The 2023 Doolan Best Building award shortlist has been unveiled, bringing four Scottish structures to the spotlight as they compete for this year's gong – the Royal Incorporation of Architects in Scotland's (RIAS) highest accolade. Officially known as The 2023 RIAS Andrew Doolan Best Building in Scotland Award, the honour's list includes Campus Central, University of Stirling by Page\Park Architects; Cuddymoss, North Ayrshire by Ann Nisbet Studio; Hundred Acre Wood, Argyll and Bute by Denizen Works; and Laidlaw Music Centre, University of St Andrews by Flanagan Lawrence.
The jury, which consists of Tracy Meller (chair), senior partner, RSHP; Ellie Stathaki, architecture editor, Wallpaper*; and Chris Stewart, president, Royal Incorporation of Architects in Scotland, will deliberate and announce the winner on 30 November 2023.
Meller said: 'We have a tough job to select a winner from the four outstanding buildings on this year’s Doolan Award shortlist. Whether unlocking a tricky urban challenge or doing justice to a remarkable rural setting, each has a superb relationship with its context. Their clients’ briefs could not be more different, and yet each building demonstrates exceptional imagination, skill and flair. I know Andrew Doolan wanted the award established in his name to celebrate the very best of Scottish architecture, and this year’s shortlist does exactly that.'
2023 Doolan Best Building award: the shortlist
Campus Central, University of Stirling by Page\Park Architects
Part of the Stirling University campus, Campus Central by Page\Park Architects is an important intervention to the university's eclectic family of buildings. It was conceived to improve circulation and functionality, as well as revive its area of the campus. Part new build and part extensive reuse of a 1970s steel framed structure, the project includes associated landscape by Raeburn Farquhar Bowen.
Cuddymoss, North Ayrshire by Ann Nisbet Studio
Nestled in its rural landscape in Ayrshire, all archetypal forms and minimalist interventions, Cuddymoss was conceived by its architect as a ‘building within a ruin’. Ann Nisbet Studio worked with the remains of an existing stone structure on site, adding subtle contemporary elements and a new timber-clad extension in a silver-toned wood.
Hundred Acre Wood, Argyll and Bute by Denizen Works
Hundred Acre Wood is a private home with a distinctive identity, set overlooking Loch Awe. The structure's glimmering silver-grey exterior is down to its unusual skin – a rendering of recycled TV-screen material. Scottish architecture and the sculptural works of Eduardo Chillida informed the design, while the interior is planned around a generous central hall.
Laidlaw Music Centre, University of St Andrews by Flanagan Lawrence
Respecting its leafy and historic surroundings, The University of St Andrews Laidlaw Music Centre responds to its site, offering a 21st-century hub for staff and students alike, while nodding to the existing built and natural landscape. The complex includes a main performance space – the McPherson Recital Room.
