Winners include creative adaptations of 1960s estates and schools, plus gasholders and a gin distillery

Charles Dickens School, London, by Maccreanor Lavington (phs: Tim Crocker)

“This project is the expansion of Charles Dickens School delivers 130 additional pupil places while increasing outdoor play space and gifting a welcoming forecourt to the public realm. The design team and head teacher had a great working relationship and worked closely to deliver the best improvements for the school.”

Dartmouth Park House, London, by AY Architects (phs: Nick Kane, Anthony Boulanger)

“Beginning as a modest conversion of an over-developed Victorian terraced house, the project became an ambitious redevelopment of the entire building. By reflecting the client’s personal travels and interests, AY Architects have created an unusual and exotic home.”

De Beauvoir Block, London, by Henley Halebrown (phs: Nick Kane)

“An exemplar collaborative workplace, providing an inspiring environment for start-up businesses to begin and grow. The new work units, which sit on top of the existing industrial building, are timber-framed studios wrapped in EPDM. These black rubber blocks are low-cost and innovative, and their contemporary design sits well within the historic warehouse brick.”

Faraday House, London, by dRMM Architects and Simpson Haugh (phs: Andy Stagg, French & Tye)

“On a difficult site located on the western edge of the Battersea Power Station masterplan this small development has brought delight in its form, material use and typological arrangement. An architecture of experience and movement, the complex arrangement of homes is typologically sound and successfully finds a balance between circulation experience, unit distribution, perimeter definition and material identity. A delightful housing scheme where the architect has created wonderful homes on a less than optimal site.”

Fitzrovia House, London, by Carmody Groarke (phs: Johan Dehlin)

“The fusion of careful restoration and reductionist contemporary interventions has created an elegant family home for its art collector clients. Spatially, the transition between old and new is blended and given continuity with a palette of white materials, from painted plaster and wood in the Regency rooms, to white Carrara marble and light timber in walls, floors and fittings in all the newly created spaces. Every opportunity has been taken to exploit the original form within the cannon of classical proportion and restrained form and detail. The outcome is a very beautiful but vital home, tailored with great dexterity.”

Gasholder Park, London, by Bell Phillips Architects (phs: John Sturrock)

“A delightful public space created within the constraints of the grade-II-listed gasholder in the residential heart of King’s Cross, it is simplicity at its best, drawing people to the area and offering a relaxing, tranquil setting. The decision to not compete with the dominance of the gasholder but instead propose a refined, engaging design which reflects light and views of its surrounding is to be applauded. The contemporary intervention helps to heighten the experience of the Victorian structure – a heartening dialogue between old and new.”

Gasholders, London, by Wilkinson Eyre with Jonathan Tuckey Design (phs: Peter Landers)    

“The industrial heritage of Kings Cross is integral to its regeneration and the triplet of listed cast-iron gasholders is the most distinct centrepiece. Sitting comfortably within these structures are the three residential drums, clad in a delicate and intricate aesthetic of steel and glass panels with a veil of external shutters pierced in a pattern of circles to allow dappled light into the rooms. A successful marrying of old with new, where it sensitively handles the needs of modern living with celebrating the most beautiful industrial structures in the renaissance of King’s Cross.”

Gin Distillery, London, Open Practice Architecture (phs: Leon Chew)

“Located in the backstreets of Whitechapel, the Gin Distillery is a wonderful example of exemplary contemporary architecture patched together with considered heritage reclamation and restoration. A project of palimpsests with the richness of the original Victorian building complimented by the quality of the contemporary interventions. A very calm collection of simple but high quality materials, finishes and gestures sit comfortably together, accentuating the intricacy and depth of the original material. The attention to detail is evident without being overcomplicated or fussy, and the finish and execution by the builder is exemplary.”

Grange Primary School, London, by Macreanor Lavington Architects (phs: Tim Crocker)

“This project involves the addition of 105 pupil places and an improved school entrance. A new building was designed housing a dining hall, kitchens, nursery, library, offices and new school house. These are located in a series of characterful pavilions on the street front, providing a dramatic public presence. A series of roof profiles dance along the street facade. Each roof profile responds to each internal space’s requirements. This undulating elevation animates the street and provides a fun and friendly entrance.”

Hackney Town Hall, London, by Hawkins Brown (phs: Siobhan Doran, Grant Smith)

“This long-term, multi-phased conservation project is more than a refurbishment, as certain architectural moves have made significant improvements. These have generally been well-judged but the really impressive work has gone into the detailing. Nowhere has any cost or effort been spared so that the refurbishment has been carried out to the very highest standards. The overall detailing is impeccable and is the most rewarding aspect of the project.”

Hazelhurst Court, London, by Levitt Bernstein (phs: Tim Crocker)

“A project that transforms an underused site to provide 60 affordable homes for older people with extensive communal spaces. This scheme adjoins sensitively to an existing housing block to form a horseshoe, creating two new communal courtyards.”

Ivydale Primary School, London, by Hawkins Brown (phs: Jack Hobhouse)

“This new building doubles the capacity of the existing Victorian school building yet still feels part of the same school. The plan works very well and is easy to navigate for students, staff and visitors. Each classroom is a good size with plenty of light flooding from two sides that can be reduced with blinds on all windows. By each classroom window there is a reading nook providing a cosy space for a student or two to sit, read and ponder. Circulation spaces are light with rooflights and voids on the first floor down to ground floor, allowing for connectivity and an open, friendly feel.”

Kings Crescent Estate Phases 1 and 2, London, by Karakusevic Carson Architects and Henley Halebrown (phs: Peter Landers, Nick Kane, Mark Hadden)

“The original Kings Cross Estate had been half demolished in 2000 and the remaining community have lived with the resulting wasteland until now. Instead of the usual demolition and rebuild model for large-scale estate regeneration, the project shows that community combined with local authority-led development can be a way forward to create a robust model for new and refurbished housing. The existing residents were very much engaged with the estate development, which allowed them to remain in their homes throughout the works. It has repaired the previously desolate areas and helped to form a sense of community and ownership.”

Kingsgate Primary Lower School, London, by Maccreanor Lavington Architects (phs: Tim Crocker)

“Part of a mixed-use masterplan for this former industrial estate, the primary school demonstrates a strong collaboration between architect and client. The grand assembly hall is impressive and reminiscent of the scale of a Victorian school hall with its huge volume and pitched roof. Kingsgate makes successful use of the site, within a carefully considered masterplan that addressed the adjacent railway line and benefits from a southern aspect, creating a ‘connected’ public space. A laudable procurement of the school design, where one senses the children attending this school are off to an exceptional start in education.”

Knox Bhavan Studio, London, by Knox Bhavan Architects (phs: Dennis Gilbert)

“Every millimetre of space on the small, rectangular site has been carefully designed so it works hard and is used effectively. The workstations alone are an exquisite crafted invention for a stand-sit adjustable desks, and are easy of use. The facade inspires and delights passers-by, opening up the profession of architecture to a wider audience. Absolutely every aspect of this office design has been thought about, exquisitely crafted and detailed, providing delight on a daily basis to those who see it.”