RIBA awards 2011: the winners

27/07/2011. Competition. RIBA [LON] UK
metalocus, JOSÉ JUAN BARBA

The RIBA awards 2011 are here and although some people confuse the English character with the critic regionalism of Kenneth Frampton, I still seems excessive the verbose of awards deployment in every regions of the globe, that is done in this contest. Segregation that often makes no sense, trying to distinguish or differentiate the architecture that is being done in Europe that is done in Asia or America. Globalization is so brutal that it is a little bored to see a regionalism performance against a Movement (international), that does not exist as a stylistic process, however maybe it is possible economic or technological.

Balancing Barn, Suffolk, by MVDRV One of a new generation of holiday homes devised by the writer and broadcaster Alain de Botton for those in search of a kind of Grand Designs-meets-Landmark Trust experience. This one, by the Dutch architects MVDRV, is certainly amusing

Balancing Barn, Suffolk, by MVDRV One of a new generation of holiday homes devised by the writer and broadcaster Alain de Botton for those in search of a kind of Grand Designs-meets-Landmark Trust experience. This one, by the Dutch architects MVDRV, is certainly amusing

An Gaelaras, Derry, by O’Donnell + Tuomey The Irish Language Arts and Cultural Centre, Derry, is tucked away into what appears to be an improbably narrow site; it opens out unexpectedly inside through a light-filled atrium and stairwells to handsome performance spaces

Loft Garden, Istanbul, by Tabanlioglu A brave new attempt to create loft-like apartments within a high-rise concrete tower – a city of sorts within its own walls, complete with gardens, terraces and internal streets. The kind of thing Le Corbusier did 60 years ago, seen through fresh eyes

Galleria Centrecity, Cheonan, Korea, by UN Studio A luminous and arresting shopping mall that doubles up as an art gallery and public meeting place, blurring the boundaries between art and commerce

Masdar Institute, Abu Dhabi, by Foster and Partners The new eco-city being constructed close to Abu Dhabi’s city towers; a utopian architecture aimed at making modern living in the desert and intense heat both possible and as sustainable as possible

Love Shack, Cumbria, by Sutherland Hussey “We wanted the house to be environmentally conscious but luxurious, and above all very beautiful”, say its owners, Karen Guthrie, an artist and film-maker, and Adam Sutherland, director of Grizedale Arts. “Influences ranged from the film The Ice Storm to traditional Japanese architecture, to the Bat Cave ..." Overlooking Lake Windermere, it is simple, ingenious and very special

Marshland Discovery Zone, Purfleet, Essex by Peter Beard/Landroom Freight containers converted very convincingly into bird hides and set in the Essex marshes for the RSPB

Guangzhou Opera House, Guangzhou, China, by Zaha Hadid A theatrical tour-de-force: Hadid’s opera house acts a cultural anchor for a vast new extension of Guangzhou’s city centre. The main auditorium is like some fairytale grotto brought bang up to date

In any case, the result always very self-centered, the large number of Englishmen who get awards, it is interesting. Here you have some of the winners, certainly not by region. If you know of areas you can visit the link for the RIBA, from a winery in Spain to a community hall on the Scottish Hebridean island of Raasay, and in style from the Royal Shakespeare Theatre in Stratford to Love Shack - a self-build hideaway in the Lake District National Park. The recently completed Velodrome is the first ever 2012 Olympics event building to win an architecture prize.