The Royal Institute of British Architects (RIBA) has announced the 26 winners of the 2024 RIBA National Awards for architecture. The Awards, which have been presented since 1966, recognise the best of UK architecture and provide insight into the country's design and social trends.
To see your favourite South African architects and designers win, submit your entries here for the inaugural Designer of the Year Awards hosted by House & Garden SA and Norvall Foundation.
Winning projects stretch across the country, including Northern Ireland, Scotland and down to the south of England. The varied projects range in scale, from an urban masterplan (King’s Cross) and a new transport network (The Elizabeth Line), to a house nestled in the Cornish landscape (Farmworker’s House) or a beautifully repurposed dairy farm (Wraxall Yard).
Key themes among this year’s award winners include:
Restoration and adaptation
This year’s awards feature inspiring examples of existing buildings and structures that have been given a new lease of life thanks to intelligent designs, developed by working closely with clients and local communities.
Shrewsbury Flaxmill Maltings – opened in the 18th century and widely regarded as the ‘grandparent of skyscrapers’ – has now been converted for multiple different uses, providing a bright future for the next 100 years. In London, the world-renowned Battersea Power Station has been preserved for the city’s skyline and reimagined as a new work and leisure destination along the River Thames.
The ongoing regeneration of the Park Hill Estate in Sheffield demonstrates that our Brutalist heritage can play a role in the changing needs of urban living, while affordable workspace can be created by extending and re-skinning a Victorian terrace in Hackney in the form of Bradbury Works.
Ancient sites have been carefully adapted so that they can continue to serve their local communities, such as Auckland Castle and the Bath Abbey Footprint Project.
Materials and construction
While creating new buildings, the projects included in the National Awards 2024 demonstrate how thoughtful and appropriate construction and a considered approach to material selection can make a valuable impact on the success of any scheme.
At Beechwood Village, off-site modular construction has been artfully deployed to create high- quality homes that are more sustainable than their more traditional counterparts. The Arbor in Waltham Forest showcases how to make a carbon-negative development using waste and bio-based materials. An entirely timber-framed structure at New Temple Complex has eliminated the need for steel, while simultaneously creating elegant and reflective spaces.
More timber is used for the Dining Hall, Homerton College, Cambridge but this building is also clad in ceramic tiles, drawing inspiration from the college’s early 20th century Arts and Crafts buildings. The 26 projects were selected by the expert jury, who visited all shortlisted projects.
Fine Designing
At ground level of the the Dining Hall, Homerton Collegeatt Cambridge a two-storey building contains the new dining hall, kitchen areas, servery, and a ‘buttery’/café together with informal study/work space. The latter, which was introduced to the brief by the architects, has proved especially important to the college, reflecting the evolving needs of the student population.
Study and meeting spaces extend to the upper floor. The new buildings have an entrance for college members from the college grounds, but also a separately accessed reception area for public events and conference use. The project takes a holistic approach to sustainability based on a bespoke strategy.
