Mae’s Sands End Arts and Community Centre, for Hammersmith and Fulham Council, has been shortlisted for the 2022 Stirling Prize, which seeks to find the best new building in the UK, each year.

This welcoming, fully accessible single-storey building is arranged around a disused lodge comprising flexible activity spaces and a community café.

In the words of the jury:

“Located on the northwest corner of Fulham’s South Park, the new Sands End Arts and Community Centre is a collaborative development comprising several new connected pavilions arranged around the existing disused Clancarty Lodge, a popular landmark that was refurbished as an exhibition space as part of the same project. Driven by the local council’s arts strategy of improving access to cultural activities for the widely diverse local community, the development’s brief and programme were co-created in consultation with the council, user clients, local stakeholders and local residents, all facilitated by the architects,”

“The architects have met the brief and budget with confidence and inventiveness, delivering a highly sustainable, delightful and flexible asset for the client.”

What an incredible achievement for the practice – it’s wonderful to see low-cost, high-quality community architecture rewarded for its social value, amongst a plethora of impressive schemes. The full shortlist can be found on the RIBA website, and we look forward to finding out which will be crowned the winning scheme in October. We’ve got our fingers are crossed!