Heydar Aliyev Center entered shortlist of contenders for the best building in 2016

Baku. 10 May. REPORT.AZ/ The RIBA International Prize, the institute’s latest and greatest international accolade, has just announced the much-awaited shortlist for its first ever installment this year.

Report informs referring to British media, the new honour, unveiled last December (and supported by Wallpaper*), has been gathering pace, announcing a prestigious panel of judges over the past few months, who will award the top gong to a worthy building, picked from a high profile selection of works from around the globe.

Now, 30 projects have been announced to be part of this shortlist. From initial submissions from over 50 countries, the final list was whittled down to these select few, which represent a variety of practices and typologies, as well as over 20 countries. The nominees include from Zaha Hadid Architects’ Heydar Aliyev Centre in Baku, Azerbaijan, to St Angela's College Cork by O’Donnell + Tuomey and Tula House in Canada by Patkau Architects, and typologies span education, cultural, commercial and residential buildings.

The schemes will be visited over the summer by the RIBA Awards committee, who will bring the list down to 20. A list of six finalists will chosen and visited by the Grand Jury this autumn, in order to pick the overall winner.

At the same time as the announcement of this shortlist, the RIBA has revealed the final jury member to be added to its list of prestigious judges; Billie Tsien, the co-founding partner of award winning architecture practice Tod Williams Billie Tsien. Earlier confirmed members of the Prize’s Grand Jury include chair Lord Rogers of Riverside, Kunlé Adeyemi, Philip Gumuchdjian and Marilyn Jordan Taylor.

Now, the battle will commence for the final winner, who will be crowned the international best building of the year in a dedicated ceremony in December 2016.