LONDON.- The shortlist for the prestigious 2017 RIBA Stirling Prize for the UK’s best new building has been announced today (Thursday 20 July). The six shortlisted buildings will now go head-to-head for architecture’s highest accolade, to be awarded by the Royal Institute of British Architects (RIBA) on Tuesday 31 October 2017. Now in its 22nd year, the 2017 RIBA Stirling Prize is sponsored by Almacantar.

The 2017 RIBA Stirling Prize shortlist comprises a slender brick-clad and wicker-balconied development of six apartments in east London (Barrett’s Grove); the skilful subterranean extension of a much-loved British institution (British Museum World Conservation and Exhibitions Centre); the striking redevelopment of Chatham Historic Dockyard (Command of the Oceans); an immense new college campus in the heart of Glasgow (City of Glasgow College – City Campus); a vibrant community-led restored pier on the south coast (Hastings Pier); and an exquisite new photography studio in west London (Photography Studio for Juergen Teller).

• Barrett’s Grove, Stoke Newington, east London by Groupwork + Amin Taha

• British Museum World Conservation and Exhibitions Centre, Bloomsbury, London by Rogers Stirk Harbour + Partners

• Command of the Oceans by Baynes and Mitchell Architects for Chatham Historic Dockyard in Kent

• City of Glasgow College - City Campus, Scotland by Reiach & Hall Architects and Michael Laird Architects

• Hastings Pier, East Sussex by dRMM Architects

• Photography Studio for Juergen Teller, west London by 6a architects

The shortlist features projects by previous RIBA Stirling Prize winners Rogers Stirk Harbour + Partners (for Maggie’s Centre London in 2009 and Barajas Airport in 2006). Reiach & Hall Architects and Michael Laird Architects were shortlisted last year for City of Glasgow College’s Riverside Campus. Reiach & Hall Architects were shortlisted for Maggie's Centre Lanarkshire in 2015 and dRMM have been shortlisted twice before (Clapham Manor School in 2010 and Trafalgar Place in 2016). Groupwork + Amin Taha, 6a architects and Baynes and Mitchell Architects are shortlisted for the first time.

Speaking about the shortlist RIBA President Jane Duncan said: “The RIBA Stirling Prize is awarded to the building that has made the biggest contribution to the evolution of architecture in a given year.

“This year’s shortlisted schemes show exceptionally creative, beautifully considered and carefully detailed buildings that have made every single penny count. Commissioned at the end of the recession, they are an accolade to a creative profession at the top of its game. Each of these outstanding projects has transformed their local area and delights those who are lucky enough to visit, live, study or work in them.

“Half of the shortlisted buildings are visitor destinations. The World Conservation and Exhibitions Centre is an extremely skilful partially-underground extension for the display, conservation and storage of the British Museum’s incredible collections. Rogers Stirk Harbour + Partners have overcome incredibly complex planning constraints to create a building that enhances the area and this much-loved institution. Command of the Oceans brings a bold and accessible new visitor experience to Chatham Historic Dockyard. A striking, black visitor entrance, exciting approach to conservation, and inventive raised route around the complex have given the dockyard a dramatic new lease of life. Hastings Pier has been driven by the passionate local community in response to the fire that destroyed their Victorian pier in 2010. This versatile and beautiful contemporary pier and visitors centre sits upon the repaired Victorian iron work of the original pier, and is kick-starting the town’s renaissance.

“The other half of the shortlist share a common quality: intelligent responses to challenging urban sites. Through careful use of a tactile palette of materials including brick, timber and wicker, Barrett’s Grove has injected an extraordinary small development of delightful, warm homes into an otherwise ordinary street in north London. The City of Glasgow College’s new City Campus is an immensely confident contribution to the architecture of the city, and is testament to Scotland’s commitment to invest in high-quality further education. Unique elements like street-front ‘shops’ for the college’s trainee hairdressers and chefs to earn and learn add to the comprehensive facilities that raise the bar for higher education buildings. Despite its constrained and semi-industrial plot in west London, the Photography Studio for Juergen Teller is an oasis in which the architects and landscape designer Dan Pearson have created a seemingly modest yet sublime light-filled studio and garden. Every single detail created by this exceptionally talented architect is precise and highly considered.

“This year’s shortlist typifies everything that is special about UK architecture: this is not just a collection of exceptionally well designed buildings but spaces and places of pure beauty, surprise and delight.”

The winner of the RIBA Stirling Prize will be announced on Tuesday 31 October 2017 at the Roundhouse in Camden, north London.