RIBA announces National Award winners

The Royal Institute of British Architects (RIBA) has today (27 June 2019) announced the 54 winners of 2019 RIBA National Awards for architecture. The awards, which have been presented since 1966, recognise the UK’s best new construction projects and provide an insight into the UK’s design and economic trends.
From a small rammed-stone pavilion on the site where King John signed the Magna Carta (Writ in Water) to the vast redevelopment of one of London’s busiest transport terminals (London Bridge); from significant investment in cultural landmarks (Bristol Old Vic and V&A Dundee) to a new model for communal living (Marmalade Lane) – this year’s award-winning buildings showcase the extraordinary breadth and brilliance of UK architecture today.
Key trends illustrated by the 54 2019 RIBA National Award winners include:
Restoration and regeneration of listed and historic buildings
The refurbishment of a listed 1960s bus station in Lancashire (Preston Bus Station); the revival of Battersea Arts Centre in London which had been left derelict after a fire in 2015; the restoration of Charles Rennie Mackintosh’s Art Deco tea rooms in Glasgow (Mackintosh at the Willow); and a new tower at Westminster Abbey – the most significant addition to the building since 1745 (Westminster Abbey Triforium Project).
Ambition to create high quality cultural destinations
An unobtrusive visitors centre nestled in the Yorkshire landscape (The Weston at Yorkshire Sculpture Park); the subtle extension of a house-turned-art gallery in Cambridge (Kettles Yard); a stable block converted theatre in Leicestershire (Nevill Holt Opera); and the transformation of a 19th century fire station into a gallery and community building (South London Gallery Fire Station) are four of the 16 new additions to the UK’s cultural scene.
Pockets of exemplary volume housing
Highly-sustainable terraced housing at Goldsmith Street for Norwich City Council; the reinvigoration of a listed post-war London housing block, Great Arthur House; and Cambridge’s first co-housing community, a neighbourhood with shared facilities (Marmalade Lane).
Speaking today, RIBA President Ben Derbyshire said:
“Despite the political and economic challenges of recent years, our 2019 RIBA National Award winners show that UK architecture is highly adaptable, immensely talented and as community-focused as ever. I am particularly heartened that more than one third (20 of 54) of our winners have creatively adapted existing buildings. Given the scale of the global environmental challenge, we must encourage sustainable development and investment in buildings of the highest quality – projects that will inspire and meet the needs of generations to come. At a time when the country is crying out for innovative, high-quality affordable housing, I am pleased we have been able to recognise some exemplar schemes. I encourage all local authorities and developers to look to these projects for inspiration and rise to the challenge of building the homes people want and need. Our 2019 RIBA National Award-winning buildings are innovators and mould-breakers – congratulations to every client, architect and construction team for their combined talent and tenacity.”
The 2019 RIBA National Award winners are:

168 Upper Street © Timothy Soar
- 168 Upper Street (London, N1) by Groupwork

4 Pancras Square © Dirk Lindner
- 4 Pancras Square (London, W1) by Eric Parry Architects

Alexandra Palace © Richard Battye
- Alexandra Palace (London, N22) by Feilden Clegg Bradley Studios

Battersea Arts Centre © Fred Howarth
- Battersea Arts Centre (London, SW11) by Haworth Tompkins

The Beecroft Building © Jim Stephenson
- The Beecroft Building, University of Oxford by Hawkins\Brown

Brentford Lock West Keelson Gardens © Tim Crocker
- Brentford Lock West Keelson Gardens (London, TW8) by Mæ with White Ink Architects

Bristol Old Vic © Philip Vile
- Bristol Old Vic by Haworth Tompkins

Coal Drops Yard © Hufton + Crow
- Coal Drops Yard (London, N1C) by Heatherwick Studio with BAM Design

Collective Calton Hill © Susie Lowe
- Collective on Calton Hill (Edinburgh, Scotland) by Collective Architecture

CTC Transport Hub © Donal McCann
- Colin Connect Transport Hub and Colin Town Square (Belfast, Northern Ireland) by Hall McKnight

Cork House © Ricky Jones
- Cork House (Berkshire) by MPH Architects

The Dorothy Garrod © Dennis Gilbert
- The Dorothy Garrod Building, Newnham College (Cambridge) by Walters & Cohen Architects

Eddington, Lot 1 © Jack Hobhouse
- Eddington, Lot 1, North West Cambridge by WilkinsonEyre with Mole Architects

Eddington Masterplan, Cambridge © Jack Hobhouse
- Eddington Masterplan, Cambridge by AECOM

Eleanor Palmer Science Lab © Yeoryia Manolopoulou
- Eleanor Palmer Science Lab (London, NW5) by AY Architects

Goldsmith Street © Matthew Pattenden
- Goldsmith Street (Norwich) by Mikhail Riches

Great Arthur House © Peter Cook
- Great Arthur House (London, EC1Y) by John Robertson Architects

Hackney Wick Station © Wendy Hardie
- Hackney Wick Station (London) by Landolt + Brown

Hampshire House © Nick Kane
- Hampshire House by Niall McLaughlin Architects

Hill House Passivhaus © Charles Meloy
- Hill House Passivhaus (East Sussex) by Meloy Architects

House Lessans © Aidan McGrath
- House Lessans (Saintfield, Northern Ireland) by McGonigle McGrath

Kettle’s Yard © Hufton + Crow
- Kettle’s Yard (Cambridge) by Jamie Fobert Architects

Kingswood Preparator © Craig Auckland
- Kingswood Preparatory School and Nursery (Bath) by Stonewood Design

LAMDA © Nick Kane
- LAMDA (London, W14) by Niall McLaughlin Architects

London Bridge Station © Network Rail
- London Bridge Station by Grimshaw

The Macallan Distillery © Mark Power
- The Macallan Distillery (Aberlour, Scotland) by Rogers Stirk Harbour + Partners

Mackintosh at the Willow © Alexander Fraser
- Mackintosh at the Willow (Glasgow, Scotland) by Simpson & Brown

Mapleton Crescent © Edmund Sumner
- Mapleton Crescent (London, SW18) by Metropolitan Workshop

Marmalade Lane © David Butler
- Marmalade Lane Cohousing (Cambridge) by Mole Architects

Merano_2981 © Joas Souza
- Merano (London, SE1) by Rogers Stirk Harbour + Partners with EPR

Music School, King’s © Janie Airey
- Music School, King’s College School Wimbledon (London, SW19) by Hopkins Architects

Nevill Holt Opera © Hélène Binet
- Nevill Holt Opera (Leicestershire) by Witherford Watson Mann Architects

Nithurst Farm © Katie Lock
- Nithurst Farm (West Sussex) by Adam Richards Architects

North West Cambridge Utility Buildings © Jack Hobhouse
- North West Cambridge Utility Buildings by Robin Lee Architecture

Ordsall Chord, Manchester © Paul Karalius
- Ordsall Chord (Manchester) by BDP

The Painted Hall © James Brittain
- The Painted Hall (London, SE10) by Hugh Broughton Architects with Martin Ashley Architects

Peter Hall Performing Arts Centre © Philip Vile
- Peter Hall Performing Arts Centre (Cambridge) by Haworth Tompkins

Pitzhanger Manor © Dirk Lindner
- Pitzhanger Manor and Gallery (London, W5) by Jestico + Whiles with Julian Harrap Architects

Preston Bus Station © Gareth Gardner
- Preston Bus Station Refurbishment by John Puttick Associates with Cassidy+Ashton

The Queens Diamond Jubilee Galleries © Alan Williams
- The Queens Diamond Jubilee Galleries (London, SW1) by MUMA LLP

A Restorative Rural Retreat © Edmund Sumner
- A Restorative Rural Retreat for Sartfell (Isle of Man) by Foster Lomas

Royal Opera House © Nick Hufton
- Royal Opera House Open Up (London, WC2E) by Stanton Williams

Secular Retreat © Jack Hobhouse
- Secular Retreat (Devon) by Atelier Peter Zumthor with Mole Architects

Sevenoaks School © Hélène Binet
- Sevenoaks School Science and Technology Centre and Global Study Centre by Tim Ronalds Architects

Signal Townhouses © Timothy Soar
- Signal Townhouses (London, SE1) by Allford Hall Monaghan Morris

Simon Sainsbury Centre © Nick Hufton
- Simon Sainsbury Centre, Cambridge Judge Business School (Cambridge) by Stanton Williams

Southbank Centre © Hufton+Crow
- Southbank Centre (London, SE1) by Feilden Clegg Bradley Studios with Archer Humphryes Architects

South London Gallery © Johan Dehlin
- South London Gallery Fire Station (London, SE15) by 6a Architects

Teaching and Learning Building © Martina Ferrera
- Teaching and Learning Building, University of Nottingham by Make Architects

Television Centre © Timothy Soar
- Television Centre (London, W12) by Allford Hall Monaghan Morris with MacCreanor Lavington, Morris+Company, dRMM, Mikhail Riches, Piercy+Co, Haptic, Archer Humphreys and Coffey Architects

V&A Dundee © Erieta Attali
- V&A Dundee by Kengo Kuma & Associates with PiM.studio Architects and James F Stephen Architects

Westminster Abbey Triforium Project © Alan Williams
- Westminster Abbey Triforium Project (London, SW1) by Ptolemy Dean Architects

The Weston © Peter Cook
- The Weston, Yorkshire Sculpture Park by Feilden Fowles Architects

Writ in Water © Andrew Butler
- Writ in Water (Runnymede, Surrey) by Studio Octopi