LONDON — A facelift that restored London’s 166-year-old Big Ben clocktower to a sparkling shine was nominated Thursday for Britain’s leading architecture award.

The RIBA Stirling Prize committee said the five-year refurbishment of the tower at Parliament is “a veritable masterclass in conservation and craftsmanship” that preserves a “defining symbol of British heritage.”

The 96-meter (316-foot) structure, formally known as the Elizabeth Tower, houses Big Ben, the giant bell whose bong has sounded the hours since 1859.

It fell silent in 2017 when the tower was covered in scaffolding for repairs. The original cost estimate of 29 million pounds ($39 million) more than doubled, but the renovation unveiled in 2022 has been widely praised.

As well as repairing the corroded cast-iron roof and

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