A multi-million pound facelift

The pier was destroyed by fire in 2010

The Shortlist

The first finalist is the new City Campus at the City of Glasgow College, which is part of a project to turn the college's 11 buildings into two. The judges said: "There is an astonishing scale and complexity to the brief for this project and considerable architectural skill is demonstrated in its realisation; not just in resolving the brief, but in the contribution to the city."

Hastings Pier was reopened to the public in April 2016, five-and-a-half years after a devastating fire which caused widespread damage. The judges said: "The new pier is not a lonely pier; rather, it is extremely welcoming in its design, with free, open entry to the public. It offers flexibility, material and functional sustainability, and an uninterrupted vista of the natural and built surroundings."

The Photography Studio for Juergen Teller in west London consists of three buildings and gardens. The judges said: "The project is a mature and confident statement of orderliness and precision, whilst also being relaxed and playful. It forms a refined, yet flexible workplace, which is already beginning to act as a setting to prompt and influence on the work of its client."

The British Museum World Conservation and Exhibitions Centre was built with money from a legacy to enhance the way the museum's collections are stored. The judges said: "This building is the realisation of an extremely complicated brief in terms of spatial challenges, technical requirements, and engineering technologies. Its achievement derives from the elegant and simple way these challenges are met, while maintaining a clear and coherent diagram and a refined and rational building enclosure."

The Command of the Oceans display at The Historic Dockyard Chatham opened to the public last year. The judges said: “This project is a champion for progressive conservation, inventive reuse and adaptation of existing fabric. The importance of the historic fabric has been clearly understood, which has allowed freedom in other areas to change the circulation and the reading of the buildings to give the whole complex of buildings a new lease of life."

Barrett's Grove is a cross-laminated timber housing scheme in London's Stoke Newington, which is set in a conservation area. The judges said: "The staggered hit-and-miss brick skin of the façade makes a larger-than-usual pattern, which fits the tallness of the overall building. Wrapping the skin up and over the roof, emphasises the simplicity of the building’s form."

Summary

Hastings Pier, which reopened in April 2016, beat five other buildings to the Royal Institute of British Architects (Riba) Stirling Prize.

Now in its 22nd year, it is presented annually to the UK's best new building.

Riba president Ben Derbyshire described the "stunning, flexible new pier" as "a masterpiece of regeneration".

He also praised Hastings' locals for finding 3,000 shareholders to buy £100 stakes in "the people's pier”.

However it was revealed last month that Hastings Pier made insufficient money over summer to cover costs and that it had to make some staff redundant.

The chair of trustees said they were working on a new business plan.

Other buildings shortlisted for this year's prize included the new City Campus at the City of Glasgow College and the Barrett's Grove housing scheme in north London.

Originally built in 1872, Hastings Pier was judged Pier of the Year in April following its £14.2m restoration.

The redevelopment took more than two years.

The rebuilt pier was designed by dRMM Architects, a London-based firm named after founders Alex de Rijke, Philip Marsh and Sadie Morgan.

Accepting the prize, de Rijke praised the other nominees, saying: "You've all done fine buildings, but it seems that this year what really captured the imaginations was not doing one - in favour of making public space."