News Report
The RIBA longlist
Leisure projects celebrated in RIBA’s list of world’s best new buildings
The Royal Institute of British Architects (RIBA) has announced the RIBA International List 2018, a biennial selection of the world’s best new buildings.
A number of leisure projects are included in the prestigious longlist, including high-profile museums designed by the likes of Heatherwick Studio, Stanton Williams, AL_A and Bjarke Ingels Group.
Libraries, cultural centres, a hotel and a concert hall are also recognised among the 62 buildings from 28 countries that made the cut.
The longlist was selected from entries to the 2018 RIBA International Prize. It will now be whittled down to create a shortlist, with the Grand Jury – chaired by architect Elizabeth Diller – set to choose the ultimate winner in December 2018.
The prize was established in 2016 to celebrate brilliant global design. It is open to any qualified architect in the world, for a building of any size, type or budget.
In 2016 the Universidad de Ingeniería y Tecnología (UTEC) in Lima, designed by Grafton Architects, became the first ever winner.
Zeitz Museum of Contemporary African Art
Heatherwick Studio with Van Der Merwe Miszewski Architects, Rick Brown Associates and Jacobs Parker - Cape Town, South Africa
Since opening last year, this striking museum, carved into a historic grain silo, has received acclaim from visitors and critics alike.
Kunstmuseum Basel
Christ & Gantenbein - Basel, Switzerland
Over 3,000sq m of gallery and events space has been added in this monolithic expansion to one of Switzerland’s most important art museums
Mulan Weichang Visitor Centre
HDD- Weichang, China
For this project, modern materials have been combined with traditional design to create a yurt camouflaged among the surrounding grasslands.
King Fahad National Library
Gerber Architekten - Riyadh, Saudi Arabia
This project, one of the most important cultural buildings in Saudi Arabia, was designed to present “a new architectural image” for the capital, Riyadh.
The Palestinian Museum
heneghan peng architects with Arabtech Jardaneh - Birzeit, Palestine
The building is sensitively integrated into the landscape, but has also been designed with an assertive form that has a distinctive identity.
Structures of Landscape at Tippet Rise Arts Center
Ensamble Studio - Yellowstone Park, US
Ensamble created an otherworldly series of immense sculptures for an arts venue on a ranch near Yellowstone National Park.
Beyazit State Library
Tabanlioglu Architects - Istanbul, Turkey
For their work on Istanbul’s oldest library, the architects re-organised the interiors, added an inflatable membrane and restored the historic building.
