Jonathan Morrison
Elizabeth Line wins prize for architecture — dividing critics
Critics question whether the £18.8 billion project, which was over budget and four years late, is engineering or architecture
Whisking 700,000 passengers across London on a typical day and encompassing 62 miles of track and 26 miles of tunnels, there’s no doubt that the Elizabeth Line, opened by the late Queen in May 2022, has transformed travel in the capital for the better. But one question remains: is it really architecture?
On Wednesday, the Elizabeth Line collected the Stirling prize, usually awarded to the country’s best new building, at a lavish ceremony at the Roundhouse in Camden, prompting critics to ponder just how much of the £18.8 billion project can be considered architecture and how much of it is actually engineering. Given that it was also plagued by cost overruns of £4 billion and delivered three and a half years late, it may prove the most controversial winner of the Stirling prize, conferred annually by the Royal Institute of British Architects (Riba), for many years.
Undeniably the Elizabeth Line was a mammoth undertaking — quite literally, as one of the 20 archaeological digs along the route discovered the remains of a 55 million-year-old Mammuthus primigenius (other finds included Tudor bowling balls and medieval ice skates fashioned from animal bones).
The late Queen visited Paddington in May 2022 before the opening of the new line (ANDREW MATTHEWS/AFP/GETTY IMAGES)
Ten new stations were built and 31 were upgraded as the purple-themed network threaded its way through existing Tube lines, cables and sewage pipes. It excavated six million tonnes of earth and inserted 250,000 pre-cast concrete segments to connect Reading and Heathrow in the west with Abbey Wood and Shenfield in the east.
However, Ian Ritchie, a British architect who is a longstanding authority on the Stirling prize, argued that the actual architectural element of the line consisted mostly of “extensive interior design — endless tiling over an excellent civil engineering project”.
“What does the Stirling actually represent any more?” he asked. “Surely the Elizabeth Line is engineering infrastructure. By all means give it to the engineers — that would show respect and help dissolve professional design apartheid — but it’s hardly evolutionary architecture.”
The Elizabeth Line beat five other shortlisted schemes to scoop the Stirling, which was won last year by the John Morden Centre, a brick-built retirement daycare facility in London, by Mae.
The shortlist was also not without controversy, given that four of the six projects were in the capital, prompting allegations of “London-centricity” from the professional body. Along with the Elizabeth Line, these were: a masterplan for King’s Cross by the firm Allies and Morrison, which over a period of 23 years regenerated a formerly grim area by creating new streets and squares; the restoration of the National Portrait Gallery, by Jamie Fobert and Purcell; and Chowdhury Walk, by Al-Jawad Pike, which took an inauspicious plot in Hackney previously occupied by garages and created 11 homes.
The King’s Cross regeneration scheme made the controversial shortlist, which was criticised for being London-centric )JOHN STURROCK)
The two other contenders were Wraxall Yard in Dorset, by Clementine Blakemore, which converted a dilapidated dairy farm into accessible holiday accommodation, and Park Hill phase two, the latest stage in refurbishing the huge brutalist structure that overlooks Sheffield and the subject of Standing at the Sky’s Edge, the award-winning musical by Richard Hawley.
The restoration of the National Portrait Gallery by Jamie Fobert and Purcell was also shortlisted (JIM STEPHENSON)
Alan Dunlop, a professor at Liverpool University and a past Riba award-winner, said: “There were some good projects on the shortlist but overall it is a disappointing effort when compared to the past few years. As for the Elizabeth Line, it is a solid infrastructure project but it is neither green nor inspirational, missing the Riba’s commitment to net-zero building and rewarding excellence in architecture’.”
Andrew Waugh, of Waugh Thistleton, a firm that specialises in eco-friendly design, also queried the shortlist’s green credentials, given Riba’s stated focus on sustainability. “These are all competent projects, but are any of them really pioneering?” he said. “None of them meaningfully address our industry’s massive impact on climate change.”
Chowdhury Walk in Hackney, designed by the firm Al-Jawad Pike (PA)
The prize was collected by Grimshaw, Maynard, Equation and AtkinsRéalis, who were responsible for much of the overall line-wide design. Surprisingly Julian Robinson, the architect who oversaw the project for Transport for London and was partly responsible for the smooth, retro-futuristic style of the platforms and concourses, was not named in the citation. The firms that worked on individual stations, such as Wilkinson Eyre at Liverpool Street, Fereday Pollard at Abbey Wood and John McAslan + Partners at the delayed Bond Street, also missed out.
Speaking on behalf of the Riba Stirling prize jury, Muyiwa Oki, the Riba president, said: “The Elizabeth Line is a triumph in architect-led collaboration, offering a flawless, efficient, beautifully choreographed solution to inner-city transport.
“It’s an uncluttered canvas that incorporates a slick suite of architectural components to create a consistent, line-wide identity — through which thousands of daily passengers navigate with ease. This is architecture of the digital age — a vast scheme that utilises cutting-edge technology to create distinctive spatial characteristics and experiences.”
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