Contenders lined up for new architecture prize

An Ottawa war museum, a Toronto university building and an installation commemorating the struggle against apartheid in South Africa are contenders for the inaugural Lubetkin Prize for architecture, the Royal Institute for British Architects said Friday.

The institute, known as RIBA, cited the Canadian War Museum in Ottawa, a sweeping building with a grass roof designed jointly by Moriyama and Teshima Architects and Griffiths Rankin Cook Architects.

The striking, factory-style Red Location Museum of the People’s Struggle in New Brighton, South Africa, by Noero Wolff Architects is also nominated, along with the sophisticated, light-filled Terence Donnelly Centre in Toronto, by Behnisch Architekten with architects Alliance.

The prize will be given annually for the most outstanding work of architecture outside the European Union by a RIBA member. The winner will be announced at a dinner at London’s Hilton Hotel on June 23.

Contenders on the long list for the first Lubetkin Prize included 173-176 Perry Street, New York, by Richard Meier & Partners, and a bridge in Maosi Village, China, by the Department of Architecture and the Chinese University of Hong Kong.

The British Council building in Lagos, Nigeria, by Allies and Morrison was also on the list, along with the Wohl Center in Israel by Studio Daniel Libeskind and the Heder Partnership.

RIBA President Jack Pringle said the prize will “highlight the significant achievements of our members across the globe” as well as honor leading RIBA member Berthold Lubetkin.

Lubetkin’s daughter, Sasha, will present the winner with a plaque based on her father’s design for the Penguin Pool at London Zoo. It was designed and made by artist Petr Weigl.