The 40 winners of the RIBA London Award 2024 have been announced, recognising the capital’s best new architect-designed projects.
These winners will now be put forward for a RIBA National Award, which provides the shortlist for the coveted RIBA Stirling Prize, the UK’s most prestigious award for architecture.
Several major infrastructure projects were recognised, including the Elizabeth Line, which won the RIBA London Building of the Year Award 2024.
Seven of the winners were private houses, including Peckam House by Surman Weston (pictured above), which was awarded the RIBA London Project Architect of the Year Award 2024.
There were also seven housing developments recognised by the RIBA (Royal Institute of British Architects) with a London Award.
“This year’s RIBA Award winning schemes showcase the true value of quality architecture, and the positive impact it has on people’s lives,” said RIBA President Muyiwa Oki.
“While carefully considering the needs of the environment, these truly remarkable places and spaces deliver for communities, for residents, for visitors, and people of all ages up and down the country. They are pinnacles of design excellence, and show what can be achieved when architects and clients collaborate successfully.”
Award-winning London homes
Hampstead House by Coppin Dockray
Architect Trevor Dannatt originally designed this house in Hampstead for American clients back in 1960. He was still alive at age 101 and unaware the house was still standing when the current owners, who lived down the road, spotted it go up for sale.
Coppin Dockray undid over half a century of unsympathetic additions, adding a new extension clad in metal that can be washed as one would a car. The architects even saw to the soil health of the garden, bringing in bags of worms to attend to the tons of soil they added.
“[We] came away feeling that the house was an incredibly accomplished piece of work and an elegant home, of which not only the owners are proud but it might be assumed that the late Trevor Dannatt would also have been,” said the jury.
Love Walk II by Knox Bhavan Architects
Knox Bevan Architects treated the renovation and extension of this Victorian villa in Camberwell as though it was locally listed, restoring the stone exterior while adding a copper-clad extension that opens up into the garden.
The jury commented that they “found the sense of calm and greenery beyond particularly enjoyable”.
Love Walk II includes enlarged doorways to ensure wheelchair accessibility, allowing the currently able bodied owners to plan for later life.
Peckham House by Surman Weston
This self-build house in Peckham, South London, bagged owner-architects Tom Surman and Percy Weston the prize of RIBA London Project Architect of the Year Award 2024.
Its monolithic exterior has a facade of Flemish bond bricks with recessed ends forming a gridded pattern. Timber fencing with a sedum roof cleverly conceal bins and a bike shed. There’s also a roof terrace complete with a greenhouse.
“This is a well-considered, durable and highly imaginative design,” said the jury. Jurors complimented the lime plaster walls and exposed timber joists of the interiors, which will gain a pleasing patina over time.
Shakespeare Tower, Barbican by Takero Shimazaki Architects
Traditional Japanese elements have been introduced throughout this apartment in a tower on the beloved Barbican Estate.
Additions include a terrazzo-clad decorative column, chosen by the architects for symbolic significance, wool carpets evoking the colour of clouds, and a door mat formed of arai-dashi stone pebbles.
Sliding doors conceal the bedrooms and a traditional tatami mat room has been introduced. The jury described the interiors as creating an ambience both “calm and complex”.
Six Columns by 31/44 Architects
The jury described this house in Crystal Palace as “ a feast for the eyes at every turn.”
Will Burges, co-founder of 31/44 Architects designed this new build house for his family, drawing on references of architecture around Europe that they enjoyed.
An attic room intended for books has been commandeered by one of their children, while a minimalist courtyard garden includes an unusual brick grill for building fires on.
Sycamore House by Jonathan Wilson RIBA with Circle Architecture
This small plot in Haringey had already proved tricky to build on after neighbours objected to the original plans.
To keep it modest in scale and in keeping with the leafy surroundings, the two-storey house is designed as two interlocking volumes clad in battens of European tulipwood. The house is built to achieve Passivhaus certification, so is super insulated with energy-saving elements that even stretches to a heat-recovery pipe for the bath and shower drains.
“Despite the vicissitudes of planning and the trickiness of the site,” said the jury, “the architect has shown how a small project can act as major exemplar for others.”
Southwark House Renovation by VATRAA
An ex-council house on an estate in Bermondsey has been transformed by architecture studio VATRAA without any additions to its compact 76 square metres of floor space.
The lobby was opened up to the roof to let light in and the original joists uncovered and painted white. Pink-toned plaster and white-washed oak create a warm and calming feel.
“The result demonstrates that, if fully embraced, the constraints and specifics of the project can lead to surprising and inventive solutions,” noted the jury.
London’s hottest housing developments
Chowdhury Walk by Al-Jawad Pike
Council housing developments have form for winning the Stirling Prize since Mikhail Riches won for Goldsmith Street in 2019. Could Chowdhury Walk be a contender?
Under-used land owned by Hackney Council has been repurposed for council homes clad in red brick and granite along a cobbled road.
Along with an eco-friendly cross-laminated timber frame, energy-efficient elements include triple glazing and solar panels on the pitched roofs. The jury praised the project for having “engaged with the issues of climate challenge in a positive way”.
Dover Court Estate by Pollard Thomas Edwards
Pollard Thomas Edwards used what the jury described as “a number of smart moves to create 70 new infill homes and community spaces for an existing estate in Islington.
Infill sites in the form of old garages were turned into 58 social rent and 12 private homes. Co-designed with the residents, the additions were all low-carbon and energy efficient.
“The result is a transformation which seems a sleight of hand, and is testimony to both the vision and meticulousness of the design process,” praised the jury.
Fish Island Village by Haworth Tompkins, Lyndon Goode Architects, Pitman Tozer Architects, Bureau de Change
Fish Island Village created 580 new homes in Hackney Wick, ranging from studio flats to family maisonettes at street level.
Nodding to the wharfs and warehouses of its canal-side location, the development also includes local art and the residential blocks are named after canal boats.
“This is a truly mixed community, a vibrant place to live, work, and visit,” noted the jury.
Sunday Mills by Assael Architecture
This co-living development in Wandsworth delivered 315 rooms with a communal kitchen and roof terrace garden.
“The model is not unique, but the quality and execution of this project allow the concept to shine, proving the benefits of this living style,” said the jury.
Red brick, Crittal windows and different roof profiles all echo the industrial heritage of this riverside site.
The Arbour by Boehm Lynas and GS8
This zero-waste construction project in Walthamstow Village provided resuable lunch boxes and water bottles for all its contractors.
The result was 10 cross-laminated timber homes built on what was a brownfield site, with bricks for the party walls made from the earth excavated during construction.
According to the jury: “This scheme is an exemplar in one of the most challenging areas the industry has been grappling with: genuinely engaging with whole-life carbon from the outset and creating reuse through the circular economy.”
Unity Place by Design Architects, Feilden Clegg Bradley Studios, Alison Brooks Architects and Gort Scott, with Delivery Architect RM_A Architects
This development in Kilburn created 235 social rented homes and a community hub.
None of the rooms are north-facing, and 65 per cent of the rooms are dual aspect to allow for cross-ventilation.
Handset bricks and different levels compliment the local architecture, and the jury notes that “residents expressed their delight with the project and their accommodation” when they visited.
67 Southwark Street by Allies and Morrison
Tokyo towers were the reference point for this skinny sixteen-storey residential building in Southwark, which the jury complimented as “a significant building”/
Each flat occupies and entire floor, and the stripey bricks were inspired by Italian religious buildings. A second smaller block has balconies that the jury described as “reminiscent of New York fire escapes”.
Here are the RIBA London Award 2024 winners in full:
RIBA London (East)
● Chowdhury Walk by Al-Jawad Pike
● Fish Island Village by Haworth Tompkins, Lyndon Goode Architects, Pitman Tozer Architects, Bureau de Change
● Shakespeare Tower, Barbican by Takero Shimazaki Architects
● St Andrew Holborn by DaeWha Kang Design
● The Arbour by Boehm Lynas and GS8
● The Black & White Building by Waugh Thistleton Architects
● The Elizabeth Line by Grimshaw, Maynard, Equation, Atkins
● The Learning Tree Nursery by Delve Architects
RIBA London (North)
● 22 Handyside Street by Coffey Architects
● Bradbury Works by [Y/N] Studio
● Brent Cross Town Visitor Pavilion by Moxon Architects Ltd
● Dover Court Estate by Pollard Thomas Edwards
● Hampstead House by Coppin Dockray
● King's Cross Masterplan by Allies and Morrison and Porphyrios Associates
● Sycamore House by Jonathan Wilson RIBA with Circle Architecture
● Unity Place by Design Architects, Feilden Clegg Bradley Studios, Alison Brooks Architects and Gort Scott, with Delivery Architect RM_A Architects
RIBA London (South East)
● 67 Southwark Street by Allies and Morrison
● Abbey Wood Station by Fereday Pollard Architects
● All Saints by EPR Architects
● Love Walk II by Knox Bhavan Architects
● LSBU Hub by WilkinsonEyre
● Peckham House by Surman Weston
● Rotherhithe Primary School by Feilden Clegg Bradley Studios
● Six Columns by 31/44 Architects
● Southwark House Renovation by VATRAA
● St John's Waterloo by Eric Parry Architects
● The Africa Centre by Freehaus
● The Tree House by Bell Phillips
RIBA London (South West)
● Battersea Power Station Phase Two by WilkinsonEyre
● Royal Academy of Dance by Takero Shimazaki Architects
● Somerset Road Covered Courts: All England Lawn Tennis Club by Hopkins Architects
● Sunday Mills by Assael Architecture
● Thames Christian School & Battersea Chapel by Henley Halebrown
● The Department Store Studios by Squire & Partners
RIBA London (West)
● Dukes Meadow Footbridge by Moxon Architects Ltd
● Leighton House by BDP
● National Portrait Gallery by Jamie Fobert Architects and Purcell
● Paddington Elizabeth Line Station by Weston Williamson + Partners
● Pitzhanger Hub by Jo Townshend Architects
● The Parcels Building by Grafton Architects
