London’s newest train line named after the late Queen Elizabeth was named the 2024 Stirling Prize winner, RIBA announced yesterday. The Elizabeth Line, designed by Grimshaw Architects, connects Reading in the west to Sheffield in the east with 62 total miles of track that comprises 26 miles of tunnels dotted by 10 new stations thanks to new cross running service in London’s city center. All members of the design team who contributed to Elizabeth Line’s platform architecture, passenger tunnels, escalators, station concourses, signage, furniture, fittings, finishes and supporting technology were recognized by the Stirling Prize committee.
Among these consultants, wayfinding and signage was led by Maynard Design, lighting design by Equation, and AtkinsRéalis provided engineering services.
The Elizabeth Line beat out five other design projects in the U.K. for the Stirling Prize crown. These projects included, the regeneration of Kings Cross, council homes in Hackney, the renovation of the National Portrait Gallery, council housing in Sheffield converted to market-rate flats, and a dairy farm turned vacation spot. Its recognition is notable in that it is more so an infrastructure project than building; in recent years RIBA has primarily prized buildings for its annual award. (Last year the John Morden Centre by Mæ, a brick and timber retirement community just south of London won.) However, the Elizabeth Line is not the first transportation project to be awarded the Stirling Prize history. In 2006 Richard Rogers Partnership won for its work on Madrid’s Barajas airport and in 2002 Wilkinson Eyre was recognized for Millennium Bridge.
RIBA president and jury chair Muyiwa Oki said in a statement, “The Elizabeth Line is a triumph in architect-led collaboration, offering a flawless, efficient, beautifully choreographed solution to inner-city transport.” He added that it is “an uncluttered canvas that incorporates a slick suite of architectural components to create a consistent, line-wide identity—through which thousands of daily passengers navigate with ease.”
The project stood out to the jurors because of the important infrastructure and transport services it provides as London takes strides to achieve carbon neutrality. Moving people from cars onto trains is an essential part of this equation, something Elizabeth Line augments.
Its finishes, lighting, and ubiquity evoke Harry Weese’s design for the Metro in Washington, D.C. The ceilings curve in and the walls were wrapped in a white tiles with perforated holes. On train platforms sleek transparent partitions separate arriving trains from the platforms.
“The Elizabeth Line is a piece of infrastructure that has been transformative, not only for London’s transport network but also for many people’s lives, highlighting the role design plays in elevating our every day,” said Neill McClements, a partner at Grimshaw, on behalf of Grimshaw, Atkins Realis, Equation and Maynard.
“It is also a recognition of the challenges that our profession faces today—the responsibility we have to rapidly respond to the climate emergency, decarbonise our cities and prioritise social and economic equity,” McClements added. “We know this is only achievable through collaboration and the Stirling Prize recognises all of the design and construction teams that have come together to make the project the success that it is.”
