Stirling Prize

Although i knew who won the stirling prize, i have only just managed to catch up with the programme on the i-player. I (anyone) could have told you a month ago that Zaha Hadid would win for the MAXXI museum in Rome. Unfortunately Hadid has taken a while to be accepted in this country, being a foreign national women in the male dominated british architecture clique has not helped. But, this is not reason to give her the prize alone, the buliding is not Hadid's best and not THE best either. It won the award because it is Big and Bold, that's all, the president of the MAXXI foundation admits as much.
As for..."Rome needed a building like this", what in the hell does that mean? That means, you cannot be considered a contemporary city without a hugely expensive, trophy building, a new landmark. All the other buildings have been shoe horned in, two of them are buildings within buildings, one is an extension. The only other stand alone structure is Christ's College School Guildford, the reverse of the MAXXI as it's the least successful visually, but the most successful in doing its job, as a machine.  So, where does it leave us, if you gave me about £130 million pounds to build a gallery in Rome, i reckon i could do a half decent job, but £14 million to design and build a school, which transforms the area, is a much harder brief. Guildford really.. 'needed a building like this'...in the most basic, real terms.