Bill Dunster, founder of ZedFactory
Wouldn’t it be wonderful if the UK architectural profession showed the public how it could really help solve some of our pressing national problems, such as durable and affordable housing that doesn’t kill you, or reducing the carbon footprint of our existing building stock, or even meeting our Paris climate treaty obligations?
Roz Barr of Roz Barr Architects
I was quite shocked [Bloomberg had won the prize]. The rest of the buildings all dealt with community, education, housing. There was a very nice mix and it was one of the strongest shortlists in years. It [Bloomberg] is one of the most capitalist buildings that one could have chosen in a time of austerity. We’re trying to find this middle ground, but then celebrating the building with no budget.
Bloomberg had [its own] constraints. The Stirling Prize is a celebration of good architecture. It’s about good buildings, and [Bloomberg] does set itself apart, but when you think about how much that façade cost per metre, and its contribution to the city: I don’t know.
Chris Romer-Lee, director at Studio Octopi
Last year there was a community festival feel to dRMM winning; this year it feels like business as usual. The money wins it. The first £1 billion Stirling Prize? The building is undoubtedly an exquisite piece of craftsmanship. There is a generosity to the public realm which is welcome.
The building is undoubtedly an exquisite piece of craftsmanship
However, I’d like to understand more how all these hugely expensive gadgets will benefit the workplace market and clients without £1 billion to spend. Heh ho.
Stephen Hodder, of Hodder + Partners and winner of the first Stirling Prize
There is little doubt that Bloomberg is an excellent bravura piece of architecture and congratulations to Foster + Partners and their client. But the RIBA Stirling Prize was conceived to celebrate a building that has made the greatest contribution to British architecture in a given year. Increasingly the prize makes a statement about a future direction in architecture, and architecture’s social purpose has never been more imperative. I believe other buildings on the shortlist are more emblematic of this direction, and make a contribution in more profound ways.
Alan Dunlop of Alan Dunlop Architect
Following the disappointment of last year, when the surprising and bizarre winner was not a building at all, the shortlist for the 2018 Stirling Prize was the strongest in years, containing six extraordinary buildings by exceptional architects.
Foremost among them was Níall McLaughlin, whose Sultan Nazrin Shah Centre looked immaculate and whose work encapsulates the true spirit of Louis Kahn, more than any other architect in practice today. McLaughlin was closely followed by MUMA and its Story’s Field Centre and Eddington Nursery; a wonderfully rich, considered and beautifully constructed building. Stuart McKnight, Simon Usher and Gillian McInnes [of MUMA] were all students at the Mac, so for them to have won would have been great news for the Glasgow School of Art in these terrible times.
But who can argue against Foster and the Bloomberg HQ and what is obviously another incredible work. Many congratulations.
Maurice Shapero of Studio Maurice Shapero
All the shortlisted buildings are designed by teams with no expression of a personal philosophy. They are all incredibly accomplished and beautifully put together, and there are some lovely spaces. But It’s mostly politeness and community consultation, and I want to see a building that hits me in the stomach – even when just viewed on screen. The winner is the ultimate expression of this view in that it’s an amazing example of huge teams somehow coming together on a massive scale. It’s packed with innovation and technological prowess. But it is anonymous.
It’s not really architecture – it’s problem-solving on a very high level
There is no author. It’s not really architecture – it’s problem-solving on a very high level. The winner has the least architecture of all the shortlisted projects, and the others don’t have enough.
Graham West, director at West Architecture
I liked all the projects on this year’s shortlist but this was probably my least favourite. I preferred the quiet ones, simply constructed with a legible end product. For me it was either MUMA or Waugh Thistleton.
Ed Jones, Dixon Jones
I’m increasingly concerned about the Stirling Prize. [How can] a £1 billion project in the City be in competition with a small nursery school? It needs to be like the Oscars where you have different categories. The whole prize needs serious revision.
Dipa Joshi, partner at Fletcher Priest Architects
The new Bloomberg HQ certainly caught my eye walking past; no mean feat with such a wealth of architectural merit in the City. Having just joined Fletcher Priest Architects, with its strong commercial portfolio of innovative workplace design, I see this sector worthy of recognition.
If Sir Norman with the mighty Bloomberg can’t innovate – who can?
Creating such a crafted building benefiting its occupants as well as its surroundings, with the highest sustainability credentials, is commendable. In the current political climate this is a celebration! However, I can’t help supporting the underdog – if Sir Norman with the mighty Bloomberg can’t innovate – who can?
Friedrich Ludewig, director at ACME
Happy with the winner. It is a very very good building, and goes far beyond the usual office developments that are going up elsewhere. It is a shame that the internal configuration of workspaces is unmitigated old-school open plan, so it shows a possible future of office buildings but falls short in showing the future of working and collaborating. And it is a great shame that it cost so much, which makes it easy to critique and hard to replicate. It is a great example of what should be possible, but of limited use to mere mortals as long as this kind of quality comes with this kind of price tag.
Mellis Haward, director at Archio
So the billion-pound office building beat the crafted community centre, and some would say that the judges made the wrong decision.
We may need a decade or so to warm to the aesthetics, but a deserved winner nonetheless
But the prize is for the architectural design, not for the reason for the building. Bloomberg HQ sets wildly high standards for the sustainability of office buildings internationally, and does this while being a good neighbour. We may all need a decade or so to warm to the aesthetics, but a deserved winner nonetheless.
And #British #architecture let’s itself down by choosing #money over #substance, #social and #cultural #important #design. The #wrong #message in today’s #society. There were others more deserving on the #stirlingprize #shortlist https://t.co/hqIcb1Zwbc
— Jonathan Shaw (@jonnysshaw) October 10, 2018
I work near the Bloomberg building. I’m no architect but I can tell you that I always try to find a way to walk past or through it to get to meetings. Yes it’s monumental and possibly already dated a little bit but creates such a great place to simply be.
— Ian Waring (@ianwaring5) October 10, 2018
The profession alienates itself once again – an architect wanting to be a billionaire, billionaire wanting to be an architect. #StirlingPrize #bjilliondollarbuilding
— James Perry (@perry_jims) October 10, 2018
