Stephanie G. Mathis The Stirling Prize nominees for this year were announced recently. The Stirling Prize is intended to “be presented to the architects of the buildings that have made the greatest contributions to the evolution in architecture”. The term “evolution” is a good one, but the prize still has a lot of work to do if this is its goal.
The Shard in London will compete with an Olympic swimming pool in London, a Liverpool theatre, two university structures, and Birmingham’s public library.
There are no surprises on the shortlist. The winning building is usually a public or civic building of various sizes. In 2005, the Scottish Parliament was awarded. Maggies Centre, a much smaller project, won the award in 2009. The Charing Cross Hospital has a small pavilion-scale building that is for cancer patients and families. Winner’s clients include universities and traditional patrons for “proper” architectural design. The most recent example is Stanton Williams’ Sainsbury Laboratory, located at Cambridge University.
The individual house, Astley Castle, was the winner of last year’s competition. The new development, which is built within the ruins of a 12th-century house, could be seen as a literal interpretation of the requirement of “contributing to the evolution of architecture.”
The first residential project to win the Stirling Prize was a larger, more complex project in 2008. The Accordia project was held up as an example scheme by house builders. You could be forgiven if, six years later, and in the middle of a housing crisis, you were disappointed by its apparent limited impact.
Accordia. Curbed SF, CC BY-NC-SA
The Stirling Prize always sparks an annual debate about architectural values. What makes good architecture? Good gossip accompanies it on what the establishment values and what should be celebrated with this prestigious award.
The discussion this year is not about the quality of architecture but rather gender. Half of the women lead half of the shortlisted practices. The fact that only 22% are female architects makes this figure even more remarkable. Women are also reportedly treated with disrespect in the architecture industry, and their pay can be up to 25 percent lower.
The lack of role models is a common complaint among industry leaders. It’s, therefore, important to have women in leadership positions in many of the shortlisted practices. In a way, this greater involvement by women is just as important as the actual designs in terms of “contributing towards the evolution of architecture.”
Who should win? The Everyman Theatre, by Haworth Thomas, is my personal choice, although I may be biased because I am from Liverpool. The theatre has a truly amazing space. It is made of a robust material but is sensitive. Built in the position of the original Everyman and using bricks from the site, it was built to look like the original Everyman.
This reused approach highlights a flaw with the Birmingham Library, which was also shortlisted. The new building has been hailed as a triumph, but not more so than the brutalist-style library that it replaced. The older building is causing controversy and is being demolished despite a campaign to save it. It isn’t easy to know how an architect should evaluate a building that a client has vacated. This shows the complexity of architecture as a profession.
There’s something for everyone. Radarsmum67, CC BY
It is important to put the award in a wider context and understand its influence. The award ceremony may no longer be broadcast by Channel 4, but the prize continues to be covered in the mainstream media and is seen as an important cultural event.
It is still not clear whether the prize’s values will have an impact on architecture in general.
Six years after Accordia won the Stirling Prize, we still face a housing shortage, which is characterized not only by a lack of supply but also by poor quality. Alison Brooks – Stirling Prize nominee and winner – recently expressed her frustration with house builders’ reluctance to implement her ideas to improve quality.
The wide range of projects that have been awarded since 1996 suggests that the judges want to celebrate the best in quality, regardless of client sector or architectural approach.
The prize’s importance will be limited if it does not have a positive impact on the quality of architecture in the real world. It is a challenge for the profession to convince clients of the value of architectural quality in all its shades that is recognized by the Stirling prize each year. The Stirling Prize and its winners would only be able to contribute to “the evolution of architecture” if they did this.
