Press Release
THE SAVILL BUILDING MAKES THE CONTENDERS FOR THE PRESTIGIOUS RIBA STIRLING PRIZE
26 July 2007
The Savill Building – “a modern pavilion in Windsor Great Park” – is sitting in impressive company, having been shortlisted for the prestigious RIBA Stirling Prize.
Designed by Glenn Howells Architects, the Savill Building creates a gateway to The Royal Landscape – nationally important gardens in the south east corner of Windsor Great Park. The visitor centre takes the form of a dramatic gridshell structure made of Windsor Park timber. This innovative use of traditional materials means that it harmonises well with a skyline of mature trees, as well as being an object of great beauty and grace in its own right.
Glenn Howells’ remit from The Crown Estate was to create a landmark, and the finished product is an appropriate response in a modern idiom. The roof takes a distinctive undulating form that resembles the curve of a leaf.
Other short-listed buildings include a Portuguese concert hall and the reconstruction of London’s Young Vic Theatre; the redevelopment of Dresden Station is also among the six buildings that have made it on to the shortlist. The £20,000 prize is awarded to the architects of the building that has made the greatest contribution to British architecture in the past year.
The full list competing for this year’s title are:
1. The Savill Building, Windsor, by Glenn Howells Architects
2. America's Cup Building, Valencia, Spain by David Chipperfield Architects
3. Casa da Musica, Porto, Portugal by Office for Metropolitan Architecture
4. Dresden Station Redevelopment, Dresden, Germany by Foster + Partners
5. Museum of Modern Literature, Marbach am Neckar, Germany by David Chipperfield Architects
6. Young Vic Theatre, London SE1 by Haworth Tompkins
Jack Pringle, RIBA President, said: “With the RIBA Stirling Prize now into its twelfth year, the shortlist once again presents us with a fantastic range of projects and the tremendously difficult task for the judges to choose a winner. Three very different art centres are in the running – Porto’s striking concert hall, Casa da Musica, the Museum of Modern Literature in Germany and the re-designed Young Vic Theatre in London. They compete with the redevelopment of the late nineteenth century Dresden railway station by Foster + Partners, a modern park pavilion and visitor centre in Windsor Great Park and the America’s Cup building, the centrepiece of Valencia’s re-organised old industrial port.
“These ambitious projects are the very best in contemporary architecture, reflecting the work of our members in Europe as well as the UK. The RIBA’s best architects have long found some of their most interesting commissions in continental Europe – but perhaps it’s up to UK clients to ensure a better representation of buildings in Britain in future years’ shortlists.”
The RIBA Stirling Prize jury, which will visit all six shortlisted buildings and then meet for a final time on the day of the presentation to pick the winner, comprises architecture specialists and lay judges from the arts.
The 2007 judges are:
- Tom Bloxham MBE – chair, Urban Splash
- Alain de Botton – author and philosopher
- Louisa Hutton – architect
- Kieran Long – Editor, The Architects’ Journal
- Sunand Prasad – architect and RIBA President (from 1 September 2007).
The winner of the The RIBA Stirling Prize in association with The Architects’ Journal will be announced at the Roundhouse in north London on Saturday 6 October, televised live on Channel 4 between 8 and 9pm.
Further Information
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