Foster's Gherkin favourite to win Stirling Prize

Foster and Partners has two projects on the shortlist for the 2004 RIBA Stirling Prize. 30 St Mary Axe, otherwise known as Swiss Re or the Erotic Gherkin, and the less well-known Bexley Business Academy in South Eat London.

William Hill has made Swiss Re 5-2 favourite, with The Spire in Dublin by Ian Ritchie Architects running a close second with odds of 3-1.

Also making the list are Kunsthaus in Graz by Peter Cook and Colin Fournier (4-1); Phoenix Initiative in Coventry by MacCormac Jamieson Pritchard (4-1) and Imperial Museum North in Manchester by Studio Daniel Libeskind (5-1). The Business Academy Bexley has odds of 5-1 to take the first prize of £20,000.

Eric Parry, chair of the RIBA Awards Group said: “These projects are very different in scope and cost and design, but they share one common feature: they leave icons for the future, and show that the best of British architecture really does create amazing places.”

The winner of the Stirling Prize will be announced at the Old Billingsgate Market in London on 16 October.