Pick of the bunch: the RIBA announces its 2016 National Awards winners

Blavatnik School Of Government, Oxford, by Herzog & de Meuron
The RIBA has revealed the 46 winners of its 2016 National Awards. As per usual, the institute’s honoured projects span a wide range of scales and typologies, from schools to housing. Pictured: Blavatnik School Of Government, Oxford, by Herzog & de Meuron.
(Image credit: Iwan Baan)
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Following hot on the heels of its regional awards announcements a few weeks ago, the RIBA has just revealed its country-wide top pics for 2016 – the buildings that won a coveted RIBA National Award this year.

In a rigorous search for the best buildings in the country, the RIBA consulted with local and national experts and architects across the UK in order to put together the ultimate list of 46 winners for this year. This same list will act as the pool from which the prestigious RIBA Stirling Prize shortlist will be drawn in about a month’s time.

As per usual, the institute’s honoured projects span a wide range of scales and typologies: from schools to housing; public and infrastructure works to commercial buildings; boutique private houses to larger developments and even an abbey.

Big international names also have a presence on the list of winners, in the form of two Oxford buildings. Herzog & de Meuron’s Blavatnik School of Government is among them, as is the late Zaha Hadid’s shimmering stainless steel Investcorp Building.

More highlights include the blue and curvaceous Drawing Studio by CRAB Studio (Cook Robotham Architectural Bureau) and Wilton’s Music Hall’s conservation and renewal in London's East End.

RIBA president Jane Duncan flagged up this year as an especially successful one for education buildings. ‘One stand-out trend from this year’s crop of winners is the huge scale of investment and ambition shown by many of the UK’s universities and colleges; almost one quarter of the winning projects (11 buildings) are in this category,’ she explains.

The RIBA awards cycle’s next step, the 2016 RIBA Stirling Prize shortlist, will be announced on Thursday 14 July.

Alder Hey Childrens Hospital, Liverpool, by BDP

Alder Hey Childrens Hospital, Liverpool, by BDP. 

(Image credit: David Barbour)

Derry Avenue, Essex, by Bell Phillips Architects

Derry Avenue, Essex, by Bell Phillips Architects.

(Image credit: Killian O'Sullivan)

Bob Champion Research And Education Building, Norwich, by Hawkins\Brown

Bob Champion Research And Education Building, Norwich, by Hawkins\Brown. 

(Image credit: Gareth Gardner)

51 Hills Road, Cambridge, by Gort Scott Architects

51 Hills Road, Cambridge, by Gort Scott Architects. 

(Image credit: David Grandorge)

61 Oxford Street, London, by Allford Hall Monaghan Morris

61 Oxford Street, London, by Allford Hall Monaghan Morris. 

(Image credit: Timothy Soar)

City Of Glasgow College by MLA / Reiach And Hall Architects

City Of Glasgow College by MLA / Reiach And Hall Architects. 

(Image credit: Keith Hunter)

ARK All Saints Academy and Highshore School, London, by Allford Hall Monaghan Morris

ARK All Saints Academy and Highshore School, London, by Allford Hall Monaghan Morris.

(Image credit: Timothy Soar)

Banbridge Health Care Centre by Kennedy Fitzgerald Architects

Banbridge Health Care Centre by Kennedy Fitzgerald Architects. 

(Image credit: Donal McCann)

Corner House, London, by DSDHA

Corner House, London, by DSDHA.

(Image credit: Christoffer Rudquist)

Drawing Studio, Poole, by CRAB Studio

Drawing Studio, Poole, by CRAB Studio.

(Image credit: Richard Bryant)

Davenies School, Beaconsfield, by DSDHA

Davenies School, Beaconsfield, by DSDHA.

(Image credit: Dennis Gilbert)

Ely Court, South Kilburn, by Alison Brooks Architects Ltd and Hester Architects

Ely Court, South Kilburn, by Alison Brooks Architects Ltd and Hester Architects. 

(Image credit: Paul Riddle)

Albert Sloman Library and Silberrad Student Centre, Essex University, by Patel Taylor

Albert Sloman Library and Silberrad Student Centre, Essex University, by Patel Taylor.

(Image credit: Timothy Soar)

Gloucester Services by Glenn Howells Architects

Gloucester Services by Glenn Howells Architects.

(Image credit: Paul Miller)

Greenwich Gateway Pavilions, London, by Marks Barfield Architects

Greenwich Gateway Pavilions, London, by Marks Barfield Architects.

(Image credit: Timothy Soar)

Greenwich Housing, London, by Bell Phillips Architects

Greenwich Housing, London, by Bell Phillips Architects. 

(Image credit: Edmund Sumner)

'Heart of the Campus', Nottingham, by Evans Vettori Architects

'Heart of the Campus', Nottingham, by Evans Vettori Architects. 

(Image credit: Martine Hamilton Knight)

Hebburn Central by FaulknerBrowns Architects

Hebburn Central by FaulknerBrowns Architects. 

(Image credit: Hufton Crow)

Home, Manchester, by Mecanoo

Home, Manchester, by Mecanoo. 

(Image credit: Machteld Schoep)

Laidlaw Library, University of Leeds, by ADP

Laidlaw Library, University of Leeds, by ADP. 

(Image credit: Beccy Lane)

Murphy House, Edinburgh, by Richard Murphy Architects

Murphy House, Edinburgh, by Richard Murphy Architects. 

(Image credit: Keith Hunter)

National Graphene Institute, Manchester, by Jestico + Whiles

National Graphene Institute, Manchester, by Jestico + Whiles. 

(Image credit: Daniel Shearing)

New QEII Hospital, Welwyn Garden City, by Penoyre & Prasad

New QEII Hospital, Welwyn Garden City, by Penoyre & Prasad. 

(Image credit: Tim Crocker)

Newport Street Gallery, London, by Caruso St John Architects

Newport Street Gallery, London, by Caruso St John Architects. 

(Image credit: Helene Binet)

Outhouse, Forest of Dean, by Loyn & Co Architects

Outhouse, Forest of Dean, by Loyn & Co Architects. 

(Image credit: Charles Hosea)

Private House, Cumbria, by Bennetts Associates

Private House, Cumbria, by Bennetts Associates. 

(Image credit: Brian Ormerod)

Private house, Northamptonshire, by James Gorst Architects

Private house, Northamptonshire, by James Gorst Architects. 

(Image credit: Alex Franklin)

Regent High School, London, by Walters Cohen Architects

Regent High School, London, by Walters Cohen Architects. 

(Image credit: Dennis Gilbert)

Royal Road, London, by Panter Hudspith Architects

Royal Road, London, by Panter Hudspith Architects. 

(Image credit: Morley Von Sternberg)

8 St James's Square, London, by Eric Parry Architects

8 St James's Square, London, by Eric Parry Architects. 

(Image credit: Dirk Lindner)

House of Trace, London, by Tsuruta Architects

House of Trace, London, by Tsuruta Architects.

(Image credit: Tim Croker)

Saunders Centre, Glasgow, by Page\Park Architects

Saunders Centre, Glasgow, by Page\Park Architects. 

(Image credit: Andrew Lee)

Sir John Soanes Museum, London, by Julian Harrap Architects

Sir John Soanes Museum, London, by Julian Harrap Architects. 

(Image credit: Gareth Gardner)

Stanbrook Abbey, York, by Feilden Clegg Bradley Studios

Stanbrook Abbey, York, by Feilden Clegg Bradley Studios. 

(Image credit: Tim Crocker)

The Avenue, Essex, by Pollard Thomas Edwards

The Avenue, Essex, by Pollard Thomas Edwards. 

(Image credit: Tim Crocker)

Maurice Wohl Clinical Neuroscience Institute, London, by Allies And Morrison and PM Devereux

Maurice Wohl Clinical Neuroscience Institute, London, by Allies And Morrison and PM Devereux. 

(Image credit: Stale Eriksen)

The Cheeran House, Reading, by John Pardey Architects

The Cheeran House, Reading, by John Pardey Architects. 

(Image credit: James Morris)

The Investcorp Building, Oxford, by Zaha Hadid Architects

The Investcorp Building, Oxford, by Zaha Hadid Architects. 

(Image credit: Luke Hayes)

The Portland Collection, Worksop, by Hugh Broughton Architects

The Portland Collection, Worksop, by Hugh Broughton Architects. 

(Image credit: Nick Hufton)

Trafalgar Place, London, by dRMM Architects

Trafalgar Place, London, by dRMM Architects.

(Image credit: Alex De Rijke)

Turnmill, London, by Piercy & Company

Turnmill, London, by Piercy & Company.

(Image credit: Al Crow)

Weston Library, Oxford, by Wilkinson Eyre

Weston Library, Oxford, by Wilkinson Eyre.

(Image credit: James Brittain)

Wilton's Music Hall, London, by Tim Ronalds Architects

Wilton's Music Hall, London, by Tim Ronalds Architects. 

(Image credit: Helene Binet)

Wirral Metropolitan College, Birkenhead and Wallasey, by Glenn Howells Architects

Wirral Metropolitan College, Birkenhead and Wallasey, by Glenn Howells Architects.

(Image credit: Paul Miller)

York Art Gallery by Ushida Findlay and Simpson & Brown Architects

York Art Gallery by Ushida Findlay and Simpson & Brown Architects. 

(Image credit: Giles Rocholl)

INFORMATION

For more information, visit the RIBA's website

Ellie Stathaki

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).

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