dRMM Architects' Hastings Pier has been awarded the 2017 Stirling Prize by The Royal Institute of British Architects (RIBA) for its "carefully and creatively renovation of the Victorian pier as a contemporary multipurpose space." dRMM's Hastings Pier defeated top international names in the shortlist including Rogers Stirk Harbour + Partners, Reiach & Hall Architects and Michael Laird Architects and Baynes and Mitchell Architects. 

Recognized as the best new building of the UK, Hastings Pier was described as a 'phoenix risen from the ashes' rebuilt after a devastating fire in 2010. RIBA President and RIBA Stirling Prize Jury Chair, Ben Derbyshire described the project as "a masterpiece of regeneration and inspiration."

"Hastings Pier showcases the remarkable skills, tenacity and problem-solving flair of its talented architects, dRMM. It also rewards the patrons of this great architectural achievement: the local people who have taken the initiative, and risk, to create this highly innovative and extraordinary new landmark," said Ben Derbyshire. 

Image © Francesco Montaguti 

"The architects and local community have transformed a neglected wreck into a stunning, flexible new pier to delight and inspire visitors and local people," he added.

London-based studio dRMM Architects, founded in 1995 and led by Alex de Rijke, Philip Marsh and Sadie Morgan, has repaired and transformed a century-old ruined pier into a new cultural seaside attraction on the East Sussex coast. 

Hastings Pier was first built in 1872 overlooking the English Channel, for many years the structure was a popular pleasure pier famous for musical acts, but its recent past has been much more precarious. Neglected for years, it closed in 2008 following storm damage, and in 2010 faced destruction when a fire ravaged the entire structure.

Image © James Robertshaw

Residents and supporters played an active role to reimagine the pier after a devastating fire in 2010. dRMM Architects worked closely with consultants, locals and stakeholders, their scenarios quickly reached the conclusion that the pier must serve a wide variety of scenarios to be sustainable. Additional fundraising were raised from a local action group found 3,000 shareholders to buy a stake in the project at £100 a share - this is the people's pier.

The studio restored and strengthened the 19th century structural iron work by hiding below deck, following years of neglect, storm and fire damage. They transformed a surviving Victorian Pavilion, one of two buildings on the Pier, into an open plan, glazed cafe-bar.

Image © Alex de Rijke

The vast pier deck presents itself as an uninterrupted flexible expanse for large-scale concerts, markets and public gatherings. The new timber-clad visitors centre building in the centre of the pier, has a viewing deck on its roof providing a dramatic space for visitors to experience epic views along the coast and across the English Channel.

The architects have used 100% cross-laminated timber throughout the project, much of it reclaimed from the original pier: the visitors centre makes a feature of its scorched wood cladding. dRMM's reclaimed timber has also been used to create the pier's striking new furniture, manufactured locally as part of a local employment initiative.

Image © Alex de Rijke

"dRMM Architects were delighted to collaborate with Hastings Pier Charity on this ambitious project which, like a 'Phoenix from the ashes', was realised through dedicated community action. The new pier is designed as an enormous, free, public platform over the sea - inspiring temporary installations and events across a variety of scales," said Professor Alex de Rijke, dRMM Founding Director.

"This space offered more potential than an iconic building on the end of the pier, and demonstrates the evolving role of the architect as an agent for change. All of the many people who worked on this long project are grateful to have received the prize - and proud of achieving the apparently impossible," he added. 

Image © Alex de Rijke

The judges for the 2017 RIBA Stirling Prize included: RIBA President Ben Derbyshire (Chair), Anupama Kundoo - Anupama Kundoo Architects, Peter St John - Caruso St John Architects, Evan Davis - Journalist & BBC Presenter and Jane Hall - Founding member of Assemble.

Last year, Newport Street Gallery in Vauxhall, London by Caruso St John Architects won the 2016 Stirling Prize. Haworth Tompkins' Liverpool Everyman Theatre (2014), Zaha Hadid Architects' MAXXI Museum in Rome (2009), Rogers Stirk Harbour + Partners' Maggie’s Centre at Charing Cross Hospital in London (2008) are among previous winners of the RIBA Stirling Prize.

Top image © Alex de Rijke

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