The New Everyman Wins RIBA National Award

The Everyman has been announced as a winner in the 2014 Royal Institute of British Architects Awards (RIBA) National Award, the most rigorously-judged awards for architectural excellence. The winners go forward for consideration for the Stirling Award shortlist, which will be announced on 17th July.

Since it opened in March, the Everyman has already won the RIBA North West Building of the Year at the regional round in April. RIBA states that the National Award winning buildings 'set the standard for good architecture; these are projects that go beyond the brief and exceed the client's expectation'.

The National Award judges commented: "The stand-out trend of the 2014 RIBA National Awards is the array of high quality, confident public buildings built for communities all over the country. These buildings show that investment in exceptionally well-crafted civic buildings and public spaces can bring together communities, boost pride and revive our cities, towns and villages."

Speaking about the Everyman they added: "In the selection of materials and the considered details the architect has created a building that instinctively you want to reach out and touch. However, none of the elements shouts out, they simply add to the whole, amplifying this exceptional piece of architecture. This is a building that will age gracefully, continually enriched by the patina of daily use. It will both reassure and delight its loyal audience and those discovering this gem for the first time."

Everyman and Playhouse Executive Director Deborah Aydon said: "We are thrilled with this prestigious award and very proud that the Everyman, which has been so quickly taken to the hearts of the people of Liverpool, has also been able to fly the flag nationally for imaginative and high-quality architecture in our city."

Everyman and Playhouse Artistic Director Gemma Bodinetz said: "Haworth Tompkins listened to us, our audiences and communities, our actors and artists and created a theatre for Liverpool that is both stunning and humane. We are thrilled that our theatre held so dearly by our audiences and practitioners has received such prestigious national recognition."

Designed by Haworth Tompkins, the Everyman began its rebirth with a Lights Up Parade on 1 March and Housewarming on the following day as more than 4,500 people flocked to be part of the next act of the theatre's history. The new theatre was funded by the National Lottery from Arts Council England, the European Regional Development Fund, the Northwest Regional Development Agency, gifts from charitable trusts and donations from over 1,000 individual supporters.

The RIBA Stirling Prize, sponsored by Brockton Capital, is awarded to the architects of the building that has made the greatest contribution to British architecture in the past year. The shortlist will be announced on 17 July 2014 and the prize will be presented on Thursday 16 October in London.

The new Everyman is funded thanks to £16.8m of public funding by the National Lottery from Arts Council England, £5.9m from the European Regional Development Fund and £2.5m by the Northwest Regional Development Agency.

Over £1.9m of private funding has so far been secured from the Backstage Trust, Esmée Fairbairn Foundation, the Foyle Foundation, the Garfield Weston Foundation, the The J Paul Getty Jnr Charitable Trust, the Granada Foundation, GVA Acuity, the Hemby Trust, the JP Jacobs Charitable Trust, the Monument Trust, the Oglesby Charitable Trust, the Oliver Stanley Charitable Trust, the Peter Johnson Foundation, the Wolfson Foundation and from private donations.

The European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) is making a real difference to people and businesses in the North West. The current ERDF programme, which is worth €755m, is enhancing the competitiveness of the region's economy by supporting growth in enterprise and employment.

ERDF in the North West is managed by the Department for Communities and Local Government -- for further information visit: https://www.gov.uk/browse/business/funding-debt/european-regional-development-funding.

Photo Credit: Philip Vile