2023 RIBA Stirling Prize Shortlist Revealed

Unlike last year's shortlist, which was full of architects who had not yet won a RIBA Stirling Prize, two of this year's six shortlisted projects were designed by architects who previously won the honor: Witherford Watson Mann Architects in 2013 and Feilden Clegg Bradley Studios (with Alison Brooks Architects and
Maccreanor Lavington) in 2008. Last year's shortlist, at least in the way it was framed by RIBA, was full of buildings addressing the climate crisis.

If not new prize winners and sustainability, the trait uniting most of the shortlisted projects this year is location: five out of the six buildings are in London. The only project outside of the UK's largest city is the University of Warwick - Faculty of Arts by Feilden Clegg Bradley Studios, which is in Coventry, near Birmingham. The Guardian's Oliver Wainwright calls it “one of the most homogenous and metrocentric shortlists” since the Stirling Prize was created in 1996, while Edwin Heathcote writes in the Financial Times that the London majority "highlights a major problem for British architecture, and one which reflects UK development."

Here is the list, in alphabetical order by name, ranging from housing projects and community centers to a university building and a museum renovation:

1. A House for Artists in Barking by Apparata Architects
2. Central Somers Town Community Facilities and Housing in Camden by Adam Khan Architects
3. Courtauld Connects - The Courtauld Institute of Art by Witherford Watson Mann Architects
4. John Morden Centre in Blackheath by Mæ
5. Lavender Hill Courtyard Housing in Clapham by Sergison Bates architects
6. University of Warwick - Faculty of Arts by Feilden Clegg Bradley Studios

Unlike the UK dailies, RIBA focuses on the positive with its statement accompanying yesterday's release of the shortlist, namely that the half-dozen buildings "offer thoughtful, creative responses to today’s complex challenges," in the words of RIBA President Muyiwa Oki, who just recently took on the two-year role. He continues: “With a backdrop of housing shortages, growing inequality, and economic uncertainties, this year's shortlist demonstrates that well-designed buildings can offer genuinely inspiring solutions to our most pressing problems.”

Photos of the shortlisted projects follow, with brief descriptions courtesy of RIBA. They reveal that the days of iconic buildings like MAXXI (2010) or high-budget commercial projects like Bloomberg London (2018) are a thing of the past. Or, at least for now, the focus of architects and the awards honoring their output are on quiet, primarily public buildings that confidently tackle particular problems rather than on buildings making architectural statements.

The winner of the 2023 RIBA Stirling Prize will be announced during the Stirling Prize ceremony taking place in Manchester on October 19, 2023.

“A model for affordable city living: An apartment complex in London’s Barking offers an ambitious model for shared living, with resident artists delivering free creative programmes for the local community via a street-facing exhibition space. A permanent installation by Grayson Perry in the complex’s central courtyard pays tribute to the homes of wartime heroes and workers.”

“Building community and tackling inequality: Playfully designed spaces, arranged around a small park in London’s Camden. Contributing to a wider regeneration plan, the development provides local residents with social housing, an after-school club, a very generous adventure playground, and includes premises for a theatre education charity.”

“Modernizing a landmark building: Careful conservation and bold interventions rework a warren of spaces inside an eighteenth-century building, home to a cultural institute and the UK’s “smallest university”. Subtle interventions, including re-leveled floors and new doors to the main galleries, have notably improved accessibility and eased visitor flow.”

“Elderly living without isolation: In Blackheath, a 300-year-old residential and nursing facility has been given a new lease of life. With treatment rooms, a hair salon, nail bar, events space and wellbeing facilities, the centre has been designed to encourage connection and movement among residents, supporting healthier and longer lives.”

“Maximizing difficult urban spaces: New apartments have been ingeniously inserted into a previously undesirable and highly constrained urban site. Beyond the unassuming entrance, a welcoming courtyard centers the scheme and offers communal space for residents.”

“Creating connections in higher education: The surrounding parkland is woven into a building that unites the arts and humanities under one roof. A feature staircase, inspired by the structure of a tree, grows through the central atrium with each branch leading to flexible spaces designed to inspire collaboration and cross-pollination of the arts.”

• Ellen van Loon, Partner at OMA (jury chair)
• Niall McLaughlin, Founder and Principal at Niall McLaughlin Architects (winner of 2022 RIBA Stirling Prize)
• Armstrong Yakubu, Senior Partner at Foster+Partners
• Mona Chalabi, journalist and writer
• Marek Suchocki, Head of Industry Associations Strategy at Autodesk (sponsor of 2023 RIBA Stirling Prize)
• Rachael Owens, Head of Sustainability at Buckley Gray Yeoman (Sustainability Expert, a non-voting role)