Woodlands Nursery and Entopia are shortlisted for RIBA Special Awards

image shows clouds, a blue sky and a wooden building with a fence

Selected from the winners of the RIBA Regional Awards, a small number of projects have been shortlisted for special prizes which will be announced in October at the Stirling Prize ceremony. The Woodlands Nursery has been shortlisted for the Stephen Lawrence Prize and the Entopia Building has been shortlisted for the Reinvention Award.

The Stephen Lawrence Prize celebrates projects led by young architectural talent in honour of Stephen Lawrence, a teenager and aspiring architect who was the victim of a racially motivated attack. Jack Baker's work on the nursery while at Fielden Clegg Bradley Studios has been highlighted. 

The Reinvention Award highlights the best examples of building reuse and retrofit that address environmental, social, and economic sustainability. 
 

Woodlands Nursery at Staffordshire University - The Stephen Lawrence Prize 2025 shortlist

Children playing in a wooden playground with grass areas in the exterior of the single storey Woodlands Day Nursery on a sunny day

Woodlands Nursery is a building for the next generation. The net-zero carbon nursery, set at the edge of woodlands, provides spaces for children to explore, play, and connect with nature.

The single-storey learning centre has been designed to be engaging at child height, with low windows, recessed seating, and external benches. It also contains spaces for trainee teachers and social workers, a forest school, and an outreach service.

Working alongside architects Feilden Clegg Bradley Studios, we provided M&E Engineering and collaboratively developed the operational and embodied carbon strategies.

Read more about Woodlands Nursery on our website:

“The Stephen Lawrence prize celebrates the achievements of early career architects and this year’s shortlist reflects the eclectic magic of architectural endeavour. Many stories are told through these buildings; narratives of delight, integrity and generosity to people, place and planet.

For the jury, these projects will offer memorable visits to a diverse collection of exceptional buildings. We are excited to meet the talent who brought these spaces to life and to hear how their dedication, perseverance and skill overcame the challenges faced. We are privileged to celebrate architectural excellence each year and to sustain the living memorial to Stephen.”

Matthew Goldschmied, Jury Chair, Managing Trustee at the Marco Goldschmied Foundation Read the RIBA shortlist review and comments

Entopia - RIBA Reinvention Award 2025 shortlist

A large communal desk area surrounded by eight orange chairs. One woman is seated at the table and another woman stands at the other end.

The Entopia Building is a deep retrofit of a 1930s former telephone exchange into a sustainable office building that sets new standards for low energy use, carbon emissions, and impact on natural resources, as well as user experience and well-being measured against multiple benchmarks.

The Entopia Building has achieved certification to the Passivhaus EnerPHit (retrofit) standard, BREEAM Outstanding, and is on course to achieve Well Gold certification, alongside the application of ‘circular economy’ principles.

We provided M&E Engineering, Passivhaus, and Acoustics consultancy for the delivery of the retrofitted building.

Read more about the Entopia Building on our website:

“Faced with excellent, diverse entries across sectors, scale, and complexity, the jury had a challenging task. We were looking for exceptional reinvention; regenerative, transformational in form and function, while contributing to society and biodiversity. Four projects rose to the top, including the adaptation of a former 1930s telephone exchange into a sustainable office building in Cambridge, a social and fabric transformation of a derelict church in Kent, a barn transformation in Sussex, and the refurbishment of a Grade II* listed Arts and Craft building in Oxford.

It is testament to the welcome speed of change in the industry that 51% of RIBA UK award winners are for refurbishment or conservation and that the reinvention awards are to such high quality.”

Julia Barfield, Jury Chair and Managing Director, Marks Barfield Architects Read the RIBA shortlist review and comments

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