The south west London buildings that have won 'excellent architecture' awards

A number of south west London buildings have won awards for being “outstanding” pieces of architecture.

The awards have been given by RIBA, the Royal Institute of British Architects, as they name “outstanding works of the built environment” for 2024.

The institute has been celebrating architecture for over 180 years and running the awards for 50 years.

It claims that its awards and prizes are “regarded internationally as a mark of excellence”, recognising architecture, architects, research and students.

A spokesperson for RIBA said: “Successful projects reflect changes and innovations in architecture, but at their core display a commitment to designing and developing buildings and spaces for the improvement and enhancement of people’s lives.”

Battersea Power Station Phase Two

A spokesperson for RIBA said: “Battersea Power Station has been one of the UK’s most widely publicised restoration projects in recent years.

“The once derelict, Grade II listed building has been an important London landmark since its completion in 1941 but, following decommissioning in 1983, has spent more than half of its life as an empty, decaying shell.

“It is now an exemplar of intensive multi-use transformation of a historic building to suit society’s shifting needs.

“Architects Wilkinson Eyre have created a deeply impressive scheme that combines carefully restored heritage assets, high-quality homes, and a contemporary retail experience, all tied together with an industrial aesthetic appropriate to the original power station’s awesome scale and character.”

Royal Academy of Dance

A spokesperson for RIBA said: “The Royal Academy of Dance (RAD) had a long-standing ambition to transfer their operations from a very inefficient, constrained heritage building in Battersea to a new building in the same area.

“This project is the result of CEO Sir Luke Rittner’s vision of a cleverly articulated deal to swap sites with a developer who would also provide significant fit-out funding.

“The RAD’s new home is the ground floor of a new residential tower on a main thoroughfare.

“The spaces were originally intended as a large-scale retail unit, and the structural walls, columns, and mechanical, electrical, and plumbing (MEP) services routes were predefined for the building above.

“Takero Shimazaki Architects have masterfully reimagined them as a network of spacious indoor streets and plazas that elegantly define the public and private activities taking place and demystify the RAD’s work.”

Somerset Road Covered Courts: All England Lawn Tennis Club

A spokesperson for RIBA said: “Somerset Road Covered Courts stand as a testament to the delicate balance between functionality, sustainability, and architectural excellence within the esteemed Wimbledon Tennis Club campus.

“Part of a comprehensive masterplan for the All England Lawn Tennis Club, this indoor tennis facility is designed not only to harmonise with the prestigious outdoor courts, but also to significantly enhance the efficiency of the overall campus for the client.

“It embodies a dual purpose: serving as players’ and VIPs’ secure front door during the Wimbledon Championships, while seamlessly transitioning into a club facility with significantly reduced occupancy demands for the rest of the year.

“The indoor court area is particularly impressive, covered by a column free timber roof with a graceful, undulating form.

“This roof’s curve, which reduces the volume without impacting functionality, is both a nod to the design of 1980s tennis rackets and echoes the trajectory of a lob shot.”

Sunday Mills

A spokesperson for RIBA said: “This 315-apartment development in the suburb of Earlsfield moves the conversation forward on how to produce wonderful places to live and work, in a diverse world of different circumstances.

“The innovative shared-living model provides comfortable, if modest, private living spaces, while granting access to incredible facilities for the residents, from ‘Masterchef’ style kitchens to a range of lounge spaces and very high-quality shared workspace. Inside and out, the form and materiality of the architecture sensitively reference the riverside setting’s industrial past.

“The architects have ingeniously resolved the site’s many constraints and efficiently composed the living areas with daylit corridors, while creating the many and varied generous facilities throughout.

“The result is an elegant example of how the needs for density, sustainability, and social value can all be delivered at once.”

Thames Christian School & Battersea Chapel

A spokesperson for RIBA said: “A massive, brick cuboid sits quietly on the edge of South London’s Winstanley Estate. Large inner city housing blocks and the Clapham Junction railway tracks are its immediate, more raucous, neighbours.

“The new building is enigmatic, both part of the city yet apart from it. In its pale grey, tailored raiment, it has an air of a distinguished, benevolent onlooker.

“Responding to the brief of school and chapel, the architects have created a fascinating typology in which each contributes to the overall form yet operates separately, each façade playing its part.

“The school is entered from the south via a modest courtyard, while to the east the chapel façade breaks out from the building line above onto a small park in a beautiful play of forms.

“Deep courtyards enable naturally ventilated dual aspect classrooms, enhancing the wellbeing of the school’s 400 students, almost half of whom have special educational needs.

The Department Store Studios

A spokesperson for RIBA said: “The Department Store Studios is a new, four-storey workspace building in Brixton, designed to house growing and startup businesses in flexible, affordable studios with shared social facilities and a café.

“The project is a rare example of the architect acting not only as client/developer, but also as the contractor, through a Management Contract.

“Adjacent to the architects’ headquarters in their award-winning transformation of a former department store built in 1906, it has enabled them to further their commitment to their locality.

“It sits in a highly urban context, taking design cues from its Edwardian neighbour, but using a contemporary idiom.

“What stands out is its offer to the community, its generous and well-detailed interiors, and its intelligent response to its parent building that is respectful without feeling subservient or relying on pastiche.”