Building Magazine Project of the year: Royal Shakespeare Theatre

Building Magazine’s Project of the year

Sponsored by Schüco

Royal Shakespeare and Swan Theatres Transformation, Stratford-upon-Avon

Entered by mace and bennetts associates
Visible for miles around the rolling Warwickshire hillsides, this huge brick tower of the Royal Shakespeare Theatre the rebirth of one of the most iconic performance venues in the UK. Brilliantly pulled off and an example of  painstaking attention to detail and a long exercise in retention, replacement and renewal, this building is a worthy winner of this year’s award for Building magazine project of the year. The empathetic approach to the original architecture should be applauded and major elements of the original Elizabeth Scott building have been retained but woven expertly into a new fabric. An outstanding feat in historically sensitive design that leave room for new, updated elements to give this original great modern twist.

Runners-up

Angel Building, London
Entered by Allford Hall Monaghan Morris
An eighties office block has been transformed into a piece of exceptional modern architecture offering 245,000ft2 of high-spec office space and 5,920ft2 of retail space on the ground floor. A fresh and exciting building.

Carnegie Pavilion, Leeds
Entered by BAM Construct
The home of Yorkshire County Cricket Club and the Tourism, Hospitality and Events faculty of Leeds Metropolitan University at Headingly cricket ground has been transformed into a futuristic scheme.

Central St Giles
Entered by Lend Lease
This Renzo Piano-designed scheme is a breath of fresh air and a splash of colour in a forgotten part of central London. It has become one of the biggest and most desirable mixed-use schemes in the West End.

Harlequin 1, London
Entered by Lend Lease
Sky’s breathtaking headquarters has set an international benchmark for broadcasting studios. This project’s sustainable design has reduced the overall energy consumption of the building by a massive 67%.

One New Change
Entered by Lend Lease
This Jean Nouvel shopping centre proves that the modern can sit alongside the traditional without necessarily adapting to the surroundings. It has been praised for its bold and radical design.

Lowther children’s centre, London
Entered by Lakehouse
Patel Taylor’s small pavilion is an addition to an existing and much larger school. But despite its size it somehow retains its individuality and appears to be much more than a simple extension.

Woodland Trust HQ, Grantham
Entered by Feilden Clegg Bradley Studios
This timber clad building in Lincolnshire embraces the tradition of sustainable development that is central to the trust’s work. Concrete “radiators” to add thermal mass to a timber building are particularly noteworthy.