Olympic Stadium on prize shortlist

The Olympic Stadium, which has been shortlisted for the Royal Institute of British Architects' Stirling Prize
22 July 2012

The Olympic Stadium, which will shortly host the opening ceremony of the 2012 Games, has been shortlisted for the UK's most prestigious architecture prize.

The stadium, by Populous, is one of six new buildings to be shortlisted for the Royal Institute of British Architects' (Riba) Stirling Prize.

Judges said: "There is a spirit of fun - they have designed a space to create an amazing atmosphere, where every seat has a great view."

Bookmaker William Hill has given odds of 5/1 that the stadium will win the £20,000 prize.

The Stirling Prize is now in its 17th year and celebrates the best of new British architecture. The winner will be announced in Manchester in October.

The favourite to walk away with the prize is David Chipperfield Architects, for their Hepworth Wakefield gallery in Yorkshire. The company is the only previous Riba Stirling Prize winner on this year's shortlist. In 2007, it scooped the award for the Museum of Modern Literature in Marbach, Germany.

Also nominated is OMA's Maggie's Centre at Gartnaval Hospital in Glasgow, which was described as "thoughtful and intimate" by the judging panel. The doughnut-shaped building is set in the old hospital car park, which has now been landscaped into a woodland.

OMA has also been nominated for the new Rothschild's Bank building at New Court in London, designed with Allies and Morrison.

Riba said heritage and education were strong themes in this year's shortlist, with the the Sainsbury Laboratory housing Charles Darwin's collection, and the Lyric Theatre in Belfast making the shortlist along with New Court and Hepworth Wakefield.

The Sainsbury Laboratory, by Stanton Williams, is a "stimulating working environment" to attract world-class scientists, the judges said. It was praised for its energy efficiency and green approach. Rainwater is collected from the roof and stored in two huge tanks which irrigate the garden's glasshouse and plant chambers.

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