The Royal Institute of British Architects (RIBA) has announced a star-studded shortlist in its bid to celebrate the best building in the world.

Zaha Hadid, Bjarke Ingels, Shigeru Ban and David Chipperfield are among the architects in contention to win the first RIBA International Prize. Thirty projects from 50 countries have made the shortlist and will be visited by the RIBA Awards Committee in the coming months.

In its inaugural year, the prize will be awarded to “the most significant and inspirational building” completed within the past three years (between 1 January 2013 and 1 February 2016). In following years, the prize will be awarded to a building completed within two years.

The ruling means that the Heydar Aliyev Centre, created by the late Zaha Hadid, is in contention alongside Ingels’ recently completed VIA at West 57 ’courtscraper’ in New York.

David Chipperfield Architects are nominated for two museums – Saint Louis Art Museum and Museo Jumex in Mexico City.

The International Prize is open to any building in any country, irrespective of its function or budget. Shortlisted projects range from large urban infrastructure schemes to private residential projects, cultural destinations and places of worship.

According to RIBA, “the winning building will demonstrate visionary, innovative thinking and excellence of execution, while making a distinct contribution to its users and to its physical context.”

The award replaces RIBA’s annual Lubetkin Prize, which the association cancelled in 2013 for being too narrow in its remit, as it was exclusive to RIBA members.

RIBA president Jane Duncan said: “We have been delighted with the response to our inaugural RIBA International Prize, which has brought a huge range of exceptional entries from all around the globe. It will be fascinating to see insights from the judges and entrants into the power and value of great architecture, wherever you are in the world.”

The 30 buildings will be whittled down to 20 after the site visits. The competition's Grand Jury, led by Richard Rogers, will then select six project finalists, which will be visited in Q3.

Fellow jurors include Kunlé Adeyemi, founder and principal of NLÉ and Philip Gumuchdjian, founder of Gumuchdjian Architects and chair of RIBA Awards.

The following leisure projects are included on the shortlist:

Building	Location	Architect	Building Type
Arquipelago Contemporary Arts Centre	Ribeira Grande, The Azores	Menos é Mais, Arquitectos Associados, João Mendes Ribeiro Arquitecto, Lda.	Restoration / Conservation
European Hansemuseum	Lübeck, Germany	Studio Andreas Heller Architects & Designers	Restoration / Conservation
Fine Arts Museum of Asturias	Oviedo, Spain	Francisco Mangado - Mangado y Asociados	Restoration / Conservation
Heydar Aliyev Centre	Baku, Azerbaijan	Zaha Hadid Architects DiA Holding	Culture
Museo Jumex	Mexico City, Mexico	David Chipperfield Architects, Taller Abierto de Arquitectura y Urbanismo (TAAU)	Culture
Oita Prefecture Art Museum	Oita, Japan	Shigeru Ban Architects	Culture
Public Library of Constitucion	Constitucion, Chile	Sebastian Irarrazaval Arquitectos	Civic
Saint Louis Art Museum	St. Louis, USA	David Chipperfield Architects, HOK	Culture
SkyTerrace	Soo Khian Chan, Singapore	SCDA Architects Pte Ltd	Residential / Hotel
Stormen Konserthus	Bodø, Norway	DRDH Architects	Culture
The Ring of Remembrance, International WWI Memorial of Notre-Dame-de-Lorette	Ablain-Saint-Nazaire, France	AAPP	Culture
VIA at West 57th	New York, USA	BIG - Bjarke Ingels Group, SLCE Architects	Residential / Hotel

RIBA launches architecture prize to find the best building in the world