London Olympic Stadium shortlisted for top architecture prize

 

The new stadium built for the 2012 Summer Olympic Games in London has made the shortlist for Britain's top architecture honor -- the Stirling Prize, from the Royal Institute of British Architects.

The institute said on its website that the stadium design, by the firm Populous, "focuses very much on the ease of movement of the large numbers of people who will use the stadium during the Games." It also said that the "bowl of the stadium provides clear sight lines throughout and a surprisingly intimate relationship with the events for a venue of this scale."

Other structures to make this year's shortlist are the Lyric Theater in Belfast, Northern Ireland; the Hepworth building in Wakefield, England; Maggie's Centre in Glasgow, Scotland; the New Court in London; and the Sainsbury Laboratory in Cambridge, England. 

OMA, the firm headed by Rem Koolhaas, is represented in the shortlist by two structures -- Maggie's Centre, which is a healthcare facility; and the New Court, corporate headquarters for Rothschild Bank, on which OMA collaborated with the firm Allies & Morrison.

The announcement of the winner is scheduled to take place Oct. 13.

The previous Summer Olympic Games took place in Beijing in 2008. The Beijing stadium -- nicknamed The Bird's Nest -- was designed by Herzog & de Meuron, working in partnership with artist Ai Weiwei.