RIBA-Arts Council England Client of the Year Award Won by The Royal Botanic Gardens

The Royal Botanic Gardens has won this year’s RIBA-Arts Council Client of the Year Award for their programme of masterplanning and new building which includes: this year’s RIBA Award winning Davies Alpine House by Wilkinson Eyre Architects and John Pawson's new Sackler Crossing (both at Kew Gardens); the Visitor Centre by Walters and Cohen; and the Wellcome Trust Millennium Seed Bank by Stanton Williams (both at Wakehurst Place).

The RIBA-Arts Council England Client of the Year Award annually rewards the vital role a good client plays in the creation of fine architecture, the winner receives a cheque for £5,000 to be spent on a contemporary work of art by an artist working in Britain.

Speaking about the award, the judges said:

“The Royal Botanic Gardens has commissioned a series of fine buildings at Kew and at its country cousin Wakehurst Place over recent years. Their buildings form part of the Royal Botanic Gardens’ ever-growing portfolio of good architecture – a series of structures and buildings which complement both the unique landscapes and the architectural and engineering heritage of the Victorian greenhouses – and also facilitate the vital scientific work undertaken by an institution which is enhancing the experience of the millions of visitors to the two gardens every year.”

This year’s award was judged by members of the RIBA’s Award Group, chaired by architect Jeremy Till, and by Claire Booth, architect at Arts Council England. They considered clients of this year’s RIBA Award-winning schemes, but took into account a track record of previous successful commissioning, particularly where this has led to earlier RIBA Awards.

The Royal Botanical Gardens fought off strong competition from three others on the shortlist:

1. Queen Mary University of London for the Institute of Cell and Molecular Science -The Blizard Building by Alsop Design Ltd + Amec Design + Management and the Lock-keeper’s Graduate Centre by Surface Architects
2. Maggie’s Centres for commissioning a series of high quality buildings including the Maggie’s Highland Cancer Caring Centre in Inverness by Page/Park Architects
3. National Gallery for their programme of works including the recently completed East Wing and Central Portico Phase I by Dixon Jones Ltd with Purcell Miller Tritton

The winner will be presented with their award at a special ceremony at the RIBA Stirling Prize in association with The Architects’ Journal, on Saturday 14 October at the Roundhouse, London.