2016 RIBA stirling prize shortlist

the shortlist for the 2016 RIBA stirling prize has been announced, with six new buildings competing for the most prestigious award in british architecture. the selected schemes include a partly-subterranean house, the conversion of an entire street of listed industrial buildings into a free public gallery for damien hirst’s private collection, and a landmark university building in oxford. see the alphabetically listed projects below.

— blavatnik school of government, university of oxford by herzog & de meuron
— city of glasgow college, riverside campus by michael laird architects & reiach and hall architects
— newport street gallery, vauxhall, london by caruso st john architects
— outhouse gloucestershire by loyn & co architects
— trafalgar place, elephant and castle, london by dRMM architects
— weston library, university of oxford by wilkinson eyre

the shortlist features projects by previous stirling prize winners, herzog & de meuron (laban dance centre, 2003) and wilkinson eyre (magna centre, rotherham, 2001; gateshead millennium bridge, 2002). reiach and hall, caruso st john and dRMM have all been nominated once before, while michael laird architects and loyn & co architects are shortlisted for the first time. the 21st winner of the prize will be announced by the royal institute of british architects on october 6, 2016. read on for more about each of the shortlisted designs.

outhouse by loyn & co architects
image by charles hosea

‘outhouse’ by loyn & co is the first private home to feature on the RIBA stirling prize shortlist for 15 years. the concrete dwelling on the welsh borders was designed for a couple of retired artists. the scheme includes a series of unexpected spaces, some underground, with a field as the roof. the architect’s use of light, air and views attempt to maximize the sloping site and its surrounding landscape.

blavatnik school of government by herzog & de meuron
image © iwan baan
see more of the project on designboom here

half the shortlist comprises educational buildings, with one client — the university of oxford — responsible for two of the six projects. the blavatnik school of government is a building in a conservation area designed by herzog & de meuron. the scheme features wide twisting staircases, offset balconies and communal spaces that encourage greater debate and interaction for aspiring civil servants and politicians.

blavatnik school of government by herzog & de meuron
image © iwan baan

weston library by wilkinson eyre
image by james brittain

elsewhere in oxford, wilkinson eyre has opened up the weston library with a bold glazed mezzanine that reveals the treasures contained inside. part of the university’s world famous bodleian library, the grade II listed building (formerly the new bodleian) was originally designed by sir giles gilbert scott in the 1930s. the project has created high-quality storage for special collections, which have been preserved for scholarship. public access has also been expanded with new exhibition galleries and a lecture theater.

weston library by wilkinson eyre
image by john cairns

city of glasgow college by michael laird architects & reiach and hall architects
image by keith hunter

in glasgow, michael laird architects and reiach and hall architects have created a new landmark on the skyline with a campus anchored by two generous civic spaces — a cloistered garden and grand hall. the project provides learning space for 40,000 students and 1,200 staff, with the riverside campus focusing on nautical & engineering studies as well as accommodation for 200 students.

city of glasgow college by michael laird architects & reiach and hall architects
image by keith hunter

newport street gallery by caruso st john architects
image by hélène binet
see more of the project on designboom here

newport street gallery in vauxhall, london is the new home of artist damien hurst’s private collection. three victorian workshops that were once used to create sets for west end productions have been bookended by caruso st john’s intervention — the five buildings now joined together to create gallery spaces along a newly curated street.

newport street gallery by caruso st john architects
image by prudence cuming associates

trafalgar place by elephant and castle by dRMM architects
image by alex de rijke

‘trafalgar place’ represents the first results of the redevelopment of elephant and castle’s 1970s heygate estate in london. here dRMM has designed a flagship development of 235 high density, high-quality homes set among retained mature trees and extensive landscaping — bringing a sense of tranquillity to the urban location. brickwork gives the new buildings an identity of their own, with eight different types of brick used to correspond with neighboring buildings.

trafalgar place by elephant and castle by dRMM architects
image by thomas etchells