Blitz Bureau
THE Elizabeth line, a rail network which opened in London in 2022, has been announced as one of six nominees for the 2024 Riba Stirling prize for architecture.
Other sites and structures nominated by the Royal Institute of British Architects include the National Portrait Gallery, a social housing development in east London, and a dairy farm in Dorset which has been renovated to be more accessible for wheelchair users.
Four out of the six nominees this year are in London.
Announcement in October
Riba will announce the winner in October at the capital’s Roundhouse. The John Morden Centre, a retirement day care facility in the capital, won last year’s prize.
The prize is given to the architect of a building thought to be the most significant of the year and is judged on a range of criteria including design vision, innovation and originality. Other previous winners of the prize – first presented in 1996 – include Liverpool’s Everyman Theatre, Hastings Pier and the Scottish Parliament building in Edinburgh.
Although the Elizabeth line opened in 2022, it was not eligible for the prize until this year because of the award’s eligibility rules.
Organisers said projects are required to have been in use for at least one year to be eligible for entry – which means to be eligible this year, all projects must have been completed between October 2020 and December 2022. Riba President Muyiwa Oki said this year’s shortlisted projects “demonstrate the ingenuity and diversity of architecture today”.
“Whether raising the bar for social housing, upgrading city transportation or repurposing dilapidated buildings to create heritage-conscious urban and rural developments, each scheme thoughtfully adapts elements of our existing built environment,” he added. “At a time when the need to preserve our planet’s resources is greater than ever, these projects are to be commended for placing regeneration and restoration front and centre.”
