Chiswick House Café Rated London's Top New Building

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RIBA awards new café for architectural excellence

The Royal Institute of British Architects (RIBA) have given an award to Chiswick House Café for architectural excellence. It was one of 97 buildings awarded this year and the judges rated it the best new building in London. It will now be eligible to join the shortlist for the RIBA Stirling Prize for the building of the year.

The judges' citation stated, "The Chiswick House Café is a worthy addition to William Kent's grade 1 landscape. For a modest building this pavilion has great scale, stature, solidity and permanence."

The building was designed by Caruso St John Architects and commission by the Chiswick House and Gardens Trust as part of English Heritage's refurbishment of the grounds.

This year’s award-winning buildings range geographically from a winery in Spain to a community hall on the Scottish Hebridean island of Raasay, and in style from the Royal Shakespeare Theatre in Stratford to ‘Love Shack’ - a self-build hideaway in the Lake District National Park.

The recently completed Velodrome is the first ever 2012 Olympics event building to win an architecture prize and is one of five RIBA Awards for Hopkins Architects, a practice previously shortlisted three times for the RIBA Stirling Prize.

Last year’s RIBA Stirling Prize winner, Zaha Hadid, is an award winner this year with the Evelyn Grace Academy in South London.

RIBA President Ruth Reed said, "Winning projects demonstrate that even in constrained times committed clients working with talented architects can achieve architectural excellence. These well-designed buildings will add huge value to the lives, prosperity, health and pride of their owners, users and communities and I am delighted with year’s selection. We are promised an interesting RIBA Stirling Prize shortlist.

 

May 19, 2011