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Saturday, 6 October 2007, 20:18 GMT 21:18 UK

Video shortlist for architecture prize

Short list entries Six buildings by British architects were shortlisted for the Stirling Prize for Architecture 2007, awarded by the Royal Institute of British Architects (RIBA).

The £20,000 prize - won by the Museum of Modern Literature in Marbach am Neckar, Germany, and designed by David Chipperfield Architects - is awarded to the architects of the building that has made the greatest contribution to British architecture in the past year.

Previous winners include Barajas Airport by Richard Rogers Partnership and The Scottish Parliament building by EMBT/RMJM Ltd.

Razia Iqbal on what the prize says about British architecture

Follow the links for details and video of the buildings.

AMERICA'S CUP BUILDING, Valencia, Spain


America's Cup Building The Spanish port city of Valencia hosted the America's Cup last year - and needed a new building and park as the centrepiece. Architects David Chipperfield came up with the America's Cup Building, and after just 11 months of work, the four storey, white concrete pavilion appeared.

Sixty percent of the building is actually outdoor space, and the public can walk through the lower levels.

CASA DA MUSICA, Porto, Portugal


Casa Da Musica

Now a dominant feature of the Porto skyline, the striking Casa Da Musica concert hall was designed by Dutch architect Rem Koolhaas's Office for Metropolitan Architecture with British engineers Arup.

Work started when Porto was European Culture Capital in 2001, but the building was only finished in 2005. It has two main auditoriums - Lou Reed performed at the opening concert.

DRESDEN STATION REDEVELOPMENT, Dresden, Germany


Dresden Station Redevelopment Dresden's train station was badly damaged by Allied bombing during the air raids in 1945 - and the later attempts to repair and update it have been described as "unsympathetic".

It is perhaps appropriate that the redevelopment of the station should be designed by British architects. Foster and Partners decided to replace the original timber and glass roof of the train shed with a lightweight fabric.

MUSEUM OF MODERN LITERATURE, Marbach, Germany


Museum of Modern Literature

The second nomination for architects David Chipperfield, the Museum of Modern Literature was designed to house the best of modern German writing - including the archives of dramatist Freidrich Schiller and the original manuscripts of Franz Kafka's The Trial.

The rooms containing the most delicate texts had to be dimly lit with a constant temperature of 18C and relative humidity of 50%.

THE SAVILL BUILDING, Windsor, UK


The Savill Building

Designed by Glenn Howells Architects as a dramatic pavilion and opened in 2006, the Savill Building is made from timber taken from the surrounding park.

It has an undulating roof, shaped like a leaf - a specially trained team of up to 20 carpenters worked on it for 12 months (and apparently drank 7,500 cups of tea in the process).

YOUNG VIC THEATRE, London


Young Vic Theatre

The original Young Vic theatre was meant to be temporary, and built on a budget of £60,000 in 1970. Now the theatre has been taken apart and put back together again by architects Haworth Tompkins in a project costing £12.5m.

One of the spaces was originally a Victorian butcher's shop - and it remains as the theatre's main entrance and box office.




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Related to this story:
In pictures: Stirling Prize (27 Jul 07 |  In Pictures )
Six in bid for architecture prize (26 Jul 07 |  UK )
In pictures: Stirling Prize (25 Aug 06 |  In Pictures )

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