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AJ100 Building of the Year Awards Winners

Architecture Prize Winners Great Britain – Archive up to 2010

20 May 2010

Hopkins Architects Scoops Top Design Prize at Architectural Awards for Yale University Hall

AJ100 Building of the Year Awards Shortlist 2010

Last night (May 19, 2010), Kroon Hall at Yale University was named “Building of the Year” by the UK’s architecture sector, during the prestigious AJ100 Building of the Year Awards.

The new building, designed by Hopkins Architects for the School of Forestry & Environmental Studies, was one of six shortlisted entries – from a total of 33 – and ultimately selected as the winner by a panel of expert judges.

Kroon Hall, Yale School of the Environment building designed by Centerbrook Architects & Planners:

photo : Morley Von Sternberg / Hopkins Architects

The judges were impressed with the school’s simple, aesthetic form and green credentials – the project has been awarded LEED* ‘Platinum’, the highest certification, and is designed to be as close to carbon neutral as possible.
Clad with yellow Briar Hill stone, the structure is lined with American red oak, much of which has been sourced from the university’s own forests.

The judges called the project: “An outstanding design and exemplar for its sustainability credentials”. Judge Angela Brady, of Brady Mallalieu Architects, said: “The curved timber roof structure in the interior is a delight and the detailing looks impeccable. It is warm and welcoming and full of natural light. This addition to the campus must act like a magnet for students wanting to experience UK sustainable design at its best.”

The other shortlisted projects nominated for “Building of the Year” were:

Kentish Town Health Centre, London by Allford Hall Monaghan Morris (highly commended)

Timothy Soar / Allford Hall Monaghan Morris

Broadcasting Tower student accommodation, Leeds by Feilden Clegg Bradley Studios

Will Pryce / Feilden Clegg Bradley Studio

Winspear Opera House, Dallas, USA by Foster + Partners

Foster + Partners

New Biochemistry Building at the university of Oxford by HawkinsBrown

Tim Crocker / Hawkins Brown

Grosvenor Waterside residential project, London by Make

Zander Olsen / Make

The judging panel included Angela Brady of Brady Mallalieu Architects, Mike Hussey, managing director of property fund Almacantar and Rory Olcayto, deputy editor of The Architects’ Journal.

AJ100 Building of the Year : current page on the awards

Allford Hall Monaghan Morris’s Health Centre in Kentish Town, London, was highly commended by the judges who praised the project for exceeding expectations in design, layout and results. The building – which houses a large GP practice and a wide range of health facilities – sets new standards for the NHS.

Broadcasting Tower student accommodation, by Feilden Clegg Bradley Studios, was described by the judges as a bold statement with inspiring materials. Completed in 2009, the distinctive 23 storey building houses 240+ bedrooms with comfortable and contemporary interiors.

Foster + Partners’ Dallas project redefines the opera house for the 21^st Century, making opera more accessible for a wider audience. Responding to the Dallas climate, a solar canopy extends from the building, shading a fully glazed sixty-foot-tall lobby which enhances the transparency of the building. The judges were impressed with the strong and brave design of the structure.

The judges described HawkinsBrown’s New Biochemistry Building at the University of Oxford as “a quality building providing relevant and attractive space for educational use.” The distinctive £49m facility with its glass facades and coloured glass fins brings together 300 lecturers, researchers and students previously based in a number of separate buildings across the University’s Science Area. It was complete in March this year (2010).

Designed by Make Architects, Grosvenor Waterside project in London is a startling modern residential development. The judges commented on the cleverly worked accommodation relative to the external façade and the building’s great finish.

The annual AJ 100 survey is the authoritative barometer for the state of the UK’s architectural sector, with the vast majority of UK practices submitting commercial information on their performance in the last 12 months.

The data submitted into the AJ100 rankings provides a vivid snapshot of the performance of the sector, with awards presented based upon findings from the data and nominations made by senior architects and industry observers. This year, Imperial College London is also working with the AJ to analyse the data and provide greater insights into the current state of the sector.

The top 10 practices from the AJ 100 survey:

1. BDP
2. Foster + Partners
3. Atkins Ltd
4. Capita Symonds Architecture
5. Aedas Architects Ltd
6. Archial Group
7. Austin Smith:Lord
8. PRP
9. Broadway Malyan
10. Sheppard Robson

Meanwhile, individual awards category winners included:

Highest First Time Entrant – PLP Architecture
Fastest-Growing Practice – Devereux Architects
Employer of the Year – Architecture PLB

Most Sustainable Practice – Feilden Clegg Bradley Studios
Building of the Year – Kroon Building, School of Forestry and Environmental Studies, Yale university, Connecticut, USA by Hopkins Architects
International Practice of the Year – Aedas

Practice of the Year – Austin Smith:Lord
Greatest Contribution to the Profession – Laura Lee, Chief Executive of Maggie’s Centres

The AJ100 Awards took place on Wednesday 19^th May at the Grange Hotel St Paul’s London, and were organised by The Architects’ Journal magazine, published by Emap. Supporters and sponsors include Passionate about Cinema, BST Global, SIV Human Resources, Griffiths & Armour and Beale and Company, Hilson Moran and Schuco, with FD as the Official Communication Partners to the AJ100.

* LEED is an internationally recognized green building certification system developed in hte US. It provides third-party verification that a building or community was designed and built using strategies aimed at improving performance across all the metrics that matter most: energy savings, water efficiency, CO₂ emissions reduction, improved indoor environmental quality, and stewardship of resources and sensitivity to their impacts.

AJ100 Building of the Year Awards 2010 images / information received 190510

Location: London, UK