£25m building that 'put Prescot on the map' crowned RIBA Building of the Year

Shakespeare North Playhouse has been named the North West’s Building of Year by the Royal Institute of British Architects (RIBA).

Completed for Knowsley Council in 2022, the £25m theatre and educational venue was described by RIBA as a ‘game-changing regeneration project’ and the building that ‘put Presoct on the map’. The theatre was awarded the top regional Building of the Year Award, as well as receiving the North West Award. The project architect, Nicholas Helm, was awarded RIBA North West Project Architect of the Year for ‘the way he tirelessly pursued’ it for more than ten years.

RIBA judges said Shakespeare North is ‘full of the eccentricity of personal passion, expressed in brick and mortar’ and provides a ‘sense of warmth’. They continued: “The whimsical juxtaposition of architectural styles between the foyers and the theatre gives the overall impression of a building that has been conceived with a lot of love, not just for its subject matter, but for the town. This is a project that could so easily have been built as a municipal community facility in the dreariest way, but instead it has put Prescot on the map, raising aspirations and expectations along with moments of real delight.”

RIBA’s North West awards celebrate architectural achievement across the region, with seven projects receiving a North West Award from a shortlist of 13. A total of three Merseyside venues bagged the prize, including The Alder Centre - the UK's first purpose-built dedicated child bereavement centre - Liverpool John Moores Unviersity’s Student Life and Sports building at Copperas Hill.

The seven North West Award winners will now compete for the RIBA National Awards, with the winners set to be revealed on July 11. Projects that earn a National Award will then be put forward for the Stirling Prize.

RIBA North West regional award winners 2024

• Copperas Hill Student Life and Sports Building, Liverpool John Moores University - Sheppard Robson
•  Crusader Works, Manchester - shedkm
•  Langdale, Brampton, Cumbria - Mary Arnold-Forster Architects
•  Mustard Cowork at Little Underbank, Stockport - Kelsall Architects
•  Shakespeare North, Knowsley - Helm Architecture with executive architects Austin-Smith:Lord 
•  The Alder Centre, Liverpool - Illford Hall Monaghan Morris
•  WaterSHED, Wardle Academy, Rochdale - BDP