ºÚ¶´ÉçÇø

Public ºÚ¶´ÉçÇø Project of the Year, sponsored by Alu-Timber

Chelsea Academy

Entered by Feilden Clegg Bradley Studios
Schools have endured a tumultuous year but Chelsea Academy proves beyond any doubt that they can still have the power to exhilarate, enthral and inspire. Situated in a dense residential area on a tight urban site opposite Lots Road power station in south-west London, this is a building that enriches both itself and its neighbourhood in the process. Its confident massing squares up to the power station while also managing to relate to the two-storey terraces at the other end of the site. In addition, internal spaces are deployed as visual conduits that stitch urban views around and through the building together. All of which endows Chelsea Academy with a richness of character and a diversity of form that make it a virtually seamless extension of its urban fabric rather than an autonomous addition to it and a well-deserved winner of this category.

Runners-up

Aylesbury Waterside Theatre

Entered by RHWL Architects
Aylesbury Theatre is an unmissible new urban gateway and cultural landmark for visitors and residents alike. This is a building that combines richly iconographic design with strong civic presence.

Chiswick House Cafe

Entered by Thomas Sinden
Chiswick House is a site of significance, being one of the first examples of Palladian architecture in England. This small, elegant pavilion succeeds in providing a perfect synthesis between classicism and modernity.

Christie hospital, Manchester

Entered by Interserve project services
Christie hospital’s new patient treatment centre with its metallic sheen and horizontal lines distinguishes itself from more conventional hospital design. Internally flexible consultation areas provide improved facilities.

Evelyn Grace Academy

Entered by Mace
Brixton’s Evelyn Grace Academy is Zaha Hadid’s first completed project in England, and against an urban backdrop of traditional terraced housing it cuts an unforgettably surreal silhouette.

Kew Herbarium Library Arts and Archive wing

Entered by Edward Cullinan Architects
Shrouded by trees, this building sets a tone of scholarly repose. The vertical strips of timber that clad its elevations give the impression of a tree house marooned in a dense urban forest.

Ravensbourne College, London

Entered by Lend Lease
Foreign Office Architects’ Ravensbourne College was never going to blend into the background. Flamboyantly wrapped in 28,000 anodised aluminium tiles, it is a celebration of creative arts and crafts heritage.

Sandal Magna Community Primary school, Wakefield

Entered by Sarah Wigglesworth Architects
The designers of this project conceived it as a tool to teach pupils about construction. So the building reveals transparent rainwater harvesting pipes, sprinkler systems, sound-proofing and materials.