Stirling Prize 2022 (1)

I am somewhat relieved that I correctly predicted who should win this year’s Stirling Prize, having visited all those nominated apart from the one in Falkirk (see https://thecritic.co.uk/issues/october-2022/stirling-work/). I know only too well that juries can be a touch arbitrary, influenced by the circumstances in which they see the buildings, the views of those who show them round, the sequence in which they see them, the judges’ attitude towards the architects and sense of who might deserve it. But the New Library in Magdalene is indisputably one of the best buildings I have seen in a long time: built for eternity (400 years); using the best possible materials; interestingly complex in its layout; beautiful in its adjencies to the surrounding buildings; sensitive to its site, but not revivalist. So, in every way, a worthy winner and a building to celebrate (although not easy to visit in term-time).

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