BRUISING YEAR RESULTS IN PAYBACK
         ROGERS WINS STIRLING PRIZE
Defeated for the third time in his career by the energetic Prince of Wales, 2009 saw Richard Roger's Chelsea Barracks project torpedoed by the royal heir. Consolation comes in many forms and the prestigious Stirling Prize is both an acknowledgment for work well done (Maggie's Centre) and a poke in the eye to the meddling Prince. However, behind the scenes, a small firestorm has been ignited by this year's finalists and short listers with a generational divide emerging among the UK's Young Architects vs. the Old Guard.
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The Independent reports that the state of British architecture has lessened considerably, with conservatism reigning and a willingness to explore waning. This years' Stirling Prize is cited as a prime example of the conflict between the architectural generations. The Prize and its hotly contested "Short List" have been derided as the sort of choices made by those whose careers are already established and have become well, soft and paunchy. The judging therefore has been the target of the Young Architects attack with the valid point being argued that if the jury consisted of the winner's of England's Young Architect's Award, the buildings and architects chosen would have been much different.
INDEPENDENT REPORTS ON THE MESS

RIBA'S REPORT ON THE PRIZE