AJ Architecture Awards 2024 winners announced

This year’s winners range from a complex gallery retrofit in Scotland, to a car park in Sunderland and a specialist care and research facility for the NHS overlooking the coast at Brighton. 

All projects in this year’s awards were completed between January 2023 and July 2024. Our judges visited every one of the 120-plus shortlisted schemes in person; trips were made as far north as Moray in Scotland and as far west as Stranmillis in Belfast.

The AJ Architecture Awards include three discretionary prizes selected by the AJ editorial team to honour outstanding projects and practices. These are Architect of the Year, Design of the Year and the Editor’s Choice award.

The Design of the Year was awarded to Hoskins Architects for Scottish Galleries at the National, winner of Cultural Project of the Year, while the Editor’s Choice award was presented to another Scottish scheme, Rosebank Distillery by Michael Laird Architects – which won in the Leisure category.  

Taking home the Architect of the Year award, London-based practice Surman Weston were described by AJ editor Emily Booth as ‘architects with a wealth of understanding of making and materials’. Surman Weston was also the winner of the prestigious Manser Medal – AJ House of the Year award, for Peckham House.

The 54 expert judges included Eleanor Fawcett of Old Oak and Park Royal Development Corporation, Biba Dow of Dow Jones Architects, Simon Sturgis and Daisy Froud.

The winners in the 20 categories, plus the three editorial-chosen awards, were announced at a celebratory dinner event at a new venue this year – Park Plaza Westminster Bridge, London – on 3 December 2024.

Civic Project

Sponsored by Keim

(photo: David Grandorge)

Sidcup Storyteller by DRDH Architects

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Sidcup success story: library and cinema by DRDH

‘It’s an incredible addition to the high street – a truly civic building,’ said judges of Storyteller, which combines a library, cinema and housing in Sidcup, south-east London.

Designed by DRDH Architects, the project is located on a brownfield crossroads site and is the centrepiece of a wider regeneration of Sidcup High Street.

‘As a piece of architecture and what it does for the high street, it’s brilliant,’ said the judges, who praised the design’s maturity, timelessness and placemaking.

The double-height ground floor houses the library and café, with a staircase leading to three acoustically isolated cinema screens and a community room. Nine residential units are situated at the rear of the building away from the crossroads. The façade of hand-made, slim-format Belgian bricks responds in colour and material to the three other buildings at the junction, while the form hints at the Art Deco character of a cinema that previously stood opposite.

Inside, judges enjoyed the ‘beautiful staircase’ and the effective use of a ‘very limited palette’.

In addition to the winner, judges praised both the ‘extraordinary achievement’ of Allford Hall Monaghan Morris’s conversion of the former Royal London Hospital into Tower Hamlets Town Hall and the beautifully crafted interior of Paisley Central Library, designed by Collective Architecture. PB

Location Sidcup • Completion November 2023 • Construction cost Undisclosed • Gross internal floor area 1,932m² • Client London Borough of Bexley • Structural engineer engineersHRW • Services engineer Harley Haddow • Main contractor Neilcott Construction • Embodied carbon Not supplied • Annual carbon emissions 36.3 kgCO₂/m² • Predicted operational energy use 82.4 kWh/m²/yr • On-site energy generation 12.7%

Community and Faith Project

(photo: Simon Kennedy)

Hemel Hempstead Crematorium by Haverstock

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Haverstock completes Hemel Hempstead crematorium featuring engineered timber catafalque

‘The design makes what is a very difficult experience for everyone a bit more elevated,’ said judges of Haverstock’s ‘uplifting’ Hemel Hempstead crematorium.

The £7 million project provides a chapel for 140 people alongside ancillary facilities and a separate memorial pavilion, all set within what judges praised as an ‘exceptional’ landscape (designed by Plincke) in a green belt location.

Use of a timber structure helped minimise embodied carbon and contributes to what the architects describe as ‘a sense of tranquillity and emotional support’. Timber is used inside and out for canopies and brise soleil, and is combined with larch cladding, a brick podium and a zinc roof. Judges applauded the ‘clever and intentional’ reflection of dappled light from the adjacent pool on the ceiling of the chapel.

Throughout, a continuity of language and robust materiality unites the various buildings, covered circulation and gathering spaces. Attention has been paid to efficient circulation to avoid mourners from different services overlapping. 

Judges also appreciated how the crematorium and its grounds had been designed with a human-scale pedestrian experience in mind, rather than only that of vehicles.

Waste energy from the cremation process provides heating for the building and a PV array on the roof further offsets energy demands. The crematorium has a predicted design life of 60+ years and has been constructed with wide spans for ease of future adaptation, if required. PB

Location Hemel Hempstead • Completion September 2023 • Construction cost £7 million • Gross internal floor area 770m² • Client Watford Borough Council on behalf of West Herts Crematorium Joint Committee • Structural engineer Webb Yates Engineers • Services engineer RHB Partnership • Main contractor Buxton Building Contractors • Embodied carbon Not supplied • Annual carbon emissions 5 kgCO₂/m² • Predicted operational energy use 44.51 kWh/m²/yr • On-site energy generation 28%

Cultural Project

(photo: Dapple Photography)

Scottish Galleries at the National by Hoskins Architects 

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Hoskins’ Scottish National Gallery revamp finally opens

Despite strong competition from the other projects in this category, the shortlist was narrowed down to two. Both had fantastic clients, architects and were similarly impressive in terms of their social and cultural value. However, for their exceptional architectural endeavour, the Scottish Galleries at the National came out in front. 

The client body, rather than the practice, had to lead the tour visit for our judges, as Hoskins, sadly, closed its UK operations earlier this year. Despite this, the judges came away incredibly impressed with the cleverness of this project, which has instated a new gallery space below the National building – essentially the concluding piece tying together all the Scottish Galleries into a unified complex. ‘Movement through the spaces felt elegantly woven together,’ said the judges, adding that relatively few practices could have achieved what Hoskins had accomplished here. 

Designed by William Henry Playfair in 1859, the National occupies a prominent plot in central Edinburgh. The project also involved the reworking of the 1978 Property Services Agency-designed offices and what was the Scottish Collection gallery, as well as connecting the 2004 Weston link and creating new circulation to the listed gallery above. The design includes a new façade onto East Princes Street Gardens and adapting the Gardens Entrance into the main gallery entrance. 

Like the brief, construction was also challenging. Pre-existing concrete basement structures had to be reconfigured to simplify the levels required for the galleries to cross the railway tunnels below, providing a single visitor route through the entire gallery. 

Existing windows at the south end of the Mound-level galleries have also been reopened to give ‘effortless’ and ‘well-planned’ glimpses out to the gardens. This feat of structural engineering made the judges ‘proud to be architects,’ they said. ‘It has been done with Victorian-like bravery,’ said one. ‘And all in the name of culture.’ 

The judges concluded that this highly ambitious project was an ‘amazing achievement’ and ‘felt very appropriate for its civic status’. 

‘It’s so of its city,’ said one judge. ‘It really reconfirmed my love for Edinburgh.’ FW

Location Edinburgh • Completion July 2023 • Construction cost £38.62 million • Gross internal floor area 3,209m² • Client National Galleries of Scotland  • Structural engineer Narro Associates • Services engineer Harley Haddow • Main contractor Tilbury Douglas Construction • Embodied carbon Not supplied • Annual carbon emissions Not supplied • Predicted operational energy use 283 kWh/m²/yr (existing and new gallery combined) • On-site energy generation Nil

Highly commended

Health and Wellbeing Project

(photo: Nick Caville)

Louisa Martindale Building, Royal Sussex County Hospital by BDP

This project was praised by the judges for its ‘extremely well handled’ spatial response to a challenging, constrained site with a unique topography overlooking the English Channel. Designed by BDP, the Teaching, Trauma and Tertiary Care (3Ts) Centre doubled the Brighton hospital’s healthcare accommodation to 361 beds while also providing new research facilities and a rooftop helipad on top of the existing Thomas Kemp Tower. 

The project was singled out by judges for its ‘plaza-like’ ground floor lobby, which offered a much ‘higher standard than many would expect from hospital open spaces’ and a level of spatial generosity which continued throughout the building.

Demonstrating thoughtfulness towards patients and staff with a ‘less institutional-feeling’ experience, the 13-storey building was praised for delivering stunning visual connections to its surrounding landscape and community. Judges commended the large building’s three south-facing ward ‘fingers’, ensuring sea views for each patient room, as a successful addition to the surrounding small-scale Kemp Town Conservation Area. ‘From the inside you see the South Downs, the sea and the Brighton Pavilion,’ said the panel. ‘It’s much easier to recuperate knowing there is a world you are part of and that you haven’t been left behind.’ 

Providing a formal relationship between building, surrounding area and local community, the Louisa Martindale Building was described by the jury as a ‘great and generous’ prototype, which could allow other large NHS hospitals to ‘breathe a little bit’, while meeting tight budgets. MF

Location Brighton • Completion June 2023 • Construction cost £325 million • Gross internal floor area 63,000m² • Client University Hospitals Sussex NHS Foundation Trust • Structural engineer WSP • Services engineer BDP • Main contractor Laing O’Rourke • Embodied carbon Not supplied • Annual carbon emissions Not supplied • Predicted operational energy use Not supplied • On-site energy generation Nil

Highly commended

Heritage Project

(photo: Chris Redgrave)

Boston Manor House by Purcell

The overarching aim of the Boston Manor House project for the London Borough of Hounslow was to preserve and prolong the life of this important heritage and cultural asset for future generations. The formerly deteriorating ‘at-risk’ building – over 400 years old – has been transformed into a new community and creative business hub through a rigorous process of conservation and repair.

‘It’s a tremendous feat,’ said the judges. ‘The architects did everything they could do, very thoughtfully. There is a modesty and integrity to it all – revealing the layers of history – and a lot of joy. They’ve spent the money where it mattered and with great attention to detail.’

The scheme reimagined Boston Manor House as a visitor destination to engage diverse audiences with its rich historic, cultural, creative and architectural heritage, highlighting the links between heritage, arts and community. Key to this was universal and inclusive design, accessibility for all users and opening more areas of the house to the public. New additions to the building, such as the lift core, prioritised locally sourced, sustainable materials with a long lifespan.

A light-touch approach informed decision-making within the main house, avoiding excessive use of hi-tech solutions in favour of optimising the house’s existing built fabric through the retention, repair and reuse of materials. Passive measures of climate control included the use of the existing thermal mass of the thick external walls, openable windows and breathable fabric. 

‘In all,’ said the judges, ‘this project was in the right hands.’ EB

Location Brentford • Completion January 2023 • Construction cost £6 million • Gross internal floor area Not supplied • Client London Borough of Hounslow • Structural engineer Integral Engineering Design • Services engineer Harley Haddow • Main contractor Desertoak • Embodied carbon Not supplied • Annual carbon emissions Not supplied • Predicted operational energy use Not supplied • On-site energy generation Nil

Highly commended

Higher Education Project

(photo: Nick Caville)

Coventry University, Faculty of Arts and Humanities by BDP

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BDP reworks two Brutalist buildings as ‘creative heart’ for Coventry University

Judges were wowed by BDP’s ‘transformational’ retrofit and extension of Coventry University’s Faculty of Arts and Humanities. ‘By darning and knitting together disparate buildings, it both repairs the campus and creates a new heart for the faculty,’ said judges, who noted that the architects were able to retain 80 per cent of the 1960s School of Art facilities as well as creating a new courtyard infill. ‘Conventionally, you’d pull both buildings down and build anew. This shows you don’t have to do that,’ they said.

The £43 million project aims to foster greater interdisciplinary collaboration and judges noted the openness and opportunities for interaction within the reconfigured and new spaces. A new main entrance in the extension with a double-height glazed façade creates a shop window for civic interaction. Positioned on an axis with Coventry Cathedral and acknowledging a popular student pedestrian route, this enables the faculty to better connect to the surrounding city, with a façade design informed by Coventry’s weaving heritage. 

Inside the infill, a triple-height courtyard navigates the level changes of the various retained and refurbished buildings. The new-build functions as the social heart and also includes shared academic spaces, such as a studio for collaborative projects with external partners and students from other courses and faculties and a ‘black box’ for digital media. Judges approved of the ‘less is more’ re-use strategy over new build, which they hoped would help set a direction of travel in the sector for re-using existing buildings. PB

Location Coventry • Completion April 2023 • Construction cost £43 million • Gross internal floor area 17,605m² • Client Coventry University • Structural engineer BDP • Services engineer BDP • Main contractor McLaughlin & Harvey Construction • Embodied carbon Not supplied • Annual carbon emissions Not supplied • Predicted operational energy use 72.28 kWh/m²/yr  • On-site energy generation 7.2%

Highly commended

Housing Project (up to £10 million)

(credit: Gbolade Design Studio)

Hermitage Mews by Gbolade Design Studio

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Gbolade Design Studio completes split-level townhouses in Crystal Palace

This development of eight townhouses in Crystal Palace, south London, was praised by the judges as a ‘wonderful job’ on a difficult infill site next to a busy road and with a 2m change of level. Its design uses features such as high-performance triple glazing and the incorporation of split levels and double-height spaces to mitigate and take advantage of the constraints. Its clever orientation also combats overlooking. ‘I liked how the oriel windows offer oblique views to ensure privacy,’ commented one judge.

The scheme of three and four-bedroom terraced and semi-detached houses, which was originally conceived by Nissen Richards Studio, was reimagined post-lockdown by Gbolade Design Studio, with a new emphasis on home working. The airy interiors were particularly appreciated by the judges. ‘The generosity of the interiors sets it apart,’ said one. ‘It was great how the internal volumes reflect the exterior architecture, with the top floors taking advantage of the roof spaces.’

The design was also admired for its use of low-carbon materials and operational energy efficiency, being of timber construction with glulam beams used as structural elements and wood fibre for insulation. The scheme aimed for RIBA 2030 Climate Challenge targets, achieving an average U-value of 0.10 W/m²K and incorporating MVHR, with heating provided by air source heat pumps, complemented by solar PV panels and green roofs.

‘You could see that the designers really cared about this project and put their heart and soul into the detailing,’ said one judge. ‘They have made something really special from what they had.’ RGW

Location London SE19 • Completion April 2024 • Construction cost £3.5 million • Gross internal floor area 960m² • Client Placemakers, STA Consultancy • Structural engineer Curtins • Services engineer MESH Energy • Main contractor STA Consultancy • Embodied carbon 437 kgCO₂e/m² • Annual carbon emissions Not supplied • Predicted operational energy use 34 kWh/m²/yr • On-site energy generation 80%

Highly commended

Housing Project (£10-40 million)

Sponsored by Ibstock

(photo: Chris Hopkinson)

Commercial Way by Weston Williamson + Partners

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Weston Williamson completes housing scheme on North Peckham Estate

This was a hotly contested category, whose seven shortlisted projects included both private and social housing. The judges described the winner, Commercial Way, as ‘particularly compelling’. They were also persuaded by the enthusiasm of a tenant who loves living there. 

The tenure-blind residential development in Peckham for Southwark Council provides 109 homes for social rent and shared ownership. Responding to local needs, the unit mix is a flexible range of one to four-bed homes. Previous regeneration on the North Peckham Estate had left two vacant sites divided by a busy road. Temporary buildings had been cleared from the sites, apart from two brick water towers, which had become local landmarks. The challenge was to deliver new homes into the existing estate while improving the surrounding public realm.

Weston Williamson’s key design move was to change the alignment of the road bisecting the two sites, thus unlocking the full potential of the site. New homes have been arranged across four blocks, with two taller buildings forming a gateway and framing a new public space. Perimeter blocks to either side wrap around new landscaped courtyard gardens, creating a safe space for children to play, as well as integrating and celebrating the retained and repaired water towers.

The main façade overlooking the park has brick piers and horizontal precast concrete elements, enclosing a series of  generously-proportioned decks and balconies for the upper-floor flats and external space for ground-level units – deemed by the jury ‘a nice play between boundaries’. This ‘architectural screen’ also acts as a buffer to traffic noise.Elsewhere, a palette of pale brick, powder-coated steel railings and granite pavers unites the development with the existing estate. ‘There’s a feeling of lightness,’ said the judges, who also praised the ‘good material choices’ and attention to detail.

‘A challenging context, which the practice has dealt with well,’ they concluded. FW

Location London SE15 • Completion June 2023 • Construction cost £24 million • Gross internal floor area 9,392m² • Client Southwark Council • Structural engineer Price & Myers • Services engineer BaileyGomm • Main contractor Durkan  • Embodied carbon Not supplied • Annual carbon emissions Not supplied • Predicted operational energy use 42.25 kWh/m²/yr • On-site energy generation 3.2%

Highly commended

Housing Project (£40 million and over)

(photo: Will Scott)

Maitland Park Estate by Cullinan Studio with ECE Westworks

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Cullinan Studio completes 119 infill homes for Camden Council

‘A stand-out winner: modest, respectful, with a sense of calm,’ said the judges of this thoughtful addition of 119 new homes to an established estate set around a long park. 

Maitland Park Estate in Camden was built in the 1930s, with successive waves of development until the 1980s. The new development frames the central park with a series of brick buildings that share common details and forms across two sites. It creates a vibrant heart for the community in an enhanced landscape setting, with new open spaces and a new community hall and garden.

Through extensive consultation over several years, the design team forged a close relationship with residents and the wider community of all age groups to develop the scheme into a viable project. The new homes offer both social rented and private home ownership tenures in a variety of sizes with fully accessible and adaptable dwellings across the development.

Air source heat pumps with MVHR combined with an extensive PV array, a building fabric based on Passivhaus principles and biodiverse roofs help achieve a low  operational energy scheme.

The judges loved how the new ‘knits into the existing community: it’s totally tenure-blind’. They welcomed the way the project ‘improves and enhances its immediate context’, and is ‘appropriate in scale and density’, with ‘beautifully articulated façades’. The community space – much praised – is ‘generous and light-filled,’ they said. EB

Location London NW5 • Completion July 2023 • Construction cost £44 million • Gross internal floor area 10,377m² • Client London Borough of Camden • Structural engineer Reuby & Stagg • Services engineer Ridge • Main contractor Bouygues  • Embodied carbon Not supplied • Annual carbon emissions Not supplied • Predicted operational energy use Not supplied • On-site energy generation 15.9%

Infrastructure and Transport Project

(photo: David Valinsky)

Sundersea Sunderland by Tonkin Liu

‘There’s a real sense of joy,’ said judges of Tonkin Liu’s Sundersea Sunderland, which wraps a 18,580m² car park inside an intricate artwork.

The 100m-wide artwork stretches the full 16m height of the new Riverside car park and is conceived as a placemaking project for a broader mixed-use regeneration. Created in aluminium with diminishing perspective perforations, the design creates wave forms in reference to Sunderland’s historic links to the sea. The artwork is animated at dusk by the headlights and taillights of cars moving around within the building, and at night by green and blue lighting washing across the surface.

‘The designers have done a brilliant job in turning what could have been a difficult brief into something beautiful and elegant. This brings a smile to the face,’ said judges. ‘It doesn’t feel like a repeated pattern – there’s a real richness to it that’s very clever.’

While having misgivings about the idea of substantial new car parks in general, the judges liked that Sundersea Sunderland was not only beautiful but lean, modular and impeccably detailed, especially at its corners. They also enjoyed the presence of plants within the façades of the cores, included in response to public consultation.

However, the judges were frustrated that the procurement process for transport and infrastructure in general in the UK was leading to too many compromises and missed opportunities within the sector. PB

Location Sunderland • Completion March 2023 • Construction cost £13.75 million • Gross internal floor area 18,580m² • Client Sunderland City Council  • Structural engineer Jasper Kerr • Services engineer Goldbeck • Main contractor Sir Robert McAlpine • Embodied carbon 1.19 kgCO₂e/m² (façade only) • Annual carbon emissions 138 kgCO₂/m² • Predicted operational energy use 365.76 kWh/m²/yr • On-site energy generation 28%

Landscape and Public Realm Project

Sponsored by Marshalls

(photo: Andrew Lee)

Union Terrace Gardens by LDA Design and Aberdeen City Council

Dating back to 1878, Aberdeen’s Union Terrace Gardens are a cherished part of the city’s history, which, over time, had became run-down, overgrown and a focus for anti-social behaviour. Their future had also become the subject of a long-running, contentious struggle, during which successive proposals failed to find support, including a high-profile plan to fill in the park valley with a shopping mall. 

Reinventing a historic park for the 21st century meant finding new purpose and meaning. LDA led a multidisciplinary team to enhance the existing natural and heritage assets, balanced with contemporary interventions, including three new pavilions, a new bridge and aerial walkways. The central lawn provides a space for community events, while lighting adds to the experiential drama and improves safety. 

Making the gardens fully accessible was another key challenge. Accessible routes were developed in close consultation with disability groups and the granite staircase into the lower gardens was rebuilt to provide wheelchair access. 

The gardens are also now more climate-resilient, with their biodiversity significantly enhanced. More than 122,000 plants were added, including a high proportion of native species, replacing a monoculture of amenity grass, along with 88 new trees. Biodiverse sedum roofs, rainwater harvesting and new sustainable drainage throughout the gardens help to manage surface water run-off. Existing materials were re-used where possible, reducing the amount of waste and limiting extractive impact.

The jury thought this an exceptionally well-considered and civically-minded scheme that renews and revitalises a historic set‑piece space in the heart of Aberdeen. CS

Location Aberdeen • Completion June 2023 • Construction cost £28 million • Gross internal floor area 16,000m² (size of project) • Client Aberdeen City Council • Structural engineer Arup • Services engineer Arup • Main contractor Balfour Beatty • Embodied carbon N/A • Annual carbon emissions N/A • Predicted operational energy use N/A• On-site energy generation N/A

Leisure Project

(photo: Ross Campbell)

Rosebank Distillery by Michael Laird Architects

Retaining community as an important part of the building’s history is what made this winning project stand out. Established in 1840, Rosebank whisky was known as the ‘King of the Lowlands’. Beset by recessions, reduction in whisky consumption, two world wars and rising maintenance costs, the business closed in 1993 and the distillery fell into disrepair. 

Attempts at repurposing the site as residential or commercial space had both failed when Ian Macleod Distillers acquired the collection of listed warehouse buildings in 2017, with the aim of reviving the brand.

Following a series of workshops and community engagement, it was decided that creating an experiential visitor destination would be key to the success of the project – and would allow time for new whisky to mature. 

Preserving the heritage and materials of the existing  structure has been prioritised throughout, with brick, timber and slate all re-used from the original. A landmark 33m-tall chimney has been restored, and the lockkeeper’s cottage, a scheduled ancient monument, has been incorporated into the build.

The new scheme accommodates a visitor centre, academy, retail units, offices and staff rooms, in addition to the working distillery, within a retained 103-year-old mill – its pot stills on display through a full-height glass frontage.

Distilling generates lots of heat, and its recirculation has been incorporated into both the process and building design via a zinc-clad sawtooth roof with automated openings.

Having opened to the public in June this year, it is anticipated that eventually the distillery will welcome up to 50,000 visitors a year, enhancing the local tourism offer. New jobs have already been created in distilling, retail and tourism. ‘It has brought back meaning and pride for the local community,’ said the judges.

The jury loved this project, saying it truly combined ‘social and historic heritage’. The stakeholders invested in this ‘great community offering’ without expectation of seeing any return for at least 10 years, they noted. It showed ‘great confidence in the heritage of the scheme and its community’, said the judges. ‘The team stuck to their guns and made a commitment to do the right thing.’ FW

Location Falkirk • Completion June 2024 • Construction cost Undisclosed • Gross internal floor area 4,935m² • Client Ian Macleod Distillers • Structural engineer Blyth and Blyth • Services engineer Rybka • Main contractor ISG Scotland • Embodied carbon Not supplied • Annual carbon emissions Not supplied • Predicted operational energy use Not supplied • On-site energy generation Nil

Mixed-use Project (up to £75 million)

Sponsored by VMZinc

(photo: Lorenzo Zandri)

Daventry House by Mæ

Praised by the judges as a ‘great example of human-centred design’, Daventry House by Mæ is a 13-storey mixed-use development occupying a challenging former infrastructure site between Lisson Grove and Jerome Crescent. Delivered for client Westminster City Council, the project created 59 affordable social rent homes for elderly people, along with a flat for a live-in manager and new business enterprise spaces for the local Church Street community. 

The project was praised by judges as a ‘visceral embodiment’ of the borough’s corporate strategy to promote a fairer economy across this central area of the capital, which is characterised by great inequality and rich diversity. ‘This is an example of a local authority really putting their money where their mouth is,’ said the judges. Occupying a complex site with both pre-existing mains power, gas and water infrastructure needing relocation and significant level changes, the project was commended for enhancing its surrounding streetscape and creating a sense of community. 

Providing residents – who were relocated from accommodation across the road – a choice of apartments to occupy was also something for which the panel said the ‘client needs to be congratulated’. The architect’s careful attention to materials was furthermore singled out as ‘signposting design quality’ for future regeneration initiatives in the area. ‘Westminster City Council and Mæ show this is a new standard that social housing can strive to be,’ said the panel, adding: ‘More councils should be doing this, and just as well.’ MF

Location London NW8 • Completion June 2023 • Construction cost £82 million • Gross internal floor area 6,106m² • Client Westminster City Council • Structural engineer Stantec • Services engineer FHPP • Main contractor United Living • Embodied carbon Not supplied • Annual carbon emissions Not supplied • Predicted operational energy use 85 kWh/m²/yr • On-site energy generation 24%

Mixed-use Project (£75 million and over)

(photo: Dirk Lindner)

Lucent by Fletcher Priest Architects

Lucent was praised by the judges as a ‘technically very impressive’ upgrade and transformation of the site of London’s most famous billboard. The £127 million redevelopment for Landsec was singled out for resolving a decades-long conundrum which lurked behind the instantly recognisable ‘Piccadilly Lights’ seen by 100 million people every year at Piccadilly Circus. 

Delivering a 13,692m² mixed-use complex featuring offices and retail, the project was praised by the panel for unifying a challenging city block of 13 distinct buildings and achieving an extraordinary balance of ‘contemporary material and forms’, while also remaining highly respectful to the prominent area’s unique historical context. ‘Lucent shows how a city block can be adapted to provide larger floor plates in a really elegant and well-resolved way,’ said the jury. The decision to stretch listed façades to achieve additional height was highlighted as one example of how the architect and client successfully upgraded one of London’s most iconic buildings, delivering a robust new landmark well-placed to last for decades to come.

Key features of Lucent include 22 terraces and gardens across the building, providing a variety of planting with more than 600 plants of 38 different species. The ceiling and walls of the banking hall of the Grade II-listed London County and Westminster Bank – designed by Sir Reginald Blomfield in the early 1900s – were also completely reinstated by the architect working with bespoke plaster moulding designers Locker & Riley. MF

Location London W1 • Completion June 2023 • Construction cost £127 million • Gross internal floor area 19,234m² • Client Landsec • Structural engineer Waterman Structures • Services engineer L&P Group • Main contractor Wates • Embodied carbon 1,071 kgCO₂e/m² • Annual carbon emissions Not supplied • Predicted operational energy use 36.92 kWh/m²/yr (offices only) • On-site energy generation Nil

Project under £500,000

(photo: Jim Stephenson)

Costa’s Barbers by Brisco Loran and Arrant Industries

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Case study: Costa’s Barbers by Brisco Loran and Arrant Industries

How do you turn a vacant old shop on a busy high street into a flexible and characterful home that interacts with, and contributes to, its historical commercial setting?

That was the challenge faced by young practice Brisco Loran, working in collaboration with developer Arrant Industries. Using controversial permitted development rules, the scheme created a quirky little home and office for the architects, Thom Brisco and Pandora Loran, which responds to its location on Battersea High Street and pays homage to its former life, not least by retaining the name of the barber’s shop that once operated from the premises.

The design features an adjustable timber façade, painted a striking yellow, which allows the occupants to determine various degrees of privacy and connection. What was once the ‘shop floor’ operates as office space in the day and as living space outside of office hours, while the kitchen beyond can also double as an office counter. Beyond this is private space, with the bedrooms raised almost 1m above ground due to flooding risk, while the rear features triple-glazed windows, rendered insulation and panels of pebbles collected from Thames-side mudlarking. 

Judges enjoyed the project’s ‘exceptional detailing’ and its extensive re-use of materials such as old snooker table legs, which now form a cornice above the shopfront. Overall, they were keen to recognise a brave, ambitious and joyful scheme with a ‘lot of heart and soul in it’. WH

Location London SW11 • Completion October 2023 • Construction cost £110,000 • Gross internal floor area 54m² • Client Brisco Loran and Arrant Industries • Structural engineer Elite Designers • Services engineer N/A • Main contractor Brisco Loran and Arrant Industries • Embodied carbon Not supplied • Annual carbon emissions 13.7 kgCO₂/m² • Predicted operational energy use 66 kWh/m²/yr • On-site energy generation 83%

Refurb Project

(photo: Rob Parrish)

Arthur Stanley House by Allford Hall Monaghan Morris

Originally designed by TP Bennett as part of the Middlesex Hospital estate, Arthur Stanley House opened in 1965 as a centre specialising in physiotherapy. The original building consisted of wards and consultation rooms on the upper floors with a hydrotherapy pool in the basement. Until 2005, the building was home to the University College London Hospital Trust but, when the trust relocated, the building remained vacant for 13 years and was left to decline.

The scheme is driven by a low-carbon approach, with nearly three-quarters of the original building retained. The upper floor, which previously housed plant and a loggia, has been replaced with a new office floor plate and a full-length, south-facing terrace with views across London. 

 A new residential building containing 10 new dwellings is organised around a central internal core, with two apartments on each floor. All new extensions feature concrete brick façades, which have a third less embodied carbon than typical clay bricks. Internal finishes have been pared back to expose brickwork and concrete, resulting in a huge reduction in plasterboard use. Existing windows were replaced with new, high-quality triple glazing that meets modern standards.

New and old parts are left exposed, representing the building’s development over 60 years and giving the scheme a distinctive character. The jury was impressed by how the original modernist design ethos provided a jumping-off point for the refurbishment and the evident care and subtlety with which the new additions were integrated. CS

Location London W1 • Completion January 2023 • Construction cost £30 million • Gross internal floor area 7,563m² • Client Westbrook Properties • Structural engineer Heyne Tillett Steel • Services engineer Thornton Reynolds • Main contractor 4K Contracts • Embodied carbon 722 kgCO₂e/m² • Annual carbon emissions Not supplied • Predicted operational energy use 84 kWh/m²/yr (offices only) • On-site energy generation 0.7%

School Project

(photo: Jack Hobhouse)

Central Foundation Boys’ School by Hawkins\Brown

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Case study: Central Foundation Boys’ School by Hawkins\Brown

‘It’s a great example of the creative use of retrofit,’ said the judges of the ‘clear winner’ in this category. ‘They’ve pulled the school together, revitalising what’s already there and adding into it. They’ve uncovered the bones of the building.’

Central Foundation Boys' School is one of the oldest non-selective comprehensive schools in the country. Over the past 150 years, seven buildings (including a Tabernacle Chapel and listed former County Court) had been brought together into one school campus around a central courtyard. The result was an ad hoc collection of spaces that were not fit for purpose, with two buildings identified as among the ‘worst educational buildings in the UK’ by the DfE.

Hawkins\Brown helped the school unlock significant financial and logistical challenges to provide 13,000m² of much-needed upgrades to this unique site. Targeted investments were made where they would have the most impact, with a focus on working sensitively with heritage assets. 

Existing buildings were refurbished where possible, with new build infills only considered where it was not possible to provide specialist learning spaces in existing structures. New facilities include science laboratories and a subterranean sports hall, while the Tabernacle Chapel and Sunday School Annex – particularly praised by the judges – was creatively transformed for performing arts and music.

‘They’ve had a difficult job to do, on a really tight site, with loads of different levels and spaces to make work,’ said the judges, who were especially impressed that the school remained open and fully operational throughout the construction works. The project crafted a careful balance between heritage constraints and a complex untangling of existing and new building services infrastructure across the whole campus. EB

Location London EC2 • Completion July 2023 • Construction cost Undisclosed • Gross internal floor area 13,000m² • Client Central Foundation Boys’ School • Structural engineer BDP • Services engineer BDP • Main contractor Gilbert-Ash • Embodied carbon 455 kgCO₂e/m² • Annual carbon emissions Not supplied • Predicted operational energy use 129.67 kWh/m²/yr • On-site energy generation 10%

Workplace Project (up to £50 million)

(photo: Jack Hobhouse)

Chancery House by dMFK Architects with Norm Architects

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dMFK with Norm complete retrofit of Chancery House for The Office Group

‘It felt like home,’ said the judges of this ‘sensitive’ retrofit of Chancery House – the largest workspace yet to be completed for developer The Office Group (TOG), following on from its flagship project the Black & White Building, designed by Waugh Thistleton, winner of the Workplace Project (up to £20 million) category in last year’s AJ Architecture Awards. 

The existing eight-storey heritage building was first built in the 1880s as the Chancery Lane Safe Deposit and sits above London Silver Vaults, the city’s historic subterranean silver market. It was dMFK’s ninth project for TOG and involved refurbishing and extending the original building in collaboration with Copenhagen-based Norm, which delivered the interior concept. 

The building’s exterior has been consolidated to be truer to its original form, its sills lowered to improve its relationship with the street. Internally, the workspace has been improved by unlocking previously poorly connected spaces through numerous new voids and lightwells. The ground floor has also been reconfigured with the cutting-out of a new ‘welcoming’ courtyard. ‘It has been done in a subtle way that looks effortless,’ said the judges. ‘It is so elegantly considered.’

Breakout and social spaces are woven throughout, including a ground-floor café, library, events space and multiple lounges across the ground and lower-ground floors. ‘The beautiful textures and materials are lovely and warm,’ said the judges. ‘The atmosphere created is impressive.’

Areas of greenery, including a green roof and planted terraces, are watered by a rainwater harvesting system, which also flushes the toilets. The building’s new cladding and paving is made of WasteBasedBricks, which incorporate at least 60 per cent recycled building waste. 

‘In the post-Covid era, it feels like a wonderful place to work,’ said one judge. ‘It’s like one’s living room, rather than an office,’ added another. ‘It was definitely the most enjoyable project to walk around,’ they agreed. FW

Location London WC2 • Completion August 2023 • Construction cost Undisclosed • Gross internal floor area 16,000m² • Client Fora (The Office Group) • Structural engineer Heyne Tillett Steel • Services engineer EEP • Main contractor Collins Construction • Embodied carbon 233 kgCO₂e/m² • Annual carbon emissions Not supplied • Predicted operational energy use 132.74 kWh/m²/yr • On-site energy generation 0.1%

Workplace Project (£50 million and over)

(photo: Hufton + Crow)

TTP Campus by Sheppard Robson

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Sheppard Robson completes technology firm’s Cambridgeshire HQ

‘They are pushing boundaries of what a workplace means,’ said the judges of the ‘beautiful’ winning project, a new campus for technology consultants TTP set within the rural landscape of Melbourn, Cambridgeshire.

Shaped around non-hierarchical, collaborative working, the scheme encompasses three primary buildings embedded within their setting: the Exchange (a social place to decompress, relax and debate); the Hive (a flexible modular mix of workplaces and labs); and the Tech Barn (a space for highly specific science and large-scale projects).

The project was tendered through a design competition, a process where TTP and Sheppard Robson found shared ground in their explorative approach. After winning the competition, Sheppard Robson led a year of briefing, which uncovered a desire on both sides to do things differently, free of preconceptions of what a lab or office should be.

The solution came from creating a ‘plug-and-play’ building formed of a series of modular squares, with each component either an open or closed lab, flexible workplace, or amenity space. The modularity allows the plan to be arranged to fit the specific requirements of ongoing project briefs, plugging and unplugging modules, with disruption minimised.

‘It’s a warm and functional workplace and all the buildings are successful in their own way,’ said the judges, who also praised the biodiversity of the project, and the way it has built-in flexibility. ‘It is a complete response to the brief and very connected to the site. People are proud to be there.’ EB

Location Melbourn, Cambridgeshire • Completion January 2024 • Construction cost £51 million • Gross internal floor area 10,300m² • Client The Technology Partnership (TTP) • Structural engineer AKT II • Services engineer AECOM, CPW • Main contractor SDC • Embodied carbon Not supplied • Annual carbon emissions Not supplied • Predicted operational energy use 60.16 kWh/m²/yr • On-site energy generation 38%

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