News on 7 November 2000
Peckham Library and Media Centre in London has won the £20,000
Stirling Prize. The centre, by Alsop & Störmer Architects, was
nominated Building of the Year for its innovative, colourful and humorous
design.
Speaking
at the Awards ceremony, held in the Wellcome Wing of the Science Museum
on Saturday night, Marco Goldschmied, president of RIBA, described the
building as "an innovative and exciting piece of architecture - a
building to make you smile: more architecture should do that."
He also praised Southwark Education and Leisure Services who had asked
the architects to "create a building of architectural merit that
will bring prestige to the borough and a welcome psychological boost to
the area".
Peckham Library and Media Centre was competing with Canary Wharf Jubilee
Line Station, London by Foster & Partners; the GSW Headquarters, Berlin
by sauerbruch hutton architects; the London Eye by Marks Barfield; Sainsbury’s
Supermarket, Greenwich by Chetwood Associates; the Walsall Museum and
Art Gallery by Caruso St.John and 88 Wood Street, London by Richard Rogers
Partnership.
Out
of 55 RIBA Award Winners a number were chosen to be re-visited, by a second
jury. They then decided on the shortlist for the Stirling Prize, to be
visited by the Stirling Prize Jury comprising Michael Manser, Amanda Levete,
Eric Parry, Amanda Baillieu and artist Tracey Emin.
Chairing the Jury, Michael Manser CBE, past President of the RIBA, commented:
‘The shortlist was perhaps the strongest ever in architectural quality
and variety. We visited all the buildings and talked at length to those
who use them on a daily basis. We all developed strong opinions about
the quality of the architecture, which led to a vigorous debate. In the
end it was an extremely difficult choice to make but we came to the consensus
that the Peckham Library and Media Centre stood out from the other schemes.
The People’s Choice for the Building of the Year is Sainsbury’s
eco-friendly supermarket on the Greenwich Peninsula designed by Chetwood
Associates.
