2022 Architectural Award winners

The Royal Institute of British Architects (RIBA) named The New Library, Magdalene College in Cambridge by Níall McLaughlin Architects, as the winner of the 26th RIBA Stirling Prize.

The new building provides a new library – open 24 hours a day – incorporating an archive and an art gallery, replacing the cramped study spaces of the adjacent 17th century Grade I listed Pepys Library.

Considered the most prestigious award for architecture in the UK, the RIBA Stirling Prize is awarded annually to a building considered to have made the most significant contribution to the evolution of UK architecture.

Speaking on behalf of the 2022 RIBA Stirling Prize jury, RIBA President Simon Allford, said:  “A unique setting with a clear purpose – The New Library at Magdalene College is sophisticated, generous, architecture that has been built to last.  Creating a new building that will last at least 400 years is a significant challenge, but one that Niall McLaughlin Architects has risen to with the utmost skill, care and responsibility.  The result – a solid and confident, yet deferential new kid on the college block."

The building deploys passive ventilation and natural lighting strategies to minimise energy in use, and materials such as engineered timber structure were employed to reduce carbon embodied in its construction.

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The RIBA National Awards are given to buildings across the UK in recognition of their significant contributions to architecture. 2022's winners, announced on 23 June 2022, were selected by the jury (members of the RIBA  Awards Group), chaired by Denise Bennetts, from the RIBA Regional Award winners. Winners included the Parchment Works in the East Midlands, Forth Valley College for Falkirk Campus, and the BFI Riverfront and Harris Sutton Academy in London. More information on all the winners can be found here.

The Red House, a contemporary new family house in rural Dorset, designed by David Kohn Architects, was named RIBA House of the Year 2022: awarded annually to the best architect-designed house in the UK.

The Red House is situated in rural Dorset.The house takes inspiration from the Arts and Crafts movement, reinterpreting the style in an intentionally provocative way. The house’s playful eccentricity is displayed in oversized eaves, patterned red brickwork, and contrasting bold green details. Read more about the house and the other shortlisted buildings here.

In 2022 The Royal Institute of British Architects (RIBA) also launched a new award to recognise achievement in the creative reuse of existing buildings.

The Reinvention Award will celebrate the creative transformation of an existing building and the project’s vital improvement to environmental, social, or economic sustainability. The award, championed by RIBA President Simon Allford, has been created to shine a light on the importance of retrofitting and its contribution towards achieving net zero.

Read more about the award here.

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