:00:13. > :00:19.Hello and welcome to this the Culture Show Special. We're at the
:00:19. > :00:23.awards ceremony hosted by the Royal Institute of British Architects to
:00:23. > :00:28.celebrate the design genius behind the best building of 2011.
:00:29. > :00:32.This is a chance to pause and drink of the fountain of design
:00:32. > :00:36.inspiration, to glimpse the building that reflect and shape the
:00:36. > :00:39.mood of our times. We're coming to you this evening from the Magna
:00:39. > :00:43.Science Adventure Centre in Rotherham. Ten years ago it won the
:00:43. > :00:47.RIBA's most important award, the Stirling Prize. Tonight, as we gear
:00:47. > :00:49.up for the big announcement of this year's Stirling Prize winner, we'll
:00:49. > :00:53.be exploring some of the most interesting buildings completed
:00:53. > :00:58.this year across the globe. So, if you love great design, sit tight
:00:58. > :01:06.for the next hour and you'll find out everything you need to know
:01:06. > :01:10.out everything you need to know about architecture right now.
:01:10. > :01:16.Coming up tonight: I look back on a few of the big ideas which have
:01:16. > :01:19.shaped the year in architecture. Architect Fran Balaam explores the
:01:19. > :01:22.six buildings short-listed for the Stephen Lawrence Prize, the first
:01:22. > :01:26.of three awards to be announced this evening.
:01:26. > :01:30.The prize rewards fresh architectural talent and is for
:01:30. > :01:33.projects with a budget of under �1 million.
:01:33. > :01:37.Critic Tom Dyckhoff takes a look at the buildings in the running for
:01:37. > :01:39.the Lubetkin Prize, which is awarded to international projects
:01:39. > :01:46.outside Europe. And he shows us round the six
:01:46. > :01:51.buildings nominated for tonight's most prestigious award, the �20,000
:01:51. > :01:57.RIBA Stirling Prize for Building of the Year.
:01:57. > :02:00.It's a very strong line-up for this year's Stirling Prize but also for
:02:00. > :02:04.the Lubetkin and Stephen Lawrence Prizes which we'll be coming to
:02:04. > :02:08.shortly. But before we start to fine out who's won what, I'd like
:02:09. > :02:11.to take a light skim across the muddy waters and swirling eddies of
:02:11. > :02:18.the architectural tide of the last year and have a quick look at some
:02:18. > :02:22.of the big ideas that appear to have floated to the surface.
:02:22. > :02:26.This last year in architecture has provided us perhaps with more than
:02:26. > :02:32.ever before with a gloriously mixed diversity of building species. They
:02:32. > :02:35.may appear wildly different, but in true Darwinian terms, they all
:02:36. > :02:39.descend from the great modernist architecture that burst on to the
:02:39. > :02:43.planet after the First World War. It's a year that's given us dramy
:02:43. > :02:48.in dazzling gravity-defying triumphs of engineer at the Olympic
:02:48. > :02:51.Park. It's a year that's given us monumental scale and shiny surfaces
:02:51. > :02:56.in projects like Jean Nouvel's One New Change, that opened back in May
:02:56. > :02:59.on one side of Thames, while Richard Branson crystalline Shard
:02:59. > :03:04.has been racing sky wards on the other. But it's also a year in
:03:04. > :03:08.which buildings with a softer, evolved and more adaptable
:03:08. > :03:14.aesthetic have emerged all across the UK.
:03:14. > :03:17.I like adaptability. It's healthy. I also think it captures the spirit
:03:17. > :03:22.of architecture in 2011. In evolutionary terms, the idea is no
:03:22. > :03:26.better expressed than in this building which is a bird-hide in
:03:26. > :03:30.Rainham Marshes in Essex, by the architects Haysom Ward Miller. It
:03:30. > :03:34.opened last November, it was prefabricated off-site and put
:03:34. > :03:39.together in just two days in order to minimise its impact on the
:03:39. > :03:43.nature reserve here. It is eco- friendly, it's small and it's quiet,
:03:44. > :03:53.but, I think it encapsulates three big ideas that we've seen a lot of
:03:54. > :03:59.
:03:59. > :04:02.in the past year in building. So, how's this for a big idea?
:04:02. > :04:07.Anti-gravity design. The idea that a building weighing dozens or
:04:07. > :04:11.hundreds or even thousands of tonnes can appear to float or drift
:04:11. > :04:14.off into the ether as though weightless. Here, for example,
:04:14. > :04:17.they've hidden these steel supporting brackets underneath the
:04:18. > :04:21.building to make it look as though it's hovering above the marshes.
:04:21. > :04:27.The fact that it's canted and skewed to one side and yet doesn't
:04:27. > :04:32.fall in to the reed bed, well, that completes the illusion of zero
:04:32. > :04:37.gravity, makes it compelling and for that matter, it's catching, too.
:04:38. > :04:40.This year there's the jaunty City of Westminster College Paddington
:04:40. > :04:44.Green campus by Schmitt Hammer Lassen. Which opened in January and
:04:44. > :04:49.from the Stirling short list the super light weight Olympic
:04:49. > :04:53.Velodrome by Hopkins Architects completed in February.
:04:53. > :04:57.You see, these are buildings which are define by their engineering as
:04:57. > :05:01.as much as by their architecture, buildings which require complex
:05:01. > :05:06.calculations just to stop them from falling over. And they would not be
:05:06. > :05:15.possible without the computer. It's computer power, computer-aided
:05:15. > :05:19.design, software, which has liberated architecture from gravity.
:05:19. > :05:24.There is another big idea that sort of runs counter to the complexities
:05:25. > :05:28.of the anti-gravity principle, and this idea's got everything to do
:05:28. > :05:31.with simple geometric shapes. So, for example, if the building I'm in
:05:31. > :05:38.now were shrunk right now you could easily imagine a small child
:05:38. > :05:41.picking it up and playing with it. This idea of simple, block-like
:05:41. > :05:49.structures runs through so much in building design right now. However,
:05:49. > :05:54.there is one shape that architects are particularly fond of, and it's
:05:54. > :05:58.this one. In October of last year, a mixed
:05:58. > :06:06.use development by MAKE, architects, opened in Birmingham, called The
:06:06. > :06:10.Cube. It was swiftly followed in November by The Corby Cube, a new
:06:10. > :06:14.theatre library council building in Northamptonshire by Hawkins Brown.
:06:14. > :06:18.In May David Chipperfield's Hepworth Wakefield opened with its
:06:18. > :06:21.series of cubic galleries. These simple shapes, somewhat repetitive,
:06:21. > :06:25.in each case do however unfold in complex ways with beautiful
:06:25. > :06:29.detailing. I mean, where are the guters and drainpipes? Every one of
:06:29. > :06:33.these buildings represents, of course, another great feat of
:06:33. > :06:39.engineering, owing just as much to the power of the computer as it
:06:39. > :06:46.does to the pencil. There's a third last, and very
:06:46. > :06:50.welcome big idea in my view, simply put, wot? No bling? More than ever
:06:50. > :06:56.over the past year we've seen a shift away from our fascination for
:06:56. > :07:00.shiny, sparkly, colourful bangle buildings towards an architecture
:07:00. > :07:08.which expresses a relationship with the natural world, something that
:07:08. > :07:12.is perhaps healthier and certainly far more engaging. From the new
:07:13. > :07:17.Woodland Trust headquarters in Grantham by Feilden Clegg Bradley
:07:17. > :07:20.to a little wooden Love Shack in the lick traibgt by Sutherland
:07:20. > :07:24.Hussey, great sustainable buildings finished with natural materials
:07:24. > :07:28.have been completed this year all over the UK. Two of my favourites
:07:28. > :07:31.are on the shirt list for year's Stephen Lawrence Prize, Ty Hedfan a
:07:32. > :07:36.private house in the Welsh countryside finished last August by
:07:36. > :07:39.architects het het and Brown's Dental Practice in Ivybridge in
:07:39. > :07:43.Devon -- Ty Hedfan. By David Sheppard completed last November.
:07:43. > :07:47.Maybe, just maybe, we're entering a visually quieter period as with he
:07:47. > :07:52.get more confident about what we're saying. And looking back over the
:07:52. > :07:55.past year, but also over the past dbg aid, I do think that the --
:07:55. > :07:59.decade, I do think that the way we engineer our buildings, we insulate
:08:00. > :08:03.and glaze them, the way we put them together has finally caught up with
:08:03. > :08:09.itself with the modernist principles that underscore it,
:08:09. > :08:14.principles which first kicked off in the 1920s.
:08:14. > :08:19.Ideas like gravity-defying architecture, simple geometric
:08:19. > :08:23.shapes and truthfulness in materials were all there in the
:08:23. > :08:28.first years of Modernism, but those early 20th century buildings were
:08:28. > :08:32.often cold, poorly insulated and suffered from condenisation. Today,
:08:32. > :08:39.we can, thanks to clever construction technology, make those
:08:39. > :08:43.ideas work. And if Modernism has come of age technologically, it's
:08:43. > :08:49.also evolved socially and styleisticly into a glorious
:08:49. > :08:54.variety of species and forms, thanks to engineering, to computer-
:08:54. > :08:57.aided design, to the willingness of architects to experiment and
:08:57. > :09:01.hybridise it. You know, we can now design shapes and buildings that
:09:01. > :09:05.just 20 years ago were thought unthinkable or too expensive. We
:09:05. > :09:09.now have the confidence to cloak those buildings in a variety of
:09:09. > :09:16.materials that can respond to their context. I think architecture is
:09:16. > :09:19.entering a new and highly evolved age, one where the character of
:09:19. > :09:25.buildings seems more rooted in place and more rooted in our memory
:09:25. > :09:29.as well. You know, Modernism has been around since before you or I
:09:29. > :09:33.were born. But it is an animal which is only just now finally
:09:34. > :09:41.grown up. It's stopped being gaubgy and spoty and it's started to try
:09:42. > :09:45.on lots of new clothes. -- gawky.
:09:45. > :09:49.Well, time now to see the extent to which some of those ideas are
:09:49. > :09:53.making their presence felt in the buildings short-listed for the
:09:53. > :09:57.RIBA's prizes tonight. We kick off the awards handout this evening
:09:57. > :10:00.with the Stephen Lawrence Prize. It was set up to honour the memory of
:10:00. > :10:04.Stephen Lawrence, the London teenager who was planning to become
:10:04. > :10:08.an architect before he was brutally stabbed to death in 1993. There are
:10:08. > :10:17.six buildings on the short list for this prize. Here's architect Fran
:10:17. > :10:24.Balaam to tell us about them. Now in its 14th year, the Stephen
:10:24. > :10:27.Lawrence Prize is awarded to skpwroebgts with a budget under a
:10:27. > :10:34.million pounds. This year's short list includes three homes, a bird-
:10:34. > :10:37.hide, a dentist's surgery, and a school. Doreen Lawrence, Stephen's
:10:37. > :10:39.mother is on the prize's judging panel. What do you think Stephen
:10:40. > :10:43.would have thought about the prize? I think Stephen would love it. He
:10:43. > :10:48.was an extrovert and I think the fact that he from such a young age
:10:48. > :10:53.wanted to be an architect, I think the fact that the prize, one of the
:10:53. > :10:56.prizes is in his name, I think, first of all he'd probably feel a
:10:57. > :11:02.bit shy about it but at the same time I think he'd really appreciate
:11:02. > :11:04.and look at all the talents that have come through and all the young
:11:04. > :11:10.architects that's always trying to achieve as good a building a
:11:10. > :11:13.possible. I think Stephen would love that.
:11:13. > :11:20.This is St Patrick's school in Kentish Town in North London. It's
:11:20. > :11:23.been nominated for a new music room and library by Coffey Architects.
:11:23. > :11:27.This space feels very intimate and intricate. It's been designed so
:11:27. > :11:31.that everything has a place, all slotting in within the birch ply
:11:31. > :11:35.panelling. What's nice about this project is that it's not just a box.
:11:36. > :11:40.The screen with the green perspex, the depth of the shelving, the
:11:40. > :11:46.overhang of the mezzanine all gives the room a sort of sheltered,
:11:46. > :11:50.cocoon-like feeling. It's good for people who like to
:11:50. > :11:55.play music and read books and do drama, because we do all those
:11:55. > :12:01.stuff in here. It's a nice place made of wood and wood makes you
:12:01. > :12:06.feel comfy. The first of three houses on this
:12:06. > :12:11.year's short list is Ty Hedfan in Brecon in Wales. It's own and
:12:11. > :12:16.designed by architects Sarah Featherstone and Jeremy Young.
:12:16. > :12:19.initial idea was to design a family home for us, but this is quite a
:12:19. > :12:23.costly exercise and we quite quickly realised we needed to build
:12:23. > :12:29.as much flexibility into the house design as possible in the event we
:12:29. > :12:33.might need to let it out. We wanted to use local materials. So we've
:12:33. > :12:37.ended up with these two large screen walls almost in the local
:12:37. > :12:42.Pennant, South Wales stone. The rest of the building we conceived
:12:42. > :12:47.as a slate-clad box. It's worked very well and has a sort of press
:12:47. > :12:50.teen, precise quality to it, which is nice.
:12:50. > :12:53.The woerdz Ty Hedfan mean hovering house in Welsh. Building
:12:53. > :13:00.regulations meant constructing within six metres of the river was
:13:00. > :13:03.impossible, so the couple came up with the ingenious solution of a
:13:03. > :13:05.cantilevered wing. You really do get a sense of the changing seasons
:13:05. > :13:11.when you're sitting in the main living room. Because you're over
:13:11. > :13:15.the river and amongst the trees you get the amazing shadows of the
:13:15. > :13:19.trees -- leaves dancing across the floor and walls.
:13:19. > :13:22.A feeling of being rooted in the landscape is also fundamental at
:13:22. > :13:28.two of the other buildings on the short list.
:13:28. > :13:31.One of these is the RSPB's Marshland Discovery Zone in
:13:31. > :13:36.Purfleet Essex designed by Peter Beard Landroom land. This could be
:13:36. > :13:39.considered quite a tough site to build on. It's not a classically
:13:39. > :13:43.beautiful landscape, it's dramatic, industrial, there are pylons
:13:43. > :13:49.marching across it. What I really like about this design is the way
:13:49. > :13:54.it responds to this setting. It's old shipping containers set out to
:13:54. > :13:58.form three different buildings. A conventional bird-hide is usually
:13:58. > :14:04.a cold, dark box with a narrow viewing slot. But here there's a
:14:04. > :14:07.classroom, a composting toilet and an elegant observation shelter. The
:14:07. > :14:16.most striking thing about this space is the view, with this vast
:14:16. > :14:20.opening you feel like you're almost touching the marsh. A strong
:14:20. > :14:26.connection with the environment is also key at the White House on the
:14:26. > :14:29.Isleof Coll in the Hebrides built by WT Architecture around an 18th
:14:30. > :14:34.century ruin. We'd been living in London for
:14:34. > :14:37.seven years or so. I wanted to come back to Coll to take over my
:14:37. > :14:41.father's farm. We wanted to build a house near the farm. We had no
:14:41. > :14:46.house to live in. We walked round the bay here, looking for someone
:14:46. > :14:50.to build the house and kept coming back to the ruin. We always wanted
:14:50. > :14:54.to do something that incorporated the ruin but made it into a family
:14:54. > :15:00.home. It was a great opportunity to do something interesting with a
:15:00. > :15:04.house that was a bit of an island landmark as well.
:15:04. > :15:11.One of the deliberate design features of the house is to try and
:15:11. > :15:15.bring the great outdoors inside so you have the expanse of patio going
:15:15. > :15:20.from inside to outside and you really have a sense as you're
:15:20. > :15:29.sitting, particularly in the sitting room, you have a sense of
:15:29. > :15:32.being part of the landscape. Brown's Dental Practice in
:15:32. > :15:36.Ivybridge in Devon is by David Sheppard Architects. Everything
:15:37. > :15:41.about the building is designed to make the surgery feel as
:15:41. > :15:44.unfrightening as possible. We wanted a more calming influence
:15:44. > :15:48.for the patients when they came into practice, we wanted to steer
:15:48. > :15:52.away from the sort of cold, clinical hard surfaces you get in a
:15:52. > :15:57.lot of practices and more the sort of warmth and the wood that we have
:15:57. > :16:01.here today. The light that flows into the room is really very
:16:01. > :16:05.different to anything I've experienced in a surgery or a
:16:05. > :16:11.dental practice and I think you only need to look up through the
:16:11. > :16:14.trees and the drill really doesn't seem relevant; or not so bad
:16:14. > :16:19.anyway! Now with our new building we're not in such a rush to get
:16:19. > :16:23.home at the end of the day, you feel quite relaxed, even being at
:16:23. > :16:29.work is lovely. We're not a stuffy surgery and the building shows you
:16:29. > :16:33.that. That's exactly with a we are. The final project on the Stephen
:16:33. > :16:39.Lawrence Prize short list is in Hoxne tonne, East London. A
:16:39. > :16:43.Georgian house has had its bottom two floors remodelled by David
:16:43. > :16:48.Mikhail Architects. Inside it's hard to believe that
:16:48. > :16:52.this is a Georgian house. And what they've essentially done here is
:16:52. > :16:58.rework the guts of the building to recreate a far greater feeling of
:16:58. > :17:02.space. What's interesting about this project is that it's only been
:17:02. > :17:07.extended by one metre. Everything else has just been re-organised. It
:17:07. > :17:10.gives the house a sort of very calm, ordered feeling. What I really like
:17:11. > :17:16.about it is this overlapping and sort of layering of different
:17:16. > :17:21.levels and spaces. It brings a kind of complexity to what at first
:17:21. > :17:24.appears a quite simple project. So, there you have it, six very
:17:24. > :17:34.different designs, which of them will win this year's Stephen
:17:34. > :17:35.
:17:35. > :17:38.Lawrence Prize? What a delightful set of projects.
:17:38. > :17:43.Almost all of those projects cost substantially less than the �1
:17:43. > :17:47.million set by this award, proving you don't have to spend a fortune
:17:47. > :17:52.to end up with an inspiring building. It's my great pleasure to
:17:52. > :17:55.hand over to Doreen Lawrence and architect Marco Goldschmied whose
:17:55. > :18:00.charitable foundation funds this award, so they can reveal the
:18:00. > :18:04.winner. I should say in addition to giving
:18:04. > :18:09.the architect an award, the foundation does give an annual
:18:09. > :18:15.bursary to the Stephen Lawrence scholarship for architecture
:18:15. > :18:25.students. I'm now going to announce the winner of this year's Stephen
:18:25. > :18:25.
:18:25. > :18:29.Lawrence award which is St Patrick's school, Coffey Architects.
:18:29. > :18:34.This was a wonderful opportunity opportunity for Phil Coffey, the
:18:34. > :18:38.young architect who has won this award. He's been in practice just
:18:38. > :18:42.six years. Although he's no stranger to awards because he's
:18:42. > :18:48.worked for Ian Ritchie architects who have been twice nominated for
:18:48. > :18:52.the Stirling. Wow! I'd just say thank you to the
:18:52. > :18:55.RIBA, to Marco, do Doreen and Philip. It was a great day when
:18:55. > :18:59.they came to judge the building and thanks to the design team and the
:18:59. > :19:04.guys who work very hard in the office but also importantly to the
:19:04. > :19:09.diocese of Westminster who were a fantastic client for us. Some of
:19:09. > :19:12.the things said about architecture in education this year they were
:19:12. > :19:15.fantastic because they believed architecture really does make a
:19:16. > :19:22.difference to those people who go to school, enjoy great spaces and
:19:22. > :19:27.learn in those spaces and it's better for their outcome. For us
:19:27. > :19:30.it's reward enough to go in see these kids, playing their music,
:19:30. > :19:40.reading books and performing theatre. But really, this is like
:19:40. > :19:40.
:19:40. > :19:43.the icing on the cake. Thanks very much, cheers.
:19:43. > :19:48.Well, many congratulations to Phil, our first prize-winning architect
:19:48. > :19:51.of the night. The next award sees us move from the small scale to
:19:51. > :19:56.some of the biggest budget buildings of the year. It's the
:19:56. > :19:59.RIBA Lubetkin Prize given to international projects outside the
:19:59. > :20:09.EU here's Tom Dyckhoff with news of the five buildings on the short
:20:09. > :20:14.
:20:14. > :20:17.list. This famous penguin pool here at
:20:17. > :20:20.London Zoo is by one of the most radical architects of the 20th
:20:20. > :20:25.century, Berthold Lubetkin. Originally from Russia, avenues
:20:25. > :20:28.pioneer of modernist design and it's after him that the RIBA's
:20:28. > :20:33.international award for architecture is named.
:20:33. > :20:36.The buildings nominated for this year's Lubetkin Prize are all laugh
:20:36. > :20:41.irpb big-budget affairs, each costing more than �100 million. Let
:20:41. > :20:44.me tell you a bit about them. Million dollars.
:20:44. > :20:48.The first two buildings on the short list share a common theme,
:20:48. > :20:54.sustainability in a very hot climate. Norman Foster, who's been
:20:54. > :20:56.nominated twice for this year's award is the architect behind the
:20:56. > :21:01.futuristic Masdar Institute in Abu Dhabi.
:21:01. > :21:05.It may look a bit like something from a science fiction film,
:21:05. > :21:09.complete with driverless cars, but it's actually a university for
:21:09. > :21:12.studying renewable energy. It's part of a grand plan to build a
:21:12. > :21:17.carbon neutral city over the next 15 years. Everything has been
:21:17. > :21:22.designed to minimise energy use. The same is true of the second big
:21:22. > :21:27.sustainable building on the short list. It's called The Met, a 66-
:21:27. > :21:30.storey residential tower block in Bangkok by architectural practice
:21:30. > :21:34.WOHA based in Singapore. The architects have designed the very
:21:34. > :21:38.opposite of a standard sealed skyscraper. This is designed as a
:21:38. > :21:42.self-cooling building so you can opt whether you want to turn on the
:21:43. > :21:45.air-conditioning or not. Remarkably for such a tall building all the
:21:45. > :21:48.apartments have balconies and gardens. It's the kind of place
:21:48. > :21:53.where you can open the window, enjoy a view and go for a swim,
:21:53. > :21:59.even on the top floor. Next two buildings up for the Lubetkin Prize
:21:59. > :22:04.are both renovations of fine art maou Simms in -- museums in America.
:22:04. > :22:11.The first, the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts in Richmond is by Rick
:22:11. > :22:15.Mather, the architect who so successfully revamped the ashmolean
:22:15. > :22:20.in Oxford last year. He's doubled the space of the museum, put in a
:22:20. > :22:24.new main atrium and reordered the space to make sense of the museum's
:22:24. > :22:28.eclectic art collection. In Massachusetts Norman Foster has
:22:28. > :22:32.also come up with a plan that gives you life to an old building. His
:22:32. > :22:37.scheme for the Boston Museum of Fine Arts stays true to the plans
:22:37. > :22:40.of the original architect, but adds a new glass courtyard that's
:22:40. > :22:44.revolutionised how visitors move around the galleries. The last
:22:44. > :22:52.building in the running for the prize is a new Opera House in
:22:52. > :22:58.Guangzhou China, by Zaha za. It has curved Foyers wrapped around
:22:58. > :23:04.the main auditorium, an acoustic second to none.
:23:04. > :23:07.It shows vision on an theatrical scale and has already been called
:23:07. > :23:11.the most spectacular Opera House in the world.
:23:11. > :23:14.So, for this prize showcasing the best in international architecture,
:23:14. > :23:20.you have the quiet elegance of the museums in Virginia and Boston. You
:23:20. > :23:26.have sustainable visions of the future in Masdar and The Met and
:23:26. > :23:28.the wild exuberance of Zaha's Opera House. What an incredible range!
:23:28. > :23:33.I'm sure Lubetkin would have approved.
:23:33. > :23:38.Well, I'm pleased to hand over to the new President of the RIBA and
:23:38. > :23:43.chair of the Lubetkin Prize judges, Angela Brady, whoel announce which
:23:43. > :23:53.of those spectacular buildings has won. The winner of the 2011 RIBA
:23:53. > :23:55.
:23:55. > :23:59.Lubetkin Prize is... The Met by WOHA.
:23:59. > :24:03.The reason it's such an interesting building is that it's in a city
:24:03. > :24:08.full of skyscrapers with grass, curtain waulg and they're consuming
:24:08. > :24:11.huge amounts of energy, what The Met says is do I have to live in a
:24:11. > :24:14.flat and always use air- conditioning. You all have a
:24:14. > :24:18.wonderful balcony that you can go out on to. You can swim in a
:24:18. > :24:21.swimming pool, your own private swimming pool at that level, which
:24:21. > :24:27.is extraordinary. It's almost like a kind of super natural experience,
:24:27. > :24:31.to be in touch with nature and yet be up in the clouds.
:24:31. > :24:35.In terms of architecture nobody has ever done that before. Nobody has
:24:35. > :24:45.offered occupants the choice to open their window quite so high up
:24:45. > :24:48.
:24:48. > :24:53.in a tropical climate. It's really a completely new type of building.
:24:53. > :24:59.We're very honoured to receive this award. I think the category of high
:24:59. > :25:05.rise, high-density, speculative development housing is not often
:25:05. > :25:11.represented in awards and so we're particularly pleased to have it
:25:11. > :25:17.recognised tonight. We think in the developing world this form of
:25:17. > :25:23.housing is going to be one of the major areas of construction in the
:25:23. > :25:27.coming century. We think there's a although of opportunity to rethink
:25:28. > :25:37.and revise the model and so we're, we think it's very exciting to have
:25:37. > :25:40.it recognised tonight. Thank you. Great news there for WOHA
:25:40. > :25:46.architects, the winners of this year's Lubetkin Prize. Many
:25:46. > :25:50.congratulations. So, now we come to the main event, the RIBA - steady
:25:50. > :25:54.on! The RIBA Stirling Prize for Building of the Year. Here's' Tom
:25:54. > :25:56.Dyckhoff again, with a look at the first three contend for this year's
:25:56. > :26:04.prize. This year's Stirling Prize short
:26:04. > :26:07.list has a rich mixture of buildings. Including the RSC's
:26:07. > :26:12.revamped theatre in Stratford-upon- Avon. A cultural centre in Northern
:26:12. > :26:18.Ireland and this school by last year's winner and Lubetkin nominee
:26:18. > :26:21.Zaha. It's the Evelyn grace academy in Brixton, South London. The
:26:21. > :26:25.school wanted a proper grown-up building, something that treats its
:26:25. > :26:29.pupils like members of society, not just as kids. So there are no crazy,
:26:29. > :26:33.or whacky colours here. Zaha treats the children like adults, with a
:26:33. > :26:38.kind of complex overall majority trees and design you might find on
:26:38. > :26:44.an iconic art gallery or a skyscraper.
:26:45. > :26:49.The first time that I saw this building I was like, wow! It's
:26:49. > :26:54.really differently yet different in a good way.
:26:54. > :26:58.What I think Zaha is a genius to come up with a building like this
:26:58. > :27:02.because normally other secondary school are square, dull, everything
:27:02. > :27:05.is fitted into one small building. But in this year she used the space
:27:05. > :27:09.very well and I think that was very clever.
:27:09. > :27:15.Evelyn Grace is an academy, one of the schools created independently
:27:15. > :27:20.of local government to educate kids in areas of low academic ambition.
:27:20. > :27:24.All academies have specialisms, one of he have grin Grace's is sport.
:27:24. > :27:26.There can't be many schools that have a bright red running track
:27:26. > :27:32.through the middle but sport is essential to the school's identity,
:27:32. > :27:36.you can read it in the architecture, the go-faster strikes and angled
:27:36. > :27:39.columns, the building looks like it's on the starting blocks, poised
:27:39. > :27:43.to pounce. Evelyn grace is arranged around its
:27:43. > :27:47.running track. It divides the building in half.
:27:47. > :27:51.It buildings, in fact, divided into two distinct schools. You can see
:27:51. > :27:55.from the model here. We've got the Evelyn hao over here, the Grace bit
:27:55. > :27:58.over here and they're divided into upper schools on the top deck and
:27:58. > :28:03.middle schools on the middle deck, all bound together in this central
:28:04. > :28:08.block and the whole thing is united in this dramatic Z, shape, Z for
:28:08. > :28:12.Zaha? The idea of smaller schools is key
:28:12. > :28:16.to this academy's philosophy. It's meant to create the same intimate
:28:16. > :28:21.feeling of a primary school, even though at maximum capacity it can
:28:21. > :28:27.take 1100 pupils. One of architecture's greatest ambitions
:28:27. > :28:30.is to create a better society. Could Evelyn Grace help do that
:28:30. > :28:34.here, in an area with a history of some of the highest rates of
:28:34. > :28:37.violent crime in the UK? People see Brixton as something
:28:37. > :28:42.more positive now, it's somewhere you send your children to go to
:28:42. > :28:46.school every day. It's not like any other building, so it's not common,
:28:46. > :28:51.it makes it feel a bit special. was really impressed that they
:28:51. > :28:57.spent all this money on just a building. I was like, yeah, thanks,
:28:57. > :29:01.that's great. I get to go to a nice new school. Your school is one of
:29:01. > :29:05.the most influential bits of architecture you'll ever experience.
:29:06. > :29:10.The debate will rumble on for years about how best to build them, but
:29:10. > :29:15.if one proves anything it's that ambitious design inspire pupils at
:29:15. > :29:18.a very critical part of their lives. Depending on your politics, the
:29:18. > :29:21.second building on the short list is in Londonderry, or Derry in
:29:21. > :29:27.Northern Ireland, a city with a history of tension between
:29:27. > :29:31.unionists and republicans. The city has seen some of the most
:29:31. > :29:38.violent outbursts of the Troubles, but it's a chapter are that
:29:38. > :29:45.building could help draw to a close. This is An Gaeleras Irish language
:29:45. > :29:50.cultural centre by architects O'Donnell and Tuomey.
:29:50. > :29:57.In the past, speaking Gaelic was discouraged by the authorities.
:29:57. > :30:02.Here it's now actively celebrated. The centre has language classrooms,
:30:02. > :30:10.a book shop, offices, and spaces that celebrate Irish culture and
:30:10. > :30:13.tradition. Before this centre I find that a
:30:13. > :30:16.lot of the Irish cultural activities would have been
:30:16. > :30:22.scattered around different buildings and locations. So, this
:30:22. > :30:25.centre is sort of like the linchpin, if you like, of culture. To me it
:30:25. > :30:28.really modernises everything to do with the Irish language. Generally
:30:28. > :30:32.people think of Irish, they think of old things, whereas this brings
:30:32. > :30:36.it into the 21st century. I think it's a welcoming building. Nobody
:30:36. > :30:44.would come in here and feel threatened or feel they shouldn't
:30:44. > :30:48.be here. This is an overtly warm and open
:30:48. > :30:54.building. From the wide entrance, to the cosy cafe, right through to
:30:54. > :30:58.the very architecture. Instead of the usual partisan symbolism thaefg
:30:58. > :31:03.for an abstract modernism but still very warm. This is a building with
:31:03. > :31:08.its arms open wide to the whole community. The centre is just 15
:31:08. > :31:13.metres wide and 50 metres deep, but everything fits in like a 3D
:31:13. > :31:17.Chinese puzzle. It might be a small building, but its architects,
:31:17. > :31:21.O'Donnell and Tuomey, have packed it full of incredible complexity.
:31:21. > :31:31.It's full of zig-zagging angles, walkways and passage ways that give
:31:31. > :31:37.
:31:37. > :31:42.the whole building a real energy The architects have used concrete
:31:42. > :31:47.to great skull taourl effect here, but skull taourl effect here, but
:31:47. > :31:51.have broken it up with these bright colours. The sky lights let lots of
:31:51. > :31:55.natural light in so the concrete doesn't feel dark and oppressive.
:31:55. > :31:58.The biggest space in the centre is this theatre for professional or
:31:58. > :32:03.amateur performances. Apologies in advance for the embarrassing
:32:04. > :32:10.English person. Tom, I'm going to teach you the
:32:10. > :32:20.second step, it's very simple. One, two.
:32:20. > :32:24.Perfect, two ways, Peter, beautifully...$$NEWLINE
:32:24. > :32:28.History is still very present on the streets of Derry, but the whole
:32:28. > :32:34.city is completely transformed from the place I first came to 20 years
:32:34. > :32:37.ago. Derry becomes a UK's City of Culture in 2013. If any place
:32:37. > :32:47.symbolises just how culture can heal a rift by stitching together
:32:47. > :32:53.the past and the present, it's a place like this.
:32:53. > :32:57.Next up is the RSC's rezaoepbd theatre in Stratford-upon-Avon by
:32:57. > :33:03.benefit et cetera associates. What's impressive about this design
:33:03. > :33:08.is that it had to work within the context of its famous list ed
:33:08. > :33:14.building. The before the revamp the most well known view of the theatre
:33:14. > :33:19.was from across the River Avon but the architects have re-or
:33:19. > :33:21.orientated the site and have added a landmark bell tower a nod to
:33:21. > :33:24.Shakespeare's many Italian references. One of the biggest
:33:24. > :33:27.changes is that the theatre finally has grand entrance that it really
:33:27. > :33:32.deserves. At least now you know where to go in.
:33:32. > :33:36.What benefit et cetera Associates have done is to use the original
:33:36. > :33:42.shell and then completely reinvent its interior.
:33:42. > :33:44.This wall has been left as a reminder of where the old theatre
:33:44. > :33:49.auditorium ended. The old theatre may have been beautiful but it was
:33:49. > :33:51.a bit of an enclosed box. What the redesign has done though, is to
:33:51. > :33:54.create these great big new walkways that invite the town into the
:33:54. > :33:58.theatre. It means you can come here for reasons other than to go and
:33:58. > :34:05.see a play. You can come and buy your Shakespeare mug or have a cup
:34:05. > :34:09.of tea. Anyone can have a bit of a Shakespeare experience.
:34:09. > :34:14.As used expect, the redesign has meant that the backstage facilities
:34:14. > :34:18.have also been changed. Not everyone has a balcony in their
:34:18. > :34:23.dressingroom, that's quite a luxury. Not every theatre has the River
:34:23. > :34:28.Avon running outside. Obviously it has such resonance for us here.
:34:28. > :34:33.must be so important to have a breathing space when you come off
:34:33. > :34:37.stage. If it's a difficult emotional journey you're going on
:34:37. > :34:41.it's incredible to step out and look on to nature, let some of that
:34:41. > :34:45.emotion go. Where possible, the architects have
:34:45. > :34:50.used parts of the old building, like these floor boards, which were
:34:50. > :34:56.taken from the original stage. The layers of the old building are also
:34:56. > :35:06.on view, a reminder of the theatre's illustrious history.
:35:06. > :35:10.
:35:11. > :35:15.All the world's a stage and all the men and women merely players.
:35:15. > :35:22.It's the east and Juliet is the sun. Whether it is nobleer in the mind
:35:22. > :35:27.to suffer the shripbgs and arrows of our greatest fortune... Inside
:35:27. > :35:31.the main theatre they've completely changed the stage, gone is the
:35:31. > :35:35.Proscenium arch I remember from a school trip. The most dramatic
:35:35. > :35:39.change is in the heart of the theatre, they've completely
:35:39. > :35:43.demolished the old auditorium. Its design was based on that of a 1930s
:35:43. > :35:47.cinema so all the action was over there. I remember coming as a
:35:47. > :35:56.teenager to see King Lear and the actors may have been in Birmingham
:35:56. > :36:01.they were that far away. Instead they've created this intimate new
:36:01. > :36:05.auditorium so that wherever you're sitting you're never more than 15
:36:05. > :36:09.metres away from the action. And they've also created this new
:36:09. > :36:14.thrust stage which literally thrust the action out into the audience.
:36:14. > :36:17.You really feel part of the action and from part of the stage is so
:36:17. > :36:21.close. You can almost touch the actors. You can really see the
:36:21. > :36:24.facial expressions from different parts of the theatre. As soon as
:36:24. > :36:27.you walk in through the building there's a real buzz. There's a
:36:27. > :36:32.lovely acoustic to the building so people in the restaurants can
:36:32. > :36:38.chatter comes down to the Foyer space. And especially this tower, I
:36:38. > :36:42.think is really good cos people can go up and then see the whole town.
:36:42. > :36:46.Those are the first three buildings on the Stirling Prize short list
:36:46. > :36:56.for 2011. I have come to join this table briefly to mull on their
:36:56. > :36:56.
:36:56. > :37:00.merits with Angela Brady from the RIBA and structural engineer You
:37:00. > :37:07.described the judging as a process of trying to sort out the
:37:07. > :37:13.difference between apples and spoons. How do you find a level
:37:13. > :37:18.platform from which to assess a platform. It's difficult, you need
:37:18. > :37:25.all, you need apple and spoon and comparing all. What is very
:37:25. > :37:30.interesting was as soon as you step back and you apply what restraint
:37:30. > :37:35.and tolerance these architects have given with the new economical and
:37:35. > :37:40.ecological constraints they're facing, all of them for me, I have
:37:40. > :37:45.to measure will the level of excitement I'm left with.
:37:45. > :37:48.enjoyed it? It's difficult to judge, but I had to separate the heart
:37:49. > :37:51.from my mind and apply my rules but find the excitement in each one. If
:37:51. > :37:55.you took the project in Ireland, for instance, I felt very much,
:37:55. > :37:59.very difficult, when we first arrived when you got inside it, it
:37:59. > :38:05.felt like a calf earn, almost like a flower opening up to you, you
:38:05. > :38:10.don't see anything from the outside. The school, a smooth, very smooth
:38:10. > :38:14.line in a very compact site to fit so much on to one site, again,
:38:14. > :38:19.ecology, economic, technology but a beautiful thing that is delightful.
:38:19. > :38:24.If you go to the theatre, it required the architect, I think, to
:38:24. > :38:29.be a watchmaker. It was ingenious intervention, almost acupuncture
:38:29. > :38:34.around the building. Unpicking and remaking? Unpicking and remaking,
:38:34. > :38:37.making the patient live longer. Angela across the six projects this
:38:37. > :38:43.year, they're all very strong but they also bring back, agendas,
:38:43. > :38:49.whether it's the repairing of scarred areas, or whether it's
:38:49. > :38:53.sustainability or whether it's education. I wonder whether or not
:38:53. > :38:57.the Stirling is becoming almost more politicised and the judging
:38:57. > :39:00.process becoming more politicised? Well, they say that architecture is
:39:00. > :39:04.shaped by politics and to a certain way it is. I think what's special
:39:04. > :39:08.and unique about these first three projects we've looked at is that
:39:08. > :39:11.they engage the public in different ways. I think even to get those
:39:11. > :39:14.projects off the ground in their day was a good thing and I hope
:39:14. > :39:20.that there are still going to be these quality buildings in the
:39:20. > :39:25.future. But it's very much about, I think it's very much about who is
:39:25. > :39:28.pushing these projects? Who is backing them. If you look at An
:39:28. > :39:31.Gaeleras, a wonderful, a wonderful little building on a very tight
:39:31. > :39:36.site and you're drawn into that building, once you get in it's a
:39:36. > :39:39.bit like a TARDIS, it opens up and there's colour and light. It's a
:39:39. > :39:46.real people building. If you look at the school, again, it's a youth
:39:46. > :39:49.building, and when you see it first, you can see the sport is a very big
:39:49. > :39:53.thing, it's a sports and mathematics building. To see that
:39:53. > :39:57.building in South London in Brixton I think is a wonderful statement to
:39:57. > :40:03.see that building right there, so exciting, so different. Then, when
:40:03. > :40:07.we look at, in Stratford-upon-Avon, when we look at the Shakespeare
:40:07. > :40:11.yaoeurbgs she ter, the clever, replanning of that building, again
:40:11. > :40:14.a people drawing, but all different people vaoeultd to different types
:40:14. > :40:19.of building. That's a fascinating point. Thank you both for your
:40:19. > :40:25.views. Let's take a look at the last three projects in the running
:40:25. > :40:27.for tonight's Stirling Prize. Tom again.
:40:27. > :40:31.The remaining three buildings on the Stirling short lest, are a
:40:31. > :40:35.museum in Germany, an office block in London and one of the star
:40:35. > :40:39.attractions of the new Olympic Park in East London, the Velodrome by
:40:39. > :40:43.Hopkins Architects. It's one of the few buildings on
:40:43. > :40:49.the site which will retain its original function and remain a
:40:49. > :40:53.cycle track after the 2012 Olympics are over.
:40:53. > :40:57.This building is a brilliant fusion of that old architectural pairing,
:40:57. > :41:02.form and function. The architects have engineered just what you want
:41:02. > :41:05.from a top-class sport sporting venue starting with this 250 metre
:41:05. > :41:08.track but then upped the ante to create something truly beautiful.
:41:08. > :41:14.This feels like a building that was made by people who really care
:41:14. > :41:17.about cycling. One of the advisors was Olympic gold medal winner, Sir
:41:17. > :41:23.Chris Hoy. He helped get the placing of the seating just right,
:41:23. > :41:26.so the cyclists would be able to enjoy the crowds' cheers of
:41:26. > :41:31.encouragement as they take lap. They've done two really clever
:41:31. > :41:35.things with the seating here. First of all they've hunkered down close
:41:35. > :41:38.as possible to the action. Secondly, they have put most of it alongside
:41:38. > :41:40.in two tiers, so you can get that all-important view of the finish
:41:41. > :41:44.line. The roof's made a little bit like a
:41:44. > :41:49.tennis racket with these pairs of cables strung across and Delors
:41:49. > :41:53.Kately balanced on top of those you have these very light wooden roof
:41:53. > :41:58.panels, some of them with built-in roof lights so you minimise the
:41:58. > :42:03.need for artificial light and cut down on energy use. There's some
:42:03. > :42:06.clever invisible stuff going on here today. Temperatures is another
:42:06. > :42:09.important considerations. Track cyclists prefer warm thin air, but
:42:09. > :42:12.6,000 spectators don't really want to sit here sweating away as
:42:12. > :42:16.Britain goes for gold. So, the engineers have put vents in beneath
:42:16. > :42:20.the seats. They suck in cool air from outside. The track's overall
:42:20. > :42:30.majority tree and air conditions should make it the fastest
:42:30. > :42:30.
:42:30. > :42:33.velodrome in the world. A lot of indoor cycle tracks are
:42:33. > :42:36.very industrial sheds almost, whereas with this, light coming
:42:36. > :42:41.through windows at both ends, seating either side, I just think
:42:41. > :42:47.it's a really nice building inside. I just love the smooth ness and the
:42:47. > :42:51.track is so fast around. It's the fastest track I've ridden on.
:42:52. > :42:55.able to ride in this track, I feel priflepbld and happy. It's great,
:42:55. > :43:02.because famous cyclists it's going to host the Olympics and they're
:43:02. > :43:09.going to be on the track I rode on so it's really good.
:43:09. > :43:12.The Velodrome is UN priplprofbl, mog could be added to it, nothing -
:43:12. > :43:15.- unimproveable; it's economic, sustainable, ambitious, I think
:43:15. > :43:25.this building will leave its mark on the country long after the
:43:25. > :43:31.
:43:31. > :43:37.Olympic Games have been and gone. The next building up for prize is
:43:37. > :43:41.the Angel in Islington, by architects Alford Hall Monaghan
:43:41. > :43:45.Morris. Now on first sight this isn't the flashiest building on the
:43:45. > :43:48.list but it's definitely not os taepbtairbs, but this is sort of
:43:48. > :43:52.building is one which has the biggest impact on our working lives.
:43:52. > :43:57.It's an office. I don't feel like I'm walking into an office, more
:43:57. > :44:05.like I'm checking into a swish hotel. Lots of office spaces can
:44:05. > :44:09.feel quite cold and soulless but this is definitely feels a lot more
:44:09. > :44:13.inviting and actually rather elegant. What's really innovative
:44:13. > :44:16.about the Angel is that it has re- used the concrete frame of the
:44:17. > :44:22.building that used to stand on the site. A 1980s office block. This is
:44:23. > :44:25.the plan of the old building. It's got weird bits like this cut off
:44:25. > :44:30.corners and this central garden that nobody could ever find they're
:44:30. > :44:34.way to. So what the architects did was to strip it back and unites the
:44:34. > :44:38.existing skeleton. They extended the out the front here like that,
:44:38. > :44:43.and at the side like that and where the garden was they created this
:44:43. > :44:46.lovely aid rum and it extended the office space so there's more a win-
:44:46. > :44:51.win situation. The phraor space has been increased by nearly a third
:44:51. > :44:54.but that is note all that's clever about this redesign. Among this
:44:54. > :44:59.building's hidden qualities is how the architect treats the exterior
:44:59. > :45:04.wall. In an ordinary office block the developer likes a 1.5 metre
:45:04. > :45:08.grade, it's about about there. -- grid. It allows them greater
:45:08. > :45:11.flexibility in how they carve up the space. Here the architects have
:45:12. > :45:16.challenged that and stretched the windows to three metres, getting
:45:16. > :45:22.rid of the bars and allowing light to flood in. It doesn't sound much
:45:22. > :45:25.but makes all the difference to the ordinary office worker.
:45:25. > :45:28.What's great about this is that nearly everybody has a view of the
:45:28. > :45:32.outside space. Everybody has light, it's really cool.
:45:32. > :45:34.I think it really makes you look forward to coming to work knowing
:45:34. > :45:39.you're working somewhere really exciting, really well designed. I
:45:39. > :45:42.think often offices, not much thought goes into how they're out
:45:43. > :45:45.for example. One of my favourite bits is the roof terrace which is
:45:46. > :45:55.absolutely fantastic. It's so open, it has amazing views across the
:45:55. > :45:59.whole of London. We're really will you cany to have that space.
:45:59. > :46:04.The Angel is environmentally friendly, by reusing the original
:46:04. > :46:07.structure of the building, 13 years' worth of energy of heating,
:46:07. > :46:10.cooling, and lighting have been saved.
:46:10. > :46:14.What this building proves is that you don't have to build something
:46:14. > :46:18.from scratch to create something truly great. In fact, adapting and
:46:18. > :46:21.reusing what's already there makes environmental, economic and
:46:21. > :46:31.architectural sense. We're going to be seeing a lot more buildings like
:46:31. > :46:32.
:46:32. > :46:36.this in the future, let's hope they're all as good.
:46:36. > :46:39.The final building on the Stirling short list is the Museum Folkwang
:46:39. > :46:43.in Germany by David Chipperfield Architects.
:46:43. > :46:46.Set against the tough urban backdrop its cool al basser-like
:46:47. > :46:50.walls are made of crushed recycled glass.
:46:50. > :46:54.They subtly change colour throughout the day. It gives the
:46:54. > :47:00.whole building a very strokable feel.
:47:00. > :47:03.Folk folk loosely translates as people's hall. The museum was
:47:03. > :47:06.created by a cultural philanthropist whose vision was to
:47:06. > :47:11.place modern art at the centre of urban life. So, the challenge for
:47:11. > :47:16.David Chipperfield was to stay true in his design to the museum's
:47:16. > :47:21.founding principles. Chipperfield's design is a response
:47:21. > :47:25.to the museum's original listed 1950s building over there. But he
:47:25. > :47:28.hasn't slaveishly copied it, but used it as a starting point to
:47:28. > :47:33.create a very David Chipperfield building, cool and restrained and
:47:33. > :47:43.calm. In fact, it's so calm, some have likened it to a meditation
:47:43. > :47:46.
:47:46. > :47:50.centre. All through the building there are
:47:50. > :47:54.these incredible reflections and views through to the outside, it's
:47:54. > :47:57.Chipperfield playing with your perception of space. He ruses
:47:57. > :48:01.architecture to its bare essentials, solid and void, light and dark,
:48:01. > :48:04.inside and out, and plays around with them. It means the whole
:48:04. > :48:08.gallery is a real pleasure for the eye.
:48:08. > :48:12.Daylight is often seen as the natural enemy of paintings, so it's
:48:12. > :48:16.unusual to see so many sky lights in these galleries.
:48:16. > :48:19.You can see how these natural light here in this room. Throughout the
:48:19. > :48:23.whole museum the galleries have these translucent ceiling panels,
:48:23. > :48:26.they have pulled them down here so we can look beneath them. They
:48:26. > :48:31.filter the direct natural light that come in through those windows,
:48:31. > :48:37.they're facing north, to grab that all-important north light which
:48:37. > :48:42.artists like so much, with an even tempo, it means the whole museum --
:48:42. > :48:47.museum isn't dark and enclosed, instead, it's light and open.
:48:47. > :48:51.All the room are -- rooms are very important. Because of the glass the
:48:51. > :48:59.sun comes in. You can focus on pictures because there's no other
:48:59. > :49:03.things around it. You have this very, very nice play
:49:03. > :49:09.of architecture and nature inside this building. It just makes you
:49:09. > :49:14.feel comfortable. It's not like being shut away from the world.
:49:14. > :49:18.You can look outside, you are always in contact with people
:49:18. > :49:21.passing by the museum and you always feel like you're somehow in
:49:21. > :49:26.the middle of the city. All the passage ways and court
:49:26. > :49:30.yards give the whole place a very monastic air, it's very peaceful
:49:30. > :49:34.and contepl playtive, although here it's not God you are contemplating,
:49:34. > :49:38.it's the art. Since the gaougen highly arrived in
:49:38. > :49:42.Bilbao, building a museum or art gallery has been seen as a way of
:49:42. > :49:47.building new life into a place. Here, though, the new design has
:49:47. > :49:56.service simply reintroduced itself to the city. Chipperfield has once
:49:56. > :50:03.more turned the folk folk into the people's hall.
:50:03. > :50:05.The last three very beautiful buildings of the six Stirling
:50:05. > :50:10.projects short-listed. I'm joined by the landscape designer Dan
:50:10. > :50:13.Pearson, one of the judges this year and the architect Deborah
:50:13. > :50:18.Saunt who helped judge the Lubetkin Prize. You also, incidentally
:50:18. > :50:23.chaired the awards committee. You oversaw everything here. Dan, how
:50:23. > :50:27.easy was it for you to bring your tools and your approaches as a
:50:27. > :50:32.gardener and landscape designer to looking at buildings? I think for
:50:32. > :50:36.me it was absolutely fascinating, the process of engaging with the
:50:36. > :50:41.architects more closely. We work with architects as landscape
:50:41. > :50:45.designers all the time. But the chance to really sit down and mull
:50:45. > :50:51.through what each of these projects had, what was special about them
:50:51. > :50:59.was really interesting. I think the disciplines are much more closely
:50:59. > :51:04.related now than they were. There's more overlap? Much more overlap.
:51:04. > :51:06.We're often working at the very inception of a project and to see
:51:06. > :51:11.how all those meeting points have been addressed with each of the
:51:12. > :51:15.sites was very intriguing. Deborah, just parking my little farm about
:51:15. > :51:18.building language to one side, so much of the success about the
:51:18. > :51:22.projects across all the prizes this year seems to be vested in the way
:51:22. > :51:28.that people react to buildings, in the user response. Is that
:51:28. > :51:33.something, does that represent a new direction for the RIBA? I think
:51:33. > :51:36.it's the emergence of the voice of the user and the voice of the
:51:36. > :51:40.experience of the building. I think we're just saturated with these
:51:40. > :51:44.images, these pictures of architecture and it's time to stop
:51:45. > :51:47.talking about block busters and architecture centre folds and
:51:47. > :51:51.actually look at the real experience of every day life, of
:51:51. > :51:55.going into those buildings. This year I think we paid particular
:51:55. > :51:58.attention to hearing the voice of the user and that made us have a
:51:58. > :52:02.very interesting short list as a result. It's interesting, you
:52:02. > :52:06.assume television is very good at showing you beautiful pictures and
:52:06. > :52:10.buildings, actually where it really scores is talking about people,
:52:10. > :52:17.showing buildings and people's experience of those buildings, it's
:52:17. > :52:20.that experience that is what it's about, why we build them and go to
:52:20. > :52:24.them? The way architecture is presented people forget it's
:52:24. > :52:28.occupied by real people. It becomes this glamorous and sublime
:52:28. > :52:31.experience, but it's for people, they pay good money for it. They go
:52:31. > :52:36.through hell to deliver it. The commissioning process, you know,
:52:36. > :52:40.getting this thing to be built is a real challenge. It's got to be used
:52:40. > :52:45.at the end of the day. All these buildings on tonight's short list
:52:45. > :52:50.they all have this magical experience quality, it's been, you
:52:50. > :52:53.particularly enjoyed visiting them? Yes, I think each one offered
:52:53. > :52:57.something very specific. It was fascinating to see how many
:52:57. > :53:02.different ways architecture can be applied. I have to ask you as a
:53:02. > :53:07.judge, you probably can't tell me, but whether you have a particular
:53:07. > :53:11.project you would like to see win? My lips are absolutely sealed.
:53:11. > :53:17.knew used say that, you have been gagged. But Deborah, you as chair
:53:17. > :53:22.of everything, have no such gag. No doubt you have an opinion. For me,
:53:22. > :53:25.particularly from seeing the films this evening, is the, that slow-
:53:25. > :53:29.burning project in Ireland, I think is an absolute treat that has
:53:29. > :53:34.shocked everybody. It came out of nowhere. So, that's got my vote,
:53:34. > :53:37.even though I do like an every day office block that brings glamour to
:53:37. > :53:43.your journey to work. And to your life. Do you see that the awards,
:53:43. > :53:47.the way they're going if the way the jury committee is are awarding,
:53:47. > :53:51.does that cheer you? Absolutely. Particularly for a new generation
:53:51. > :53:55.of architects who care about holistic design and not just about
:53:55. > :53:58.the sort of trophy architecture we've seen. It's a good clarion
:53:58. > :54:03.call and we want more of it next year, please.
:54:03. > :54:06.Thank you, thank you both. We've heard from thrao of this year's
:54:06. > :54:09.judges from the Stirling -- three of this year's judge from the
:54:09. > :54:13.Stirling Prize and all of them have been commendably tight-lipped,
:54:13. > :54:19.however, it is now time to find the news that everybody here at least
:54:19. > :54:23.has been waiting for. Which of those six outstanding projects has
:54:23. > :54:29.won the RIBA Stirling Prize for Building of the Year 2011.
:54:29. > :54:39.And a cheque for �20,000 that goes with it. Behind me is Angela Brady,
:54:39. > :54:45.with Christine Murray, editor of the architect's journal.
:54:45. > :54:49.This is all very exciting. The RIBA is here to create the
:54:49. > :54:55.conditions in which excellent, sustainable architecture can
:54:55. > :55:00.flourish. It's the UK's most important architecture prize and it
:55:00. > :55:10.goes to the architects of the building that has done the most for
:55:10. > :55:18.British architecture in the past year. And the winner of the 2011
:55:18. > :55:26.RIBA Stirling Prize is, the Evelyn Grace School in Brixton.
:55:26. > :55:31.What an extraordinary surprise. It was Hopkins Velodrome tipped as the
:55:31. > :55:35.number one potential winner, but instead it the prize goes to Zaha
:55:35. > :55:43.practice who is now stepping up to the stage. Zaha is not with them
:55:43. > :55:47.this evening. This is a project costing �37 million. Two architects
:55:47. > :55:57.and the school principal. Please come and accept your much-deserved
:55:57. > :56:00.
:56:00. > :56:04.award. Congratulations. Fantastic. It's wonderful. Thanks a
:56:04. > :56:10.lot to the RIBA, thanks a lot to the jury. It's a great feeling, a
:56:11. > :56:13.wonderful feeling to come back, second time. This one is
:56:13. > :56:17.particularly meaningful, I think. It's the beauty of the building is
:56:17. > :56:22.recognised not only by the jury but by the people living and breathing
:56:22. > :56:26.in space and the building, as we saw earlier. I think that really,
:56:26. > :56:31.speaks of a more expanded notion of beauty which involves the
:56:31. > :56:35.anticipation and realisation of vital and productive life processes
:56:35. > :56:40.and I think weaving quite a number of times back to the -- we've gone
:56:40. > :56:47.quite a number of times back to the school. I want to thank Peter
:56:47. > :56:51.Walker for being so fantastic and really with this wonderful moral
:56:51. > :56:57.purpose, a kind of flopbthropic purpose, with high aspirations and
:56:57. > :57:01.passions. I'm so happy that we're finally able to deliver, calling to
:57:01. > :57:03.such aspirations and ambitions that this project recognised. It's
:57:03. > :57:07.really an inspiration and challenge to live up to this and make
:57:07. > :57:13.building which contributes to this kind of wonderful educational
:57:13. > :57:16.project. As I've said, we've gone back and it's wonderful to see
:57:16. > :57:20.those students owning up the building, loving the building,
:57:20. > :57:24.seeing the quality and the beauty. That's what I think architecture
:57:24. > :57:32.beauty is, in an expansive and extended set. Thanks to the client
:57:32. > :57:36.and thanks to RIBA. Well, many, many congratulations to
:57:36. > :57:40.Zaha Hadid Architects, the winners of this year's Stirling Prize for
:57:40. > :57:45.Building of the Year for the Evelyn Grace academy in building. It's
:57:45. > :57:49.loved by its users. Cong laigsdz again, too, to the other prize
:57:49. > :57:53.winners this evening, Coffey Architects for the Stephen Lawrence
:57:53. > :57:57.Prize and WOHA for the Lubetkin Prize. That brings the visual feast
:57:57. > :58:06.of glorious new architecture to an end. Those were the RIBA's best
:58:06. > :58:10.building of 2011. Goodnight. For the building to look special,
:58:10. > :58:15.it makes people feel that we're going to be well educated. I really
:58:15. > :58:19.was surprised that they actually put a great architect to do this
:58:19. > :58:22.and they did spend a lot of money and time on this. The first time I