RIBA awards: London Bridge station, Royal Opera House and BBC Television Centre shortlisted for architectural prize

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The Royal Opera house, London Bridge station and Coal Drops Yard in King's Cross are among top London projects shortlisted for the Royal Institute of British Architects (RIBA) awards.

From the shortlist of 83 London projects, all completed before February this year, the best will be declared RIBA Regional Award winners on Monday 20 May and considered for a RIBA National Award later this year.

A mix of public spaces, shopping destinations and residential schemes - both private homes and developments - make up the shortlist, with some long-awaited projects in the running.

London Bridge station
Designed for Network Rail by architecture firm Grimshaw, the £1 billion makeover to regenerate and streamline London Bridge station has been the biggest railway upgrade since Victorian times.

Construction took over five years to complete, with the building works being undertaken while the station remained open. It was finished in January 2018.

The station now features a huge 15-platform concourse bigger than the pitch at Wembley, fully accessible facilities and remodelled tracks to allow more trains to travel through London. Its smart new brick frontage can be admired from Tooley Street.

The Royal Opera House
One of London’s most prestigious buildings, the Royal Opera House, raised the curtain on its three-year £50.7 million transformation in September last year.

Designed by Stanton Williams Architects, the svelte new glass entrance, framed in slender stainless steel, replaces a dreary windowless wall. Now passers-by can see straight into the 11,000sq ft foyer.

Southbank Centre
The £35 million restoration and redesign of the Southbank Centre, also by Feilden Clegg Bradley Studios, has also been shortlisted for the awards.

Completed in April last year, the project included the Queen Elizabeth Hall, Purcell Room and Hayward Gallery - with the latter's iconic pyramid roof reimagined to allow natural light into the galleries.

Coal Drops Yard
Coal Drops Yard, by Heatherwick Studio, is a retail hub in the converted Victorian coal stores in King's Cross.

Part of the King's Cross regeneration, the public space and shopping destination houses new and establish designers.

The gabled roof of each building rises up, stretching towards the other to form a 'kissing point' - and a new upper storey with an elevated viewpoint over London.

Alexandra Palace
A £27 million transformation of Alexandra Palace by Feilden Clegg Bradley Studios has seen the grand East Court one-time exhibition hall and former derelict theatre among spaces preserved and restored for public use.

The 19th-century theatre has been a refugee shelter, a hospital and, more recently, a BBC prop store and workshop. It was closed to the public for 80 years and fell into a state of disrepair. Since its reopening, visitors have praised the distressed, shabby-chic vibe and the extraordinary acoustics in such a historic setting.

Television Centre
Television Centre, where the much-loved likes of Blue Peter and Doctor Who were filmed for generations, officially reopened as a residential-led mixed-use development last spring, following a three-year transformation.

The hoardings on the original doughnut-shaped building, built between 1949 and 1960, and the newly-added outer ring came off in February 2018.

Independent restaurants such as pizza joint Homeslice soon began trickling in, along with White City House, the newest Soho House members' club complete with 45-bedroom hotel, huge gym and public bar, The Allis.

The Ned
Along with Kettner's Townhouse and Soho House in Greek Street, The Ned is another Soho House-linked venture to make the shortlist. A stylish hotel venue with restaurants, bars and leisure facilities, The Ned is housed in a Grade I-listed building originally designed by Sir Edwin 'Ned' Lutyens in 1939. EPR Architects were instructed to act as lead designers in the conversion of the former Midland Bank.

Sensitively restored interiors, including stone spiral and marble staircases, original boardrooms and bank vaults, compliment modern additions to stylish reception areas and all 252 guest rooms.

The winners of this year's RIBA London Awards will be announced at a ceremony at the RIBA headquarters in central London on Monday 20 May 2019.