THE rebuilt Mountbatten Building at Southampton University is on the shortlist for a top architecture award.

Destroyed by fire in 2005, the hi-tech research building rose from the ashes in a £55m project which is now a favourite to land a coveted Royal Institute of British Architects (RIBA) award.

Other new buildings from the region to make the list include Burnham Copse Primary School in Tadley and Everest Community College in Basingstoke, both designed by Hampshire Country Architects.

The stylish bungalow Seaglass House on the Isle of Wight is also on the list.

Lymington’s John Pardey Architects has also made the list with its Hind House at Wargrave on the banks of the River Loddon, which is ingeniously designed to cope with flooding of up to 1.2 metres.

The Mountbatten Building houses the university’s School of Electronics and Computer Science (ECS) and its Optoelectronics Research Centre. It is vital to the university’s global reputation for cutting edge research, particularly in nanotechnology.

RIBA judges liked its “simple, dynamic forms” and said the design allowed it to “embody 21st century scientific research in a sustainable, academic setting.”

Professor Harvey Rutt, head of the ECS, said: “The stunning design of the building matches our claim to be cutting-edge and state-of-the-art, and is a fitting home for the world-leading research it will facilitate.”

The regional winner, announced on May 21, will be eligible to be shortlisted for the RIBA Stirling Prize honouring the best new building in the country.

Last year the Ocean car park in Ocean Village, Southampton, was on the shortlist for a RIBA award.