Bookmakers wink at bridge to win Stirling prize

Gateshead's "winking bridge" has emerged as the favourite to win the 2002 Stirling prize for architecture from an eclectic shortlist of seven buildings announced today.

Bookmakers are giving odds of 2-1 on the Millennium bridge, arguably the most famous building on the shortlist. The structure provides a pedestrian and cycle crossing of the Tyne and tips up to allow shipping to pass beneath. The swing of its two arches has been compared to the winking of an eye.

The other shortlisted buildings show great variety in form and function. They are: the Lloyd's register of shipping office building in central London; Ernsting's service centre, a woodland office complex in Germany; the Hampden Gurney primary school in London; a new wing of the National Gallery of Ireland in Dublin; the Dance Base studio in Edinburgh; and the Downland Gridshell, a building at a museum of folk architecture in Chichester.

The prize is worth £20,000 and is awarded annually by the Royal Institute of British Architects for the best building completed by a UK architect working in the EU.

Ian Davidson, chair of the Riba awards group, said the shortlist "highlights the strength and diversity of British architecture" and "promises a lively contest."

If the winking bridge takes the award, it will be the second consecutive win for the structure's architects, Wilkinson Eyre, whose Magna Centre in Rotherham was a surprise winner in 2001, beating the hotly-tipped Eden Project in Cornwall.

While architects are impressed by the bridge - shortlisting judges concluded "it really is outstanding" - a great deal of respect in the industry is reserved for the Downland Gridshell building in Chichester.

The Gridshell is devoted to storage and workspace at the Weald and Downland museum in Chichester, which celebrates folk architecture from south east England. The structure uses native and imported woods in innovative ways, combining computer aided design, and hand-made craftmanship.

A spokeswoman for the Riba said that "those working within the profession see the Gridshell as a leap forward. It's something that has never been done before."

Britain's most famous architect, Norman Foster, is absent from the shortlist, despite a trio of high profile projects. Lord Foster's firm did not enter the competition with either its new London footbridge or its remodelling of the British Museum's Great Court.

It is thought his partnership was keen to avoid further bad publicity and odious comparisons between the successful Gateshead Millennium "winking" bridge and his own London Millennium "wobbly" bridge. The Greater London assembly building by the Thames was completed too late for inclusion in this year's competition.

The 2002 Stirling prize will be awarded Sunday October 13, at the Baltic centre in Gateshead, a short walk from the favourite to win.