The RIBA Stirling Prize for 2017 has been awarded to Hastings Pier. The project saw a vibrant, community-led restoration of the pier on the East Sussex coast. Built in 1872, the pier was home to pleasure and musical acts for many years, but more recently became neglected. Following storm damage in 2008 and a fire in 2010, the pier faced destruction.
 

The local community was determined to use the fire as an opportunity to return the pier to use and applied for Heritage Lottery Funding. A RIBA competition for ideas was run with its support and entries were supplied from around the world.
 

London-based architects dRMM won the competition and immediately set about meeting with locals and stakeholders to help shape the future of the pier; a future radically different from that of its Victorian inception.
 

“There was no sense in trying to reconstruct it as a 19th century pier – that typology had gone with the fire. There was an opportunity to reuse and reinvent the pier and give it a new future.” says Alex de Rijke, dRMM Founding Director.

“The new pier is designed as an enormous, free, public platform over the sea – inspiring temporary installations and events across a variety of scales. 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.”
 

RIBA President Ben Derbyshire, who chaired the RIBA Stirling Prize jury, said: “Hastings Pier is a masterpiece in regeneration and inspiration. The architects and local community have transformed a neglected wreck into a stunning, flexible new pier to delight and inspire visitors and local people alike.”
 

The Chair of Hastings Pier Charity, Maria Ludkin describes the pier as a “symbol of regeneration” having a positive impact on the local community and day-trippers, alike: “Hastings Pier has invited curious visitors, stimulated conversations, and engaged and welcomed all who use and support us. Accessible and sustainable, it frames a spectacular seascape and offers unlimited variations for relaxation, contemplation and play.”