Stirling Prize facts for kids

The inside of Terminal 4 at Barajas Airport in Spain. This building won the prize in 2006.

The Royal Institute of British Architects Stirling Prize, often just called the Stirling Prize, is a major British award for the best new buildings. Think of it like the Oscars, but for architecture.

The prize is named after the famous architect James Stirling. It is given out every year by the Royal Institute of British Architects (RIBA). The award goes to the architects who designed the building that has made the biggest and most exciting impact on architecture in the last year. To win, the architects must be members of RIBA.

Until 2014, buildings from anywhere in the European Union could win. Since 2015, however, only buildings in the United Kingdom can be chosen. The prize used to come with £20,000, but now the winners receive the honor of the award without any prize money.

History of the Prize

The Stirling Prize was started in 1996 and is seen as the most important architecture award in the UK. The awards ceremony is a big event and is even shown on TV by Channel 4.

To be considered for the prize, a building must first win a RIBA National Award. These awards are given to buildings that have excellent designs and improve their local area. From all the National Award winners, a final list of six buildings, called the shortlist, is chosen to compete for the Stirling Prize.

In 2000, some architects from Scotland and Wales complained that the prize was too focused on London. They pointed out that five of the seven shortlisted buildings were in the capital city. However, the head judge disagreed, noting that the very first Stirling Prize was won by a building in Salford, Greater Manchester.

In 2020, the prize was delayed for a year because of the COVID-19 pandemic. The winner for 2021 was chosen from the buildings that were shortlisted in 2020.

Prize Winners

Before 1996, the award had a different name. It was called the "Building of the Year Award."

As the RIBA Building of the Year Award

Year	Winning Building
1987		St Oswald's Hospice, Newcastle upon Tyne, by Jane and David Darbyshire
1988		Truro Crown Courts, Truro, Cornwall, by Evans and Shalev
1989		Nelson Mandela Primary School, Birmingham, by William Howland
1991		Woodlea Primary School, Bordon, Hampshire, by Nev Churcher and Sally Daniels
1993		Sackler Galleries, London
1994		Waterloo International railway station, London, by Nicholas Grimshaw
1995		McAlpine Stadium, Huddersfield by Populous

As the Stirling Prize

Year	Winning Architect(s)	Winning Building
1996	Hodder, StephenStephen Hodder		Centenary Building, University of Salford, Salford
1997	James Stirling, Michael Wilford and Associates		Stuttgart Music School, Stuttgart, Germany
1998	Foster and Partners		Imperial War Museum, Duxford, Cambridgeshire
1999	Future Systems		Lord's Media Centre, London
2000	Alsop & Störmer		Peckham Library, London
2001	Wilkinson Eyre Architects		Magna Centre, Rotherham, South Yorkshire
2002	Wilkinson Eyre Architects & Gifford		Gateshead Millennium Bridge, Gateshead
2003	Herzog & de Meuron		Laban, Deptford, London
2004	Foster and Partners		30 St Mary Axe, London
2005	EMBT & RMJM		Scottish Parliament building, Edinburgh
2006	Richard Rogers Partnership		Barajas Airport Terminal 4, Madrid, Spain
2007	David Chipperfield Architects		Museum of Modern Literature, Marbach, Germany
2008	Feilden Clegg Bradley Studios, Alison Brooks Architects and Maccreanor Lavington		Accordia housing development, Cambridge
2009	Rogers Stirk Harbour + Partners		Maggie's Centre, London
2010	Zaha Hadid		MAXXI – National Museum of the 21st Century Arts, Rome, Italy
2011	Zaha Hadid		Evelyn Grace Academy, London
2012	Stanton Williams		Sainsbury Laboratory, Cambridge
2013	Witherford Watson Mann Architects		Astley Castle, Nuneaton, Warwickshire
2014	Haworth Tompkins		Everyman Theatre, Liverpool
2015	Allford Hall Monaghan Morris		Burntwood School, Wandsworth, London
2016	Caruso St John Architects		Newport Street Gallery, Vauxhall, London
2017	dRMM		Hastings Pier, East Sussex
2018	Foster + Partners		Bloomberg London
2019	Mikhail Riches with Cathy Hawley		Goldsmith Street council housing, Norwich
2020	Award postponed until 2021 due to COVID-19 pandemic
2021	Grafton Architects		Kingston University Town House, London
2022	Niall McLaughlin Architects		The New Library, Magdalene College, Cambridge
2023	Mæ		John Morden Centre, Morden College, Blackheath, London
2024	Grimshaw, Maynard, Equation and Atkins		Elizabeth line, London

See also

In Spanish: Premio Stirling para niños

• List of architecture prizes