British High Commission : Architceture Information

British High Commission, Colombo 2008 Richard Murphy Architects 11 Jun 2009 Edinburgh Architects short listed for the RIBA Lubetkin Prize. The RIBA today announced the shortlist of buildings for the Lubetkin Prize, the prize given to the best building built by an RIBA member architect outside the UK. Richard Murphy Architects are delighted to announce that their completed design for the new British High Commission in the Sri Lankan capital Colombo is on the shortlist. The building officially opened by HRH the Duke of Gloucester last year was won in competition in 2002 and is the only time the Foreign and Commonwealth Office have commissioned a practice from north of the border in modern times. Three buildings in Beijing are on the shortlist; the Olympic 'Birds Nest' Stadium, the Aquatics centre as well as the city's new airport. Also on the list are a community centre in Dublin and a gallery in Munich. Speaking about the short listing Richard Murphy said, "This was a very prestigious project for us to win back in 2002 and we are delighted that all our work since then has resulted in a building of recognised exceptionally high architectural quality. The building also has a very strong environmental agenda as well as being influenced by the great Sri Lankan architect Geoffrey Bawa. It was particularly apt that a Scottish practice won the project as so many of the tea plantations in Sri Lanka (then Ceylon) were planted by Scots" As well as the short listing the building has also been awarded an RIBA Award, the practice's seventeenth, a tally of RIBA Awards which places the practice at the top of the awards league table in Scotland. The prize will be announced at a ceremony in London on July 14th. Images from opening, online 13 May 2008: Images, 1 May 2008: Indian Architecture Malaysian Buildings Sri Lankan Architect : Geoffrey Bawa