RIBA Stirling Prize 2007 Architects' Journal's Top 50

Date Published:

24/06/2008

30 St. Mary Axe ("The Gherkin")

London
Foster & Partners
Since it was completed in 2004, the distinctive bulge of "The Gherkin" has become as familiar a part of the London skyline as Canary Wharf. Located in the heart of the city's financial district, 30 St Mary Axe - to give it its proper name - is occupied on floors 2 - 15 by Swiss Re, who originally commissioned it, but that still leaves plenty of space for other tenants. Each floor at St Mary's Axe can rotate 5 degrees from the one below, and the building's circumference at its broadest point almost equals its height - just two of the remarkable features that ensure the Gherkin's reputation for originality, inside and out. The architects responsible for the popular landmark, Foster & Partners, have been well rewarded for their innovative design with a plethora of awards including RIBA's Stirling Prize in 2004.

Wetlands Visitor Centre

Rainham Marshes, London
van Heyningen & Haward
Rainham Marshes, a stretch of ancient Thameside marshland near the Dartford Crossing, would almost certainly have been swallowed up by industry or housing plans in the 1990s, were it not for its then role as a Ministry of Defence firing range. Thankfully, the intervention of the RSPB in 2000 saved it from the developers and the only construction which has resulted is this van Heyningen and Haward creation, housing an entirely different breed of city creature. Decorated in a watercolour-evoking style, which provides unusual camouflage in a certain kind of evening light, it provides a sanctuary to bird and bird-lover alike. Environmental standards are high: the building aims for carbon neutral status, and few others in our list can boast sheep’s-wool insulation. As a result, it was shortlisted for the RIBA Sustainability Award, and named ‘Environmentally-Sustainable Regeneration Scheme of the Year’ by Regeneration and Renewal Magazine.

Credit: Philip Vile

Young Vic Theatre

London
Haworth Tompkins
When artistic director David Lan first spoke to architect Stephen Tompkins about refurbishing the Young Vic theatre, one of his earliest instructions was ‘don’t let it seem finished!’ There’s certainly a touch of the postmodern about the new and improved Young Vic, but it’s far from experimentalism for its own sake. The original theatre, built on a World War II bomb site in 1970, was ‘unfinished’ by necessity: lack of budget meant that architect Bill Howell had to work with whatever he had, retaining, for example, the butcher’s shop next door as a foyer. The building’s resulting sense of work-in-progress turned out to be highly conducive to a creative working atmosphere. When it came to refurbishing the building, the original idea of a modern, minimalist makeover was swiftly dismissed as out of character. Haworth Tompkins’ solution works within a limited budget to create something that, while retaining much of its predecessor’s atmosphere of productive anarchy, imposes itself on the landscape with an assured authority.

84 Arthur Road

Wimbledon, London
Terry Pawson
The success of Terry Pawson’s suburban house is in its TARDIS-like use of space. This somewhat non-conformist ’home of the future’ exploits its limiting 4.6-metre width by building in every remaining available direction. Pawson negated potential issues with including a conceivably out-of-character building in a residential neighbourhood by working closely with local planning authorities. Despite its unusual dimensions and partially glazed construction, the building is convincingly integrated into its more conventional surroundings. The bulding is partially screened from the road by a tall oak tree, which in turn suggested the oak cladding which forms key element of the façade. The interior of the 2002 RIBA Award-winning building is designed to be an architectural journey, with each room combining light and materials in subtly different ways. Its roof terrace provides 360-degree views of London, and offers a rather impressive vantage point for catching a bit of action on Centre Court.

Credit: Peter Durant

National Maritime Museum

Falmouth, Cornwall
Long & Kentish
Described as little more than a ‘big boat shed’ by its architect MJ Long, this building was nonetheless the recipient of one of the largest ever Heritage Lottery Fund grants, and has won RIBA, BCI, RTPI and Civic Trust Awards. Long worked with her partner Colin St. John Wilson on the British Library, and there are many familiar themes at work here, from the interest in natural materials to the seriousness of purpose and sheer ambition. Part of a wider strategy of regeneration around the historically important Falmouth harbour, the ostensibly simple structure is made special both by its scale and by the ability to view its 120-strong collection of vessels from a variety of elevations. As well as being able to observe the ships from ground level, there is a lighthouse tower offering views from above, and, most impressively, a sunken underwater gallery. Allowing the sea into the museum is another touch which makes this a dynamic, living museum more than deserving of its numerous awards.

New Walsall Art Gallery

Walsall, West Midlands
Caruso St John
An unashamedly minimalist home for the arts in the West Midlands, New Walsall Art Gallery was built with £21 million of public funding, largely provided by the National Lottery. The building, with unpretentious ‘living room height’ ceilings and basic lighting, houses the permanent Garman Ryan collection of work by highly-regarded modern masters, notably Jacob Epstein. It also plays host to rotating exhibitions which have featured pieces by artists as diverse as Van Gogh and Damien Hirst. The distinctive terracotta-clad building also gives back to the local area by hosting free events for children, and community events such as Diwali Celebrations and an Islamic Arts Festival.

Maggie’s Centre

Kircaldy, Fife

The first domestic-scale project by Zaha Hadid is the fifth in a series of hospital-based buildings for the cancer charity Maggie’s. The charity was founded by Charles Jencks and his late wife Maggie Keswick, and has funded these drop-in centres for sufferers and their friends, family and carers. The centres offer counseling and libraries of related literature, but more crucially operate as venues for people to meet and engage with people sharing their experiences. Hadid’s centre is immediately challenging, rejecting the relatively safe approaches taken by the other centres and creating a dramatic sculpture of a building. Sitting in the grounds of Fife’s Victoria Hospital, it certainly fulfills the project’s brief of being ‘nothing like a hospital.’ Hadid is notorious for having had her winning design for the Cardiff Bay Opera House rejected in 1996 following a press hate campaign, but this ambitious yet ultimately fit-for-purpose building has gone a long way towards erasing the memory of that particular debacle.

Siobhan Davies Dance Centre

Southwark, London
Sarah Wigglesworth Architects
While Sarah Wigglesworth’s building feels like it has fully embraced the spirit of dance, with flowing ‘billowing ribbon’ motifs throughout, it is anything but typical of its kind. Choreographer Siobhan Davies explicitly banned the use of mirrors, a long-established dance studio staple, believing that they distract dancers and inhibit their natural movements. Built on a budget, Wigglesworth used a derelict 1898 school building as a base, filling it with eccentric yet purposeful new features that add touches of class to rougher roots, in a characteristic style she once described as ‘the slick and the hairy.’ With the addition of a natural light-bathed studio capable of hosting performances, the building is the complete studio that Davies has been seeking for years, and she is effusive in her praise for Wigglesworth’s work.

Credit: Heatherwick Studio, photography by Steve Speller

Rolling Bridge

Paddington Basin, London
Heatherwick Studio
Part of the Grand Union Canal office and retail development project at Paddington Basin, this is a functional bridge which transcends its basic purpose by using innovative solutions to create something more akin to a living sculpture. In its normal position, it appears to be a conventional, 12-metre long steel and timber footbridge, but its method of ‘raising’ to allow boats to pass into an inlet is truly unique. Using hydraulic pistons, the bridge’s eight triangular sections gracefully curl in on themselves, eventually connecting together into a compact octagonal structure. An achievement which really has to be seen to be appreciated (you’ll find a host of videos on YouTube), Thomas Heatherwick’s bridge was a worthy winner of the 2005 British Structural Steel Design Award.

Finsbury Square

London
Eric Parry
Eric Parry’s building in the City of London, just south of Barbican, was shortlisted for the Stirling Prize in 2003: a rare distinction for an office building. Commissioned by Scottish Widows in 1999, it also received an AIA Design Excellence award. Spanning almost 15,000 square metres of the east side of Finsbury Square, it eases pedestrian-congestion in the City by opening up a significant thoroughfare, connecting Wood Street and Aldermanbury Square, to public access. The weighty load-bearing stone and concrete façade is an innovative approach which expands office space by eliminating the need for interior columns. The depth of the façade also has a pleasing eco-friendly side effect: more shade means much less heat wastage. Breaking up the rows of almost entirely glazed buildings which have come to dominate the city, it marks a refreshing sculptural renaissance in a once-great 18th Century square.