated buildings, he said, “could hardly be more diverse” yet had “ground-breaking innovation, extraordinary creativity and the highest quality materials” in common.

Previous winners of the prize – first presented in 1996 – include Liverpool’s Everyman Theatre, Hastings Pier and the Scottish Parliament building in Edinburgh.

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Cork House, Berkshire by Matthew Barnett Howland with Dido Milne and Oliver Wilton

Cork HouseImage copyright
Ricky Jones

Built almost entirely from cork and designed to be assembled by hand without mortar or glue, this private house in Eton emits next to zero carbon.

The Riba Stirling Prize jury said it was “a structure of great ingenuity” that “harked back to a time when humans and nature were more intertwined”.

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Goldsmith Street, Norwich by Mikhail Riches with Cathy Hawley

Goldsmith StreetImage copyright
Tim Crocker

This development of 105 energy-efficient homes in Norwich is the first council housing scheme to make the Riba Stirling Prize shortlist.

The jury said the project – comprising seven terrace blocks arranged in four lines – represented “the best of enlightened modern domestic European architecture”.

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London Bridge Station by Grimshaw

London Bridge StationImage copyright
Paul Raftery

London Bridge, one of Britain’s busiest railway stations, reopened last year after a redevelopment that cost £1 billion and took five years to complete.

The Stirling Prize jury said its “voluminous” spaces” and “impressive” new concourse had “significantly improved the experience of those who use it daily”.

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The Macallan Distillery and Visitor Experience, Moray by Rogers Stirk Harbour + Partners

Macallan DistilleryImage copyright
Mark Power

An undulating, grass-covered roof lends a futuristic feel to this £140 million redevelopment at the Macallan Distillery in Speyside, Scotland.

The vast turf roof, which covers 14,000 square metres, was designed to blend in with the rolling hillside.

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Nevill Holt Opera, Leicestershire by Witherford Watson Mann Architects

Nevill Holt OperaImage copyright
Helene Binet

Costing £5 million, this contemporary opera theatre was built within a 17th Century stable block at Nevill Holt Hall in Market Harborough.

The prize jury praised the “modesty, craftsmanship, care and attention” that had been applied to this “exceptional 21st Century addition”.

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The Weston, Yorkshire Sculpture Park by Feilden Fowles Architects

The WestonImage copyright
Mike Dinsdale

Housing a new gallery, a restaurant and shop, this £3.6m visitor centre is named after the foundation that part-funded it.

The jury said the building had “significantly improved its immediate environment” and was “truly of its landscape”.

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