GALLERY | Aviva Studios among North West RIBA winners
Sheppard Robson, 10architect, Smith Young Architects, and OMA received accolades for their North West-based projects.
The four winning projects are:
- Aviva Studios – Factory International, by OMA
- The School of Science, Engineering and Environment at the University of Salford
- The Catkin Centre and Sunflower House, by Cullinan Studio with 10architect
- Vestige, by Smith Young Architects
An expert jury, which visited all shortlisted projects, cast the votes.
The jury consisted of five experts:
- Dominic Wilkinson, Jury Chair, Liverpool John Moores University
- Sandy Britton, regional rep, Liverpool University
- Andrew Stephen, Lay Assessor, Max Fordham
- Alexandra Fairclough, conservation expert, design and conservation at Bolton Council
- Dave Lomax, sustainability expert, Waugh Thistleton Architects
Scroll down for a full gallery of images from the shortlisted projects.
Credit: Marco Cappelletti
Aviva Studios – Factory International, by OMA
Though troubled in its delivery, with Manchester City Council seeing construction costs more than double to £241m, the 143,000 sq ft events and arts venue has risen to prominence over the past year as “a major financial investment in the cultural life of England’s second city”.
Aviva Studios’ functionality, ability to negotiate sensitive listed buildings, and OMA’s success in resolving the “conflicting requirements” of the multi-purpose arts venue were all praised.
The RIBA jury lauded the building’s low-ceilinged entrance, which allows for more internal space, as “the moody northern equivalent of the lobby of London’s Royal Festival Hall”.
Credit: Jack Hobhouse
The School of Science, Engineering and Environment at the University of Salford, by Sheppard Robson.
Salford University’s Peel Park Campus hosts the 165,000 sq ft education space, which offers specialist labs, design studios, and flexible social spaces to university students.
Notes from the RIBA jury praised the buildings’ “strong identity”, highlighting its distinct red rimmed windows and added that its entrance and atrium provide “a shop window for the exciting engineering activities within”.
Jurors appreciated the architect’s “complex brief” and commended the team’s “clarity of vision, from design to implementation”.
Morgan Sindall was the main contractor who delivered the scheme, which was conceived in 2017 and faced challenges throughout the Covid pandemic.
Credit: Paul Raftery
The Catkin Centre and Sunflower House, by Cullinan Studio with 10architect
Alder Hey Children’s NHS Foundation Trust will be the beneficiary of the twin-building scheme in Liverpool, which jurors said was “infused with humanity”.
Sunflower House is a secure tier-four mental health inpatient unit with a central garden and “small details [that] respond to human needs”.
Its neighbour, the Caktin Centre, will serve as an outpatient clinic, covering conditions such as ASD and ADHD.
The RIBA jury said the architectural team took on the challenge of such a site with “confidence and flair”, and successfully avoided the “traditional clinical appearance of NHS environments”.
Credit: Daniel Hopkinson
Vestige, by Smith Young Architects
The four-bedroom house slots into its Edwardian street inconspicuously, matching the scale and massing of its neighbours with its contemporary reset built on top of its predecessor’s brick base.
With a nod to sustainable development, much of the house is built with reused and salvaged material, reducing its carbon footprint and cost of construction.
Internally the focus is on space maximisation married with simplicity – utility spaces hidden beneath stairs, sliding doors, and a “surprise around every corner”.
The four bedrooms are arranged around a landing with a central balcony viewing down into the entrance hall.
Although jurors admitted that it is “not a grand house”, it remains a “bold, contemporary, cleverly planned, carefully detailed example of the benefits of using an architect for a domestic project”.
RIBA North West Award winners will now be considered for a RIBA National Award in recognition of their architectural excellence, to be announced on 10 July.
The RIBA Stirling Prize for the best building of the year will be drawn from the RIBA National Award-winning projects later in the year.
Dominic Wilkinson, Chair of the RIBA North West jury and principal lecturer at Liverpool John Moores University, said the award winners present a “diverse example of the positive impact architecture can have on the lives of its users”, adding the winners “illustrate the value for clients and the public in commissioning quality architecture”.
Muyiwa Oki, RIBA President, said: “This year’s winners exemplify architecture’s power to transform—turning spaces into places of connection, creativity, and care.
“Our 2025 winners show a deep sensitivity to place and a strong coherence of thought between all teams involved.”
Click on any image to launch gallery
- The Catkin Centre and Sunflower House, Alder Hay Children's Hospital, Liverpool. Credit: Paul Raftery
- The Catkin Centre and Sunflower House, Alder Hay, Liverpool Children's Hospital, Liverpool. Credit: Paul Raftery
- The Catkin Centre and Sunflower House, Alder Hay Children's Hospital, Liverpool. Credit: Paul Raftery
- Aviva Studios, Factory International. Credit: Marco Cappelletti
- Aviva Studios, Factory International. Credit: Marco Cappelletti
- Aviva Studios, Factory International. Credit: Marco Cappelletti
- Aviva Studios, Factory International. Credit: Marco Cappelletti
- Aviva Studios, Factory International is perhaps the most well known on the list. Credit: Marco Cappelletti
- The School of Science, Engineering and Environment (SEE) Building. Credit: Jack Hobhouse
- The School of Science, Engineering and Environment (SEE) Building. Credit: Jack Hobhouse
- The School of Science, Engineering and Environment (SEE) Building. Credit: Jack Hobhouse
- The School of Science, Engineering and Environment (SEE) Building. Credit: Jack Hobhouse
- The School of Science, Engineering and Environment (SEE) Building. Credit: Jack Hobhouse
- Vestige. Credit: Daniel Hopkinson
- Vestige. Credit: Daniel Hopkinson
- Vestige. Credit: Daniel Hopkinson
- Vestige. Credit: Daniel Hopkinson
- Vestige. Credit: Daniel Hopkinson
- The Catkin Centre and Sunflower House, Alder Hay Children's Hospital, Liverpool. Credit: Paul Raftery
- The Catkin Centre and Sunflower House, Alder Hay Children's Hospital, Liverpool. Credit: Paul Raftery
I visited Aviva Studios recently and genuinely had one of the best gig experiences of my life. Whether you like the look of it or not, Manchester is smashing the cultural venues out of the park.
By Anonymous
City of Birmingham is this country’s second city.
By Anonymous
It’s fair to say the School of Science, Engineering and Environment is a fairly unremarkable building, in a stronger year, it’s unlikely it would have stood out as an award contender. Similarly, while the scale of Aviva Studios is undeniably impressive, it falls short architecturally, with clumsy detailing and a lack of refinement that undermines its ambition
By 3D Chess Player
At least someone likes Aviva. It’s Manchester’s very own Red Rock
By Anonymous
Factory: the repurposed toy r us shed with a substation stuck on it. Boom: aviva studios. Emperor’s clothes.
Take a serious look at the Imperial war museum north, that’s quality civic architecture at a fraction of the cost.
By House Martin
City of Birmingham is the second city – GIVE OVER – Manchester, Bristol, Liverpool, Newcastle and Leeds have all far more to offer.
By Anonymous
I’ve also great experience of gigs and exhibitions at Factory and I know I’m in the minority but I really like the design.
By Anonymous
There is an interesting article in the Telegraph about gentrification. It makes extremely interesting reading, if you are from Manchester or Salford. The Metropolitan area, is now so far ahead of its regional rivals on almost every measure, the second city debate is a bit pointless. Birmingham is bigger than Manchester but on important matters it is trailing all our major cities now, particularly on wages, and job creation and new industries.
By Elephant
Its seriously UGLY
By Anonymous
The construction costs at Aviva Studios / Factory doubled thanks in large part to the proximity of those ugly residential blocks built right next door. I don’t understand why the developers of those blocks, which commenced after, didn’t pick up the cost of sound proofing. Why were the costs dumped onto the public sector?
Anyway, beyond that, I personally really like the building even if it’s hemmed in a bit too much. Has it achieved its aim to become a national venue that just happens to be based in Manchester though? Is it attracting productions of that calibre?
By Anonymous