The shortlist has been announced for the 2021 RIBA Stirling Prize, awarded each year to the UK’s best new building. Six buildings will be in contention for the award, which is now in its 25th edition. Among the projects vying for the award are a mosque in Cambridge, a bridge on the south coast of England, and a residential and office scheme in London with a distinctive limestone façade.

“The 2021 RIBA Stirling Prize shortlist demonstrates the innovation and ambition that lies at the heart of exceptional architecture,” said RIBA President Simon Allford on the shortlist’s unveiling. “As we navigate major global challenges, from a global pandemic to the climate emergency, this shortlist demonstrates the critical role that UK architects play in creating thoughtful and sustainable places and spaces.”

The overall winner of the 2021 Stirling Prize will be revealed on October 14th. Below, we have compiled the six shortlisted projects, along with an extract of the jury citation for each.

15 Clerkenwell Close by GROUPWORK

Citation: “It is clear hearing the architect talk about the project, including a lengthy analysis of the history of the site dating back to an C11th Norman Abbey, that the thoroughness and care that has gone into every thought and every inch of the project, crossed the border of obsession very early in the process. The result is a truly bespoke, hand crafted work of art, but one that has a grace and balance suggesting that the obsession was harnessed rather than letting the madness in.”

Cambridge Central Mosque by Marks Barfield Architects

Citation: “The urban intervention of inserting a mosque capable of welcoming 1,000 worshipers within a low rise, residential neighborhood, without dominating it, is masterful. Its presence is clear but modest, considering the size of the mosque relative to the two-story terrace houses around it. This is achieved by setting it back from the street, progressing through the Islamic garden, then gradually increasing in scale to the front portico, atrium with cafe to one side and study center to the other, through to central ablution areas. The building then rises at the rear to the largest mass of the prayer hall, which shifts in geometry to face Mecca.”

Key Worker House by Stanton Williams

Citation: “This urban approach of ‘loose’ interconnected courtyards is very successful and creates a delightful series of spaces. The walk from Market Square through four interwoven courts to reach Landscape Court is a pleasure, and easily accessible by all. The landscaping, both hard and soft, is particularly successful in integrating the buildings within a holistic and rigorous external environment.”

Kingston University London Town House by Grafton Architects

Citation: “Of the two ambitious projects from the same client to make the shortlist, the Town House is the more conventional architectural project. It is very accomplished. The challenging brief framed a bold aspiration to design the beating heart for Kingston University within a building worthy of the international stage. Combining two dynamically opposed uses — dance studio and library — the result is both technically and spatially excellent, generating a warm, dynamic energy that truly captures the spirit of learning.”

Tintagel Castle Footbridge by Ney & Partners and William Matthews Associates

Citation: “Retracing the approximate width and length of the natural land-bridge and castle structures that have long since fallen into the water, the bridge notionally links past with present and physically connects two stranded sections of the castle precinct. With its highly ceremonial presence, articulated in every piece of finely crafted stainless steel, it also allows contemporary visitors to retrace the steps of predecessors who would have passed through this section of the castle to gain entry to the grand hall on the island side.”

Windermere Jetty Museum by Carmody Groarke

Citation: “Nestling into the eastern shore of Lake Windermere, the Jetty Museum creates a compelling composition of vernacular forms which achieves an unusual reconciliation of the reassuringly familiar with the strikingly contemporary. When seen from the lake, its dark shed-like buildings are embedded in the wooded hillside behind, but on arrival, the museum exudes the confident identity of a major cultural institution.”