Dezeen Magazine

Winning project in the RIBA National Awards 2024

RIBA names UK's best buildings of 2024

Sheffield's Park Hill Estate, London's Battersea Power Station and a timber-framed dining hall at the University of Cambridge have been named among the winners of the Royal Institute of British Architects' National Awards for 2024.

The Royal Institute of British Architects (RIBA) announced 26 winners this year, including projects designed by Níall McLaughlin Architects, Waugh Thistleton Architects and WilkinsonEyre.

Park Hill Estate
Top: Auckland Castle, Tower and Faith Museum is one of the winners. Photo by Nick Kane. Above: Park Hill Estate Phase 2 was also among the Nation Awards winners. Photo by Tim Crocker

The annual RIBA National Awards, which was established in 1966, aims to celebrate the country's best new buildings and give insight into its architectural design and social trends.

This year's winning projects ranged in scale from rural houses and restorations to major projects like London's Kings Cross masterplan and Elizabeth Line railway.

Battersea Power Station
WilkinsonEyre's Battersea Power Station is one of the restoration projects to win. Photo by Peter Landers

"The sheer breadth of work is quite astounding, with large infrastructure schemes sitting alongside high-quality detailed smaller projects," said RIBA president Muyiwa Oki.

"This is a testament to the standard of architecture in the UK right now, as we maintain a sense of ambition and consider how design must evolve to meet future needs."

Elizabeth Line in London
Winners included the Elizabeth Line stations. Photo by Hufton + Crow

The majority of the 26 winning projects were located in the south of England, including 12 in London.

Among the projects based in the British capital are the restoration of Battersea Power Station by WilkinsonEyre, the renovation of the National Portrait Gallery by Jamie Fobert Architects and Purcell and a mass-timber office building by Waugh Thistleton Architects.

London's Elizabeth Line was also highlighted as one of the UK's best built projects, with line works by Grimshaw, Maynard, Equation and Atkins, and the Paddington station by Weston Williamson + Partners both named winners.

A social housing project in Glasgow by Page\Park Architects and a gallery in Edinburgh by Reiach and Hall Architects made up the Scottish winners, while a rural family home by McGonigle McGrath Architects was the only winning building in Northern Ireland.

Dining hall in Cambridge
Feilden Fowles' dining hall for the University of Cambridge was one of the winners. Photo by Jim Stephenson

A number of restoration and adaptive reuse projects were also among the winners. These included the restoration of the brutalist Park Hill Estate in Sheffield, the conversion of the 18th-century Shrewsbury Flaxmill Maltings and the transformation of a Victorian terrace into the Bradbury Works workspace.

Projects with a focus on sustainable materials included a timber-framed dining hall at the University of Cambridge's Homerton College designed by Feilden Fowles and a non-denominational temple complex in Hampshire by James Gorst Architects, which features timber-framed pavilions connected by cloistered walkways.

Timber temple in the RIBA National Awards 2024
The New Temple Complex was also a winner. Photo by Rory Gardiner

The winners of the RIBA National Awards are eligible to be considered for the shortlist for the prestigious Stirling Prize, which will be announced on 31 July.

The full list of RIBA National Awards winners is below:


East

› Beechwood Village by Pollard Thomas Edwards
Dining Hall, Homerton College, Cambridge by Feilden Fowles Architects
› WongAvery Gallery by Níall McLaughlin Architects

East Midlands

› Alfreton Park Community Special School by Curl la Tourelle Head Architecture

Mass-timber office building in the RIBA National Awards 2024
A mass-timber office building was one of the winning London projects in RIBA's National Awards. Photo by Fora

London

Battersea Power Station Phase Two by WilkinsonEyre
Bradbury Works by [Y/N] Studio
› Chowdhury Walk by Al-Jawad Pike
› King's Cross Masterplan by Allies and Morrison and Porphyrios Associates
National Portrait Gallery by Jamie Fobert Architects and Purcell
› Paddington Elizabeth Line Station by Weston Williamson + Partners
› Royal Academy of Dance by Takero Shimazaki Architects
› Six Columns by 31/44 Architects
› Thames Christian School and Battersea Chapel by Henley Halebrown
› The Arbour by Boehm Lynas and GS8
The Black & White Building by Waugh Thistleton Architects
› The Elizabeth Line by Grimshaw, Maynard, Equation and Atkins

Rural home in Northern Ireland for the RIBA Nation Awards 2024
House on Redbrae Farm was the only winning project in Northern Ireland. Photo by McGonigle McGrath

North East

Auckland Castle, Tower and Faith Museum by Níall McLaughlin and Purcell

Northern Ireland

› House on Redbrae Farm by McGonigle McGrath Architects

Scotland

› North Gate Social Housing by Page\Park Architects
› The Fruitmarket Gallery by Reiach and Hall Architects

Social housing in Glasgow for the RIBA Nation Awards 2024
A social housing project in Glasgow was one of the two Scottish buildings in the RIBA Nation Awards 2024. Photo by Nick Kane

South

New Temple Complex by James Gorst Architects

South West

› Bath Abbey Footprint Project by Feilden Clegg Bradley Studios
› Farmworker's House by Hugh Strange Architects
Wraxall Yard by Clementine Blakemore Architects

West Midlands

› Shrewsbury Flaxmill Maltings by Feilden Clegg Bradley Studios

Yorkshire

Park Hill Phase 2 by Mikhail Riches