Let the battle commence: 2016 RIBA International Prize shortlist revealed

The RIBA International Prize, the institute’s latest and greatest international accolade, has just announced the much-awaited shortlist for its first ever installment this year.
The new honour, unveiled last December (and supported by Wallpaper*), has been gathering pace, announcing a prestigious panel of judges over the past few months, who will award the top gong to a worthy building, picked from a high profile selection of works from around the globe.
Now, 30 projects have been announced to be part of this shortlist. From initial submissions from over 50 countries, the final list was whittled down to these select few, which represent a variety of practices and typologies, as well as over 20 countries. The nominees include from Zaha Hadid Architects’ Heydar Aliyev Centre in Baku, Azerbaijan, to St Angela's College Cork by O’Donnell + Tuomey and Tula House in Canada by Patkau Architects, and typologies span education, cultural, commercial and residential buildings.
The schemes will be visited over the summer by the RIBA Awards committee, who will bring the list down to 20. A list of six finalists will chosen and visited by the Grand Jury this autumn, in order to pick the overall winner.
At the same time as the announcement of this shortlist, the RIBA has revealed the final jury member to be added to its list of prestigious judges; Billie Tsien, the co-founding partner of award winning architecture practice Tod Williams Billie Tsien. Earlier confirmed members of the Prize’s Grand Jury include chair Lord Rogers of Riverside, Kunlé Adeyemi, Philip Gumuchdjian and Marilyn Jordan Taylor.
Now, the battle will commence for the final winner, who will be crowned the international best building of the year in a dedicated ceremony in December 2016.
Invisible House, Australia, by Peter Stutchbury Architecture.
Museo Jumex, Mexico, by David Chipperfield Architects.
Office Building Moganshan Road, China, by David Chipperfield Architects.
Oita Prefecture Art Museum, Japan, by Shigeru Ban Architects.
Parkroyal On Pickering, Singapore, by WOHA Architects.
Public Library Of Constitucion, Chile, by Sebastian Irarrazaval Arquitectos.
Qatar Faculty Of Islamic Studies, Qatar, by Mangera Yvars Architects Ltd.
Rundeskogen, Norway, by dRMM Architects / Helen and Hard Architects.
Saint Louis Art Museum, USA, by David Chipperfield Architects.
Saint Trinitatis Catholic Church, Germany, by Schulz und Schulz.
Sancaklar Mosque, Tukrey, by EAA-Emre Arolat Architecture.
Skyterrace, Singapore, by SCDA Architects Pte Ltd.
St Angelas College Cork, Ireland, by O'Donnell + Tuomey.
Stormen Concert Hall, Theatre and Public Library, Norway, by DRDH Architects.
The Ring Of Remembrance International WWI Memorial Of Notre Dame de Lorette, France, by Agence d’architecture Philippe Prost.
Tula House, Canada, by Patkau Architects.
Utec Universidad De Ingenieria y Tecnologia, Peru, Grafton Architects.
Via At West 57th, USA, by BIG.
Angdong Hospital, China, by Rural Urban Framework.
Arquipelago Contemporary Arts Center, The Azores, by Menos é Mais, Arquitectos Associados.
Buenos Aires Ciudad Casa De Gobierno, Argentina, by Foster + Partners.
Culture House Rozet, Netherlands, by Neutelings Riedijk Architects.
DLR Lexicon, Ireland, by Carr Cotter Naessens.
Europaallee Baufeld E, Swizterland, by Caruso St John.
European Hansemuseum, Germany, Studio Andreas Heller Architects & Designers.
Farming Kindergarten, Vietnam, by Vo Trong Nghia Architects.
Fine Arts Museum Of Asturias, Spain, by Francisco Mangado - Mangado y Asociados.
Fulton Centre, USA, by Grimshaw HDR and Page Ayres Cowley Architects.
Jockey Club Innovation Tower, Hong Kong, by Zaha Hadid Architects.
INFORMATION
For more information visit the RIBA website
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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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