Who's hot in British architecture at the moment

The guy who is running away with the prizes is Will Alsop of Alsop and Stomer. He won last year's Stirling Prize (named afer the great James Stirling - see below) for his new design for the library at Peckham, South London.

�

��Londonstills.com

Peckham library

�

�

�

�

�

�

�

�

�

�

�

�

�

�

President of the RIBA (Royal Institute of British Architects) Marco Golschmid called�the library 'an innovatibve and exciting piece of architecture - a building to make you smile: more architecture should do that.'

�

Who is the�father of British architecture

The greatest of the old school has to be Sir Christopher Wren, whose design for St Paul's Cathedral, let alone the technical management of constructing something so huge for its time, is, even today, breathtaking.

�

Who had the most impact on modern architecture

It has to be James Stirling who designed the Clore Gallery at Tate Britain, and The Tate in Liverpool, amongst many other great buildings. When he died in 1992, the RIBA set up an annual award in his memory for the architect who has made the greatest contribution to British architecture that year.

�

What's the weirdest building in Britain

Piers Gough designed some interestingly-shaped new public lavatories at Westbourne Grove in London, which incorporate a flower stall - well worth a look.

�

Another RIBA award winner last year was�a stainless steel pyramidal walkers' shelter by a lake in the Kielder Forest. This won the Stephen Lawrence prize for buildings with a contract value of less than half a million pounds.�Stephen Lawrence was studying to be an architect before he was murdered.

�

The London Eye by Marks Barfield Architects should also feature in this category, although its success mitigates its weirdness.

�

What is the current buzzword in British architecture

Portfolio development. You don't design buildings for a single purpose in isolation any more. They have to interact with their social and cultural environment and answer many needs at once.

�

What is the most successful British building ever built

Stansted airport, designed in the early nineties by Sir Norman Foster, works brilliantly, and has never prompted criticism. He looked at the labyrinthine complexity and mess that is Heathrow and Gatwick and went back to airport�principles; runway, terminal building and access. It is also the cheapest airport building per square metre ever built and cut average energy consumption by 50%.

�

What is the biggest building ever built in Britain

The Dome�at Greenwich, designed by the Richard Rogers Partnership, is the largest public assembly building in the world. The tallest is the Canary Wharf Tower.

�

Who has the ear of that great architectural commentator HRH The Prince of Wales

He can't be seen to be showing Royal patronage to any architect, in particular. But, basically, anyone who thinks that the housing development at Poundbury near Dorchester, built by The Prince's Foundation, is a good thing, is in.

�

Who is the architects' architect

Terry Farrell has been at a it for a long time creating great buildings that show respect for the site, the context and the environment. He has won countless awards and is currently working on the new marine science centre at Hull, called The Deep, and the International Centre for Life at Newcastle - both Millennium Landmark projects.