0:00:00 > 0:00:00cash officer with his own car in a robbery gone wrong.
0:00:30 > 0:00:37Welcome to the Roundhouse in north London, the RIBA Stirling Prize, the
0:00:37 > 0:00:44hunt for best new Britain in Britain. Fixing mega best new
0:00:44 > 0:00:53building in Britain. We have an attempt to give further education
0:00:53 > 0:00:58new status and can you reinvent the British pier? That's like other
0:00:58 > 0:01:05nominees for the prize. -- let's look at the nominees.
0:01:05 > 0:01:06Whoa, look at that!
0:01:06 > 0:01:14City of dreams!
0:01:14 > 0:01:17It's like walking to the gates of heaven.
0:01:17 > 0:01:19It looks seriously so dope.
0:01:19 > 0:01:21It looks so cool.
0:01:21 > 0:01:23It has got lights, like, not just regular lights.
0:01:23 > 0:01:31Purple lights.
0:01:31 > 0:01:33And it's a tremendous fun, it's like a haven
0:01:33 > 0:01:35of quietness and freedom.
0:01:35 > 0:01:36And madness.
0:01:36 > 0:01:40It's just brilliant, for me, it's excellent.
0:01:42 > 0:01:48Wow.
0:01:48 > 0:01:52I think what's unique about this building is it's a strikingly
0:01:52 > 0:02:02modern building and a very sensitive conservation environment.
0:02:02 > 0:02:05I love this building because it reflects so many elements
0:02:05 > 0:02:12of the historic dockyard.
0:02:12 > 0:02:17It gets you in here, and you just think, why?
0:02:17 > 0:02:20What are your thoughts looking out on this now?
0:02:20 > 0:02:30Oh, I love it, it's just so peaceful.
0:02:32 > 0:02:37A very brief glimpse into the six nominated buildings before the
0:02:37 > 0:02:40announcement and the next ten minutes or so, let's have a longer
0:02:40 > 0:02:49look at those six building. I'm joined by Ollie Wainwright,
0:02:49 > 0:02:54architectural critic, and Emma Froud, a community architectural
0:02:54 > 0:02:58correspondent?
0:02:58 > 0:03:04I make sure that communities are involved in architectural projects.
0:03:04 > 0:03:09But look at the first one. Over DC, you were involved in this from the
0:03:09 > 0:03:14beginning, Hastings Pier?It was a project where I worked with the
0:03:14 > 0:03:17community to look at the questions they asked about architecture, to
0:03:17 > 0:03:20make sure they got the architect that would work well done.And what
0:03:20 > 0:03:27they have created is is what they expected? It's extraordinary what
0:03:27 > 0:03:32they created.This is architecture that is doing what architecture is
0:03:32 > 0:03:36most to do, which is supporting community life.Ollie, what do you
0:03:36 > 0:03:41make of it?My favourite is that it has locally been nicknamed the
0:03:41 > 0:03:48Plank. But may sound a criticism but is a massive plank, it's a flexible
0:03:48 > 0:03:57blank canvas.Some people got concerned they lost the end of the
0:03:57 > 0:04:01pier attraction?Its teeming with attractions, it has public shows,
0:04:01 > 0:04:05attractions, ourselves, it had has been embraced by big amenity.When I
0:04:05 > 0:04:19went out there, you feel like you are out at the. -- out at sea. You
0:04:19 > 0:04:26really inhale the experience.You have the community activity in the
0:04:26 > 0:04:30middle but then a sublime experience at the far end grip is it the future
0:04:30 > 0:04:31of Tambe Mike Woods?
0:04:35 > 0:04:42-- is it the future appears?It is a glimpse into the future.You like
0:04:42 > 0:04:50this one, the Glasgow?This is taking something that is rarely
0:04:50 > 0:04:55celebrated in this way and giving it civic pride in the centre of
0:04:55 > 0:05:02Glasgow. Considering its own privately financed initiative, it
0:05:02 > 0:05:09has all the things about a city squeeze into one building.It has a
0:05:09 > 0:05:13sense of dignity doesn't it?It has a real civic presence but as a
0:05:13 > 0:05:19humility to the architecture because they have mapped this complex brief
0:05:19 > 0:05:23of making sure every skill can be accommodated.You are suddenly met
0:05:23 > 0:05:26inside by 20 stewards and stewardesses marching in uniform
0:05:26 > 0:05:30pass the test, past the dock workers?It's a high Street, you can
0:05:30 > 0:05:37go to the restaurant and B has on why people are training. It's a
0:05:37 > 0:05:42miniature world.You think, how brilliant to be a student there.
0:05:42 > 0:05:50Completely different, come on of the oceans, Tatham, but more modest, --
0:05:50 > 0:06:00Command of the Oceans, Tatham. More modest but Mavi Heritage?It's
0:06:00 > 0:06:05rambling sheds. It takes visitors on a atmospheric journey below the
0:06:05 > 0:06:10floorboards where you discover the Septembers therefore so many years.
0:06:10 > 0:06:13It's a difficult task because the old building they had to respond to
0:06:13 > 0:06:19is made from this ancient ship timbers themselves. You have to
0:06:19 > 0:06:23respond in a humble way.A bit of concrete looks like timber as well.
0:06:23 > 0:06:27I remember they really had to fit in carefully into this. The same with
0:06:27 > 0:06:36the British Museum, one of the great landmarks of London.Yeah. But this
0:06:36 > 0:06:43building is quite magical, and it looks better in the flesh than a
0:06:43 > 0:06:49dozen photos.It's an iceberg of a building, you only see the tip. The
0:06:49 > 0:06:59wooden brick outside, what do you of those?Not ground-breaking but
0:06:59 > 0:07:04interesting piece of cross laminated timber, a cheaper way to build.
0:07:04 > 0:07:10Maybe it will catch on, it's a good model.They also have this cheeky
0:07:10 > 0:07:17relationship with the homes, in a mixed up street.Intentionally
0:07:17 > 0:07:21cartoonish quality, next to a primary school, so it looks like a
0:07:21 > 0:07:25child's drawing of it how. It's a good addition to the street.And we
0:07:25 > 0:07:38will now, I think, move very quickly across to Louise Minchin who is
0:07:38 > 0:07:43announcing, and Ben Derbyshire, the president of the Royal Institute of
0:07:43 > 0:07:48British architects, the announcement of this year's RIBA Stirling Prize.
0:07:48 > 0:07:51We've just got a couple of seconds and you can do the honours.Thank
0:07:51 > 0:07:59you very much. Good evening, ladies and gentlemen. The Royal Institute
0:07:59 > 0:08:06of British architects is a global, professional membership body. A
0:08:06 > 0:08:13charity supporting architect and society to deliver better buildings
0:08:13 > 0:08:16and places, stronger communities and a sustainable environment. On this
0:08:16 > 0:08:24very special occasion, we are celebrating the winner of the most
0:08:24 > 0:08:30coveted award in architecture. A prize that illustrates why UK
0:08:30 > 0:08:38architecture is the envy of the world. The RIBA Stirling Prize
0:08:38 > 0:08:41showcases the remarkable skills for tenacity and problem-solving player
0:08:41 > 0:08:49of our talented architectural practices. It also rewards the
0:08:49 > 0:08:52patrons of great architecture. Clients that have taken the
0:08:52 > 0:09:00initiative and sometimes a risk, to create innovative extraordinary
0:09:00 > 0:09:04environments that delight and inspire. The built environment plays
0:09:04 > 0:09:08a crucial role in how people understand and value of the world
0:09:08 > 0:09:15around them. The quality of the places in which we live, work and
0:09:15 > 0:09:19play, is a reflection of our country's ambition and success. We
0:09:19 > 0:09:26must insist upon and nurture exceptional design, we know that it
0:09:26 > 0:09:34is worth every penny of investment and more. As chair of the jury, I
0:09:34 > 0:09:40congratulate every single one of this year's finalist. Truly
0:09:40 > 0:09:45remarkable buildings designed and built perfectly for the people that
0:09:45 > 0:09:52they serve. And here comes the moment, I'm absolutely delighted to
0:09:52 > 0:09:59announce that the winner of the 2017 RIBA Stirling Prize for architecture
0:09:59 > 0:10:05is, and you will have to wait while I fell it in my other pocket...
0:10:05 > 0:10:12Hastings pier.
0:10:15 > 0:10:28Congratulations. Please come and join us on stage.
0:10:52 > 0:10:59We can keep going, we can keep cheering, come on!
0:11:06 > 0:11:13Congratulations.CHEERING
0:11:35 > 0:11:39I didn't peer into the future but I did make, just in case, a couple of
0:11:39 > 0:11:49nights. First of all, because we are on live linkup with Hastings Pier,
0:11:49 > 0:11:59hello Hastings! Yes! We've got the Hastings Pier party going on. It was
0:11:59 > 0:12:07called Win or lose. So this is double suite. I first of all want to
0:12:07 > 0:12:11acknowledge all the contenders in this Stirling Prize award which is
0:12:11 > 0:12:16always hotly contested, and I think you will agree we have seen some
0:12:16 > 0:12:25incredible quality. So fair play. And I would like to acknowledge that
0:12:25 > 0:12:33you've all done fine buildings but it seems that this year, what really
0:12:33 > 0:12:38captured the imagination was not doing one. In favour of making
0:12:38 > 0:12:49space. In favour of making public space. When you invent, you need to
0:12:49 > 0:12:54collaborate, and this project really did define collaboration. So I have
0:12:54 > 0:12:59to acknowledge that this, and you can see from the stage here, of the
0:12:59 > 0:13:04members who worked on the scheme, and incredible design team PT
0:13:04 > 0:13:11projects. We had a dedicated design team which works closely and very
0:13:11 > 0:13:16broadly with the client. You cannot do interesting and special projects
0:13:16 > 0:13:20without a special client and I would say Hastings Pier Charity are up
0:13:20 > 0:13:25there among the most special, even eccentric clients you will ever
0:13:25 > 0:13:36meet. But I also want to acknowledge the people that delivered it were
0:13:36 > 0:13:41absolutely fantastic. In the end, the double-macro charity, formally
0:13:41 > 0:13:47trust, became the project managers to build it using local contractors,
0:13:47 > 0:13:54and that was a really special process. It was actually realised
0:13:54 > 0:13:58and delivered. So fair play to all the delivery team, the contractors
0:13:58 > 0:14:03and ultimately, the agility of the funding came from Heritage lottery
0:14:03 > 0:14:08fund for which we are also extremely grateful. -- the majority of the
0:14:08 > 0:14:19funding. Finally, I just say thanks to the RIBA for this amazing award,
0:14:19 > 0:14:30and I guess, it is nice to be recognised by your peers.Thank you
0:14:30 > 0:14:44very much.The winner of this year's RIBA Stirling Prize. Hastings Pier,
0:14:44 > 0:14:48an extraordinary adventure in reinventing something that many
0:14:48 > 0:14:58people in the town had thought had gone forever. The building, a huge,
0:14:58 > 0:15:01empty space, effectively, with a pavilion on top. Many calling it the
0:15:01 > 0:15:08plank. As you were there from day one with the residence, it must be
0:15:08 > 0:15:13quite a good feeling?Yes, I have not seen the residents sense but I'm
0:15:13 > 0:15:17so delighted, they found a good one. They got a good architect.Do you
0:15:17 > 0:15:22think this is a worthy winner.I do, it is difficult to convey the power
0:15:22 > 0:15:27through the photographs, you have to stand on the end of this pier
0:15:27 > 0:15:33leaning PCBs, taking in the view, feeling the expense of the sea. As
0:15:33 > 0:15:40you say, it is a public space. It is not a photogenic or immaculate work
0:15:40 > 0:15:45of architecture in that space, it is a basic piece of public space that
0:15:45 > 0:15:49serve its function.Do you think that people going on there bucket
0:15:49 > 0:15:54and spade holidays will take do this when they do not get the end of the
0:15:54 > 0:16:01Pier amusement, the penny slots and whatever, it is a bit of an
0:16:01 > 0:16:04adventure in architecture? Have the architects led the public was not a
0:16:04 > 0:16:09yes, but to witness the public using it today, Alex said he didn't do a
0:16:09 > 0:16:14building but the building in the middle is extraordinary.It's got a
0:16:14 > 0:16:17cluster of beach huts around, but that is what good architecture does.
0:16:17 > 0:16:24It supports and enhances human rights. -- human life. Every nook
0:16:24 > 0:16:30and cranny has been used.You have the steps going to the cafe, with
0:16:30 > 0:16:38the seating, so the public really depends in an unexpected ways that
0:16:38 > 0:16:42they weren't imagining.I know there's a gathering of people on the
0:16:42 > 0:16:47pier at the moment watching the announcement, that doesn't happen
0:16:47 > 0:16:50off with architectural awards, the thousand people, shareholders, they
0:16:50 > 0:16:55brought pier themselves, this is more than just the architects'
0:16:55 > 0:17:01story?Yes. It's architecture, architects being the facilitator for
0:17:01 > 0:17:06the desires of a community. And it's really wonderful to see, you see the
0:17:06 > 0:17:10people, I was there at the weekend they were running workshops, the joy
0:17:10 > 0:17:14of people running things in that building.The power of amenity
0:17:14 > 0:17:21ownership. Before, it has been owned by a company in Panama, they did not
0:17:21 > 0:17:27care when it burned down, they compulsively purchased the structure
0:17:27 > 0:17:32of the £1, give it to the charity, then it shows the power of building
0:17:32 > 0:17:35momentum of people that live there to make this project up.It did seem
0:17:35 > 0:17:42like this first.I think now is a good moment for us to actually have
0:17:42 > 0:17:43a look, killing
0:17:48 > 0:17:52-- look at Hastings Pier and the story of how we got here after that
0:17:52 > 0:17:54terrible fire in 2010.
0:17:55 > 0:17:56It gets you in here.
0:17:56 > 0:18:00You just think, why?
0:18:00 > 0:18:06You were here when it broke down?
0:18:06 > 0:18:08You were here when it burned down?
0:18:08 > 0:18:11I was.
0:18:11 > 0:18:14People that I've never spoken to before were stopping me to
0:18:14 > 0:18:17talk about the pier and everyone was devastated.
0:18:17 > 0:18:24It was really quite upsetting.
0:18:24 > 0:18:27The fact there had been a massive fire and it felt like
0:18:27 > 0:18:30actually, how is it going to come back from that?
0:18:30 > 0:18:32Did you think it was all over then?
0:18:32 > 0:18:35I did and I know a lot of people did, and it was
0:18:35 > 0:18:38actually the opposite.
0:18:38 > 0:18:40So, seven years after that fire, Hastings Pier
0:18:40 > 0:18:44has been reborn.
0:18:44 > 0:18:46Jill, Dot and Gillian are shareholders, the local community
0:18:46 > 0:18:47now owns the pier.
0:18:47 > 0:18:51And it's been rebuilt.
0:18:51 > 0:18:55This curtain of glass, finally give the people of
0:18:55 > 0:19:00Hastings a panoramic view out to the sea.
0:19:00 > 0:19:03The woodwork here is the original timber from the pier.
0:19:03 > 0:19:05There are still some of the scorch marks
0:19:05 > 0:19:07from the fire of 2010.
0:19:07 > 0:19:13But the most important innovation is this.
0:19:13 > 0:19:16Nothing.
0:19:16 > 0:19:18What they chose not to build.
0:19:18 > 0:19:19The empty space.
0:19:19 > 0:19:22There is no end of the pier.
0:19:22 > 0:19:30And there's a good reason for all this space.
0:19:30 > 0:19:32The history of Britain's piers is a story of recurring disaster,
0:19:32 > 0:19:34flimsy wooden attractions that have a habit of
0:19:34 > 0:19:36going bankrupt and burning down.
0:19:36 > 0:19:38So much to listen to, say much to see.
0:19:38 > 0:19:40And everything must be the finest in the world.
0:19:40 > 0:19:43Even the potato peeler.
0:19:43 > 0:19:47The old seaside attractions have gone.
0:19:47 > 0:19:50In their place, open space that can be used for a variety of
0:19:50 > 0:19:54moneymaking enterprises.
0:19:54 > 0:19:56The Victorians had this great concept of
0:19:56 > 0:20:04walking over the sea, promenading.
0:20:04 > 0:20:11And thanks to them, we've got this madness in our society called piers.
0:20:11 > 0:20:12Madness?
0:20:12 > 0:20:13Absolutely bonkers.
0:20:13 > 0:20:14Madness?
0:20:14 > 0:20:17Peter Weaver is a piers engineer, 3000 tonnes of new steel
0:20:17 > 0:20:19have been added to try to keep the elements at bay.
0:20:19 > 0:20:24It's a triumph of hope over reality isn't it?
0:20:24 > 0:20:27Yes and that's the biggest challenge.
0:20:27 > 0:20:29How does the pier fund its own maintenance?
0:20:29 > 0:20:36That's where piers have a problem.
0:20:36 > 0:20:40So, 145 days after it was first opened, Hastings Pier is reborn and
0:20:40 > 0:20:41is now Britain's best new building of 2017.
0:20:41 > 0:20:44What are your thoughts looking out on this now?
0:20:44 > 0:20:45Oh,
0:20:45 > 0:20:46I love it.
0:20:46 > 0:20:51It's so peaceful.
0:20:57 > 0:21:04I'm joined now by the winner of this year's RIBA Stirling Prize, Alistair
0:21:04 > 0:21:11of DRM N architects. It must be a good feeling?It's a fantastic
0:21:11 > 0:21:16feeling. Not only have we laboured on behalf of the people that worked
0:21:16 > 0:21:24on this project.It's not the normal product at all?It was initiative by
0:21:24 > 0:21:28a local community group who kick-started an effort to save a
0:21:28 > 0:21:34derelict pier that then caught fire and had to be rethought. It was a
0:21:34 > 0:21:38long process, seven years of thinking and drawing and composing,
0:21:38 > 0:21:44to now come here and be recognised as not just a immunity room project,
0:21:44 > 0:21:49but an exemplar of design, it's fantastic.A lot of people, when
0:21:49 > 0:21:56they saw the plans, thought, "Hang on a second, I can see a pier but
0:21:56 > 0:22:01not anything else, you've forgotten to build the buildings."The joke
0:22:01 > 0:22:07was that it was the plank. Conceptually, it was a hard one at
0:22:07 > 0:22:11first, but the thought was, it had to be so many different things for
0:22:11 > 0:22:14the many people, you have do make things that enable lots of different
0:22:14 > 0:22:19things, and to build one so-called iconic building at the end of it
0:22:19 > 0:22:23would not serve all the people who are not using about that time.It
0:22:23 > 0:22:31has also provided the town and visitors with a proper view. You can
0:22:31 > 0:22:37sit out, 365 days a year, you don't get that then every other
0:22:37 > 0:22:40double-macro?Absolutely,s Eyebrows, Her Domestic British Ideal.
0:22:43 > 0:22:52-- Peers Are A British Ideal. It's a space where you can be part of the
0:22:52 > 0:22:59weather. Sometimes in the year, you will be on your own, sometimes there
0:22:59 > 0:23:02will be packed thousands of people there because there are also a band
0:23:02 > 0:23:08or a circus. It is about creating possibilities.Do you have a
0:23:08 > 0:23:12question for him?At a brave move to have left it open and not do the
0:23:12 > 0:23:15obvious thing and placing the iconic building at the end, were you
0:23:15 > 0:23:21worried it might end up being barren and an empty space for the year? Was
0:23:21 > 0:23:24that concern in the back of your mind?We were never worried it be
0:23:24 > 0:23:29barren. Partly because the local people are genuinely eccentric and
0:23:29 > 0:23:35fun and they love life, they love dressing up, they will always have
0:23:35 > 0:23:43events and that was never a risk. The idea of making a big public
0:23:43 > 0:23:51space was so beguiling because we don't have that much in the UK. We
0:23:51 > 0:23:54don't have open public space that isn't full of stuff. And here we
0:23:54 > 0:24:01have the opportunity to demonstrate people's imagination and the way in
0:24:01 > 0:24:05which they can colonise and use the space is very important. Children
0:24:05 > 0:24:13are always good at that. Congratulations, the winner of this
0:24:13 > 0:24:16year's Tom,
0:24:20 > 0:24:24RIBA Stirling Prize. This is what it was all about. Hastings Pier,
0:24:24 > 0:24:31described in the 1870s as peerless, a masterpiece of Victorian
0:24:31 > 0:24:36engineering, it's gone through fire, storm neglect, changing fashion.
0:24:36 > 0:24:41What we've seen today is an attempt to reinvent the British pier for the
0:24:41 > 0:24:49future. The winner of this year's RIBA Stirling Prize, Hastings Pier.