A closer look at the shortlist for the RIBA Stirling Prize 2010

Presented in the name of maverick British architect James Stirling (1926-1992), the prestigious Stirling Prize is held annually by the Royal Institute of British Architects (RIBA). This year's list of six buildings by British architects features two abroad: Zaha Hadid's much fêted MAXXI museum in Rome, and the transformation of the ruined Neues Museum by David Chipperfield in Berlin. Closer to home is another superlative museum intervention: the extension to Oxford's Ashmolean Museum by Rick Mather; two very different school extensions: one a subdued palette of brick and concrete by dRMM for Clapham Manor Primary School, London, the other a brightly coloured lantern, the work of DSDHA for Christ's College School in Guildford; and an office, gallery and residential building in Shoreditch, London, by the previously lesser-known practice Theis and Khan Architects.

The winner of the £20,000 award will be announced on 2 October 2010 at a ceremony broadcast from The Roundhouse, London, on BBC TWO's The Culture Show.