In the great tradition of the RIBA Stirling Prize, the announcement of Haworth Tompkins' Everyman Theatre as the winner of the 2014 RIBA Stirling Prize took many by surprise. The Everyman surpassed the public's favourite, Mecanoo's Library of Birmingham, and the bookies' (and many critics') favourite, O'Donnell + Tuomey's LSE Saw Swee Hock Student Centre - as well as two household names in Zaha Hadid's Aquatics Centre and Renzo Piano's Shard.
In what was seen by many as the strongest shortlist in years, the underdog Everyman has emerged victorious. But was it a worthy winner? Read on after the break to find out what the critics made of this unexpected result.