Shaftesbury Theatre, Chester's Storyhouse and Royal Court Liverpool win national RIBA awards

The Shaftesbury Theatre's new fly tower has won the venue a national architecture award.

Bennetts Associates fitted the fly tower on top of the West End theatre in order to extend performing possibilities and to increase flying capacity from 12 to 35 tons. The work involved fitting a new structure onto the Grade II listed Edwardian theatre while the theatre remained open.

The Shaftesbury was named a RIBA London winner earlier this year, but now joins the list of national winners, which also includes Storyhouse theatre in Chester. Storyhouse combines a theatre and library and RIBA called it a 'radical robust conservation'. The space opened last year.

Liverpool's Royal Court was also recognised, after a regeneration project took place over the last decade. Architects Allford Hall Monaghan Morris managed to complete the build with only closing for three months. The judges said of the designs: "A difficult urban site has been made more civic and welcoming."

Other buildings included in the national award winners list are Bushey Cemetery, New Tate St Ives, Royal Academy of Music and the Royal Birmingham Conservatoire.