The Sainsbury Laboratory in Cambridge designed by the British architects Stanton Williams has won the 2012 RIBA Stirling Prize.
A new plant science institute built to advance the research of plant growth and development, it features cutting-edge laboratories, meeting rooms and public spaces set within Cambridge’s botanical gardens.
Alan Stanton and Paul Williams, the directors of the London-based practice, were presented with the £20,000 prize at an award ceremony in Manchester on Saturday. It was the first time that Stanton Williams had been shortlisted for the prize.
Their design was described by RIBA as “a timeless piece of architecture…taken to an extraordinary degree of sophistication and beauty”.
The Sainsbury Laboratory in Cambridge designed by the British architects Stanton Williams has won the 2012 RIBA Stirling Prize.
A new plant science institute built to advance the research of plant growth and development, it features cutting-edge laboratories, meeting rooms and public spaces set within Cambridge’s botanical gardens.
Alan Stanton and Paul Williams, the directors of the London-based practice, were presented with the £20,000 prize at an award ceremony in Manchester on Saturday. It was the first time that Stanton Williams had been shortlisted for the prize.
Their design was described by RIBA as “a timeless piece of architecture…taken to an extraordinary degree of sophistication and beauty”.
Angela Brady, the RIBA president, said: “The Sainsbury Laboratory is an exceptional building that achieves at many levels – in blending a world-class science facility with a public social space in a highly energy efficient building.
“It is testament to the skill, experience and imagination of Stanton Williams architects that they have found a creative solution to this complex project. The low-rise building with its grand, colonnaded façade cleverly integrates itself with the surrounding botanical gardens and it is no surprise that the new public café has proved to be extremely popular.”