2024 RIBA Stirling Prize shortlist: the six projects that made it in
The 2024 RIBA Stirling Prize shortlist has been revealed – who made it into the running for the UK's most coveted architecture award?
![King's Cross Masterplan, which makes it into the 2024 RIBA Stirling Prize shortlist](https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/nAm2M4Nn952tAYSybK5iV6-415-80.jpg)
The 2024 RIBA Stirling Prize shortlist has just been announced, signalling the start of a process that will crown the UK's best building of the year. The prestigious accolade, widely considered one of the highest honours in its field, will be presented on 16 October 2024. The winning design is among these six shortlisted projects, which span a range of typologies, in London, Dorset and Sheffield. This list was born from the 26 2024 RIBA National Awards, which were revealed earlier in July.
RIBA President Muyiwa Oki said: 'These projects demonstrate the ingenuity and diversity of architecture today. From major national infrastructure to brave and brilliant council-led housing, these varied schemes are united in making sensitive contributions to elevating everyday life. Whether raising the bar for social housing, upgrading city transportation or repurposing dilapidated buildings to create heritage-conscious urban and rural developments, each scheme thoughtfully adapts elements of our existing built environment. This is purposeful yet unassuming architecture – architecture that brings joy to people’s lives and strengthens the fabric of our society.'
2024 RIBA Stirling Prize: the shortlist
- Chowdhury Walk, London by Al-Jawad Pike
- The Elizabeth Line, London Underground by Grimshaw, Maynard, Equation and Atkins
- King’s Cross Masterplan, London by Allies and Morrison and Porphyrios Associates
- National Portrait Gallery, London by Jamie Fobert Architects and Purcell
- Park Hill Phase 2, Sheffield by Mikhail Riches
- Wraxall Yard, Dorset by Clementine Blakemore Architects
2024 RIBA Stirling Prize: explore the 6 shortlisted projects
Chowdhury Walk, London, by Al-Jawad Pike
Chowdhury Walk by Al-Jawad Pike is a development that repurposes under-used Hackney Council land to create new council homes for the community. 'Overall, Chowdhury Walk is an elegant piece of architectural and urban design, providing new homes that are successfully knit into their context – satisfying both resident and passer-by,' writes the jury in its citation.
The Elizabeth Line, London Underground, by Grimshaw, Maynard, Equation and Atkins
The Elizabeth Line is the most significant contribution to London’s transportation network in over 20 years – courtesy of Atkins, Grimshaw, GIA Equation and Maynard. All the stakeholders in this multi-billion-pound enterprise have played a very long game, whether they’re developers, architects, engineers, councils, or transport organisations. The first plans for what became known as Crossrail (and was subsequently named the Elizabeth Line in 2016) were mooted back in 1974, although plans for major cross-capital train tunnels date back to the 1940s. It seems to have paid off. The line, serving Londoners and visitors to the capital since its opening in May 2022, is among the six shortlisted projects.
King’s Cross Masterplan, London, by Allies and Morrison and Porphyrios Associates
This pioneering masterplan by Allies and Morrison and Porphyrios Associates set a new bar in city-making – King's Cross has been a contemporary exemplar of its typology. The jury wrote: 'The developer client was able to set goals for all the buildings and spaces, with reduction of energy demand, use of a district energy centre, decarbonisation, and energy procurement goals all embedded in the design briefs. Ten of the new buildings are BREEAM Outstanding. Combined with the carbon savings through retention and renovation of the historic buildings, it all makes for a robust sustainability narrative. King’s Cross Masterplan is a global exemplar in how to make a community of places which supports human activity, maintains an urban identity, and is supple enough to accommodate inevitable change.'
National Portrait Gallery, London, by Jamie Fobert Architects and Purcell
The summer 2023 reopening of London's National Portrait Gallery was one of the most highly anticipated relaunches of the year. The popular cultural attraction, set right in the heart of the capital, was reimagined by a team led by Jamie Fobert Architects and conservation specialist Purcell, with a new design that saw the institution's previously increasingly unfit quarters opened up in a generous and subtly luxurious new home. Architect and studio head Jamie Fobert said at the time: 'Hopefully, we have now achieved a much better balance between the building and its collection.'
Park Hill Phase 2, Sheffield, by Mikhail Riches
The ongoing regeneration of the much-discussed Grade II*-listed, brutalist Park Hill estate has completed its second phase, courtesy of Mikhail Riches. Writes the jury, in its citation for the project: 'The first phase of the project stripped the building back to its frame and used bright colours to create a distinctly modern appearance. In contrast, Phase 2 is a “lighter touch”, retaining more of the existing built fabric and employing more subtle colours to blend the complex into the landscape. These colours, referencing the nearby Peak District, are used on the balcony reveals and flat entrances, giving each flat its own identity while keeping the character of the overall building.'
Wallpaper* Newsletter
Receive our daily digest of inspiration, escapism and design stories from around the world direct to your inbox.
Wraxall Yard, Dorset, by Clementine Blakemore Architects
A sensitively restored dairy farm offering inclusive holiday accommodation, a community space, and an educational smallholding, Wraxall Yard was created by Clementine Blakemore Architects. 'You could spend a long time here and keep finding new things. The touch of the designer feels light, the changes between materials are very natural, and the interfaces between buildings and landscaping are well considered. Most of the internal spaces are open to the rafters, but there are subtle changes in scale: from the two-storey elevation facing the car park, through a tall breezeway entrance porch, into the more intimate courtyard bounded by single-storey holiday cottages. Inside, the cottages retain a rustic feel with exposed trusses and glossy concrete floors,' reads the jury citation.
Ellie Stathaki is the Architecture & Environment Director at Wallpaper*. She trained as an architect at the Aristotle University of Thessaloniki in Greece and studied architectural history at the Bartlett in London. Now an established journalist, she has been a member of the Wallpaper* team since 2006, visiting buildings across the globe and interviewing leading architects such as Tadao Ando and Rem Koolhaas. Ellie has also taken part in judging panels, moderated events, curated shows and contributed in books, such as The Contemporary House (Thames & Hudson, 2018), Glenn Sestig Architecture Diary (2020) and House London (2022).
-
‘The United States of América’: how Willy Chavarria is rewriting American fashion
Wallpaper* catches up with Willy Chavarria, who staged his latest show, ‘América’, in a disused bank on New York’s Wall Street yesterday evening (September 6 2024)
By Ann Binlot Published
-
Designer India Mahdavi on her perfect restaurant experience
As part of Laila Gohar's guest editorship, she asked friends in the industry and her wider creative circle to relive their perfect restaurant experience. Here, designer India Mahdavi recounts a perfect night dining under the pitch-black Egyptian sky
By Charlotte Gunn Published
-
Mark Armijo McKnight’s bodily landscapes capture the tactile serenity of the American West
The artist’s new exhibition at the Whitney Museum, which is organised by the museum curator Drew Sawyer, offers a succinct window into his contemplative suggestion of queering a landscape
By Osman Can Yerebakan Published
-
Thames Distillers raises our spirits with its new home and bar in London
Fords bar at Thames Distillers' new home is a future London classic, designed by Transit Studio; we raise a toast to the gin maker
By Ellie Stathaki Published
-
Wallpaper* Architects’ Directory 2024: meet the practices
In the Wallpaper* Architects Directory 2024, our latest guide to exciting, emerging practices from around the world, 20 young studios show off their projects and passion
By Ellie Stathaki Published
-
Beacon House’s pink extension brightens up a Victorian London home refresh
A pink extension in north London is part of the Beacon House project by Office S&M – the dramatic refresh of a Victorian home
By Ellie Stathaki Last updated
-
Brown Urbanism's little triangle house is an ingenious urban infill
Emerging UK studio Brown Urbanism is part of the Wallpaper* Architects’ Directory 2024
By Ellie Stathaki Published
-
Kasawoo's Greek red cabin retreat is perfect for minimalist escapes
The Wallpaper* Architects Directory 2024 welcomes Kasawoo, a young UK practice that draws on a new minimalist approach
By Ellie Stathaki Published
-
Tilde House brings a listed London home up to contemporary, sustainable standards
Tilde House by Neil Dusheiko Architects blends Victorian elegance, sustainability and contemporary flair in north London’s historic Canonbury area
By Léa Teuscher Published
-
A walk through The Brentford Project, a lesser-known west London neighbourhood
The Brentford Project in west London completes its first phase, offering modern residences, a wealth of public space and waterfront living
By Ellie Stathaki Published
-
This clever Camden house renovation brings light, space and zen
EBBA architects’ Camden house renovation and double-height extension transform life in a London terraced home
By Bridget Downing Published