Overview

• Six projects made the shortlist: Appleby Blue Almshouse in Bermondsey, the London College of Fashion in Stratford, Hastings House in East Sussex, Niwa House in South London, AstraZeneca’s Discovery Centre in Cambridge, and the restoration of the Elizabeth Tower.
• The Elizabeth Tower works were cited by the jury as a masterclass in conservation and the most comprehensive programme undertaken in the tower’s 160-plus years.
• Heritage specialist Purcell led the tower restoration using traditional materials and specialist crafts to correct earlier interventions and repair Second World War damage.
• Accessibility improvements at the tower include a new visitor lift that opens the landmark to a wider audience.
• The shortlist spans social and later-life housing, higher education, a private home and a biomedical research hub, with the London College of Fashion described as a vertical campus that bills itself as the UK’s tallest higher-education building.