The shortlist for the prestigious 2012 RIBA Stirling Prize has been announced.

The shortlist features six exceptional and completely different buildings from across the UK, now set to go head to head for architecture's highest accolade and a £20,000 prize from the Royal Institute of British Architects (RIBA). The RIBA Stirling Prize is now in its seventeeth year; the 2012 winner will be announced at a special event in Manchester on Saturday 13 October.


This years nominees include:

• The Hepworth, Wakefield

• Lyric Theatre, Belfast

• Maggie’s Centre, Glasgow

• New Court, London

• Olympic Stadium, London

• Sainsbury Laboratory, Cambridge

Previously known as The Building of the Year Award, the winner of the Stirling Prize is decided by a panel of different juries visiting the 'midlist' and shortlist. Every year the prize is presented to the architects of the building that has made the greatest contribution to the evolution of architecture over the past year. The prize is for projects 'built or designed in Britain'. Buildings are eligible if they are in the UK or EU, and designed by an architect whose head office is in the UK. This years RIBA Stirling Prize will be presented by BBC Radio 4's Mark Lawson at a ceremony at Manchester Central on 13 October.

(HMc)