Grafton Architects has won the 2021 Stirling Prize for its Town House building designed for Kingston University, which brings together a library, event space, dance studios and music rooms.

Judges said the 91,000sq m building was a “progressive new model for the design of higher education buildings” and captured the spirit of learning and the value of community cohesion “expertly”.

RIBA said Town House extended the public realm of its south-west London location and blurred the boundary between the university and the street. A 200m long six-storey colonnade offers shadow and shelter, while terraces and gardens above create shelves of connected public space.

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