For 50 years, the RIBA Awards have championed and celebrated the best architecture in the UK and around the world. Successful projects reflect changes and innovations in architecture but, at their core, display a commitment to designing and developing buildings and spaces for the improvement and enhancement of people’s lives.
Common to all is that many of the UK’s best building services engineers have helped deliver these exceptional projects and there is now far greater focus on sustainability and performance in use.
Each year, the RIBA Awards process starts with the Regional Awards. These prizewinners are then considered for a RIBA National Award and, finally, the best six of the national winners are shortlisted for the prestigious Stirling Prize.
I have recently completed another year of judging these prestigious awards, after discovering that it is not just architects who can be judges.
If you’d like to get involved, there is a simple online application process, and the RIBA will be in touch if a suitable role appears. Each regional judging panel, of which there are many, is made up of two architects, a heritage expert, a lay person and sustainability expert – that’s me! Judges only sit for one year but can reapply after a ‘fallow’ year.
The region I covered was London North. The submissions ranged from homes to housing estate regeneration, huge master plans, education, arts and commercial buildings, refurbishments and new builds – a fantastic variety of buildings. Over my working Iife, I’m lucky enough to have worked on most types of buildings.
After a comprehensive briefing on the process and the responsibilities of a judge, a first meeting is held online to review all the submissions and to agree the shortlist of buildings to visit.
My role was to review the sustainability data and recommend projects to visit that showed exemplary standards in terms of passive design, energy and whole life carbon reduction, biodiversity, and social value. Submissions can only be made after at least a year of measured data and post-occupancy evaluation.
The judges’ visits are held over three days and, this year, my panel visited more than 15 projects. We met the teams behind the projects and discussed design, sustainability, MEP systems, procurement, construction and materials, and user engagement while touring each of the buildings.
After completing the visits, we met to debate and agree the winners of an award and I prepared a statement on the sustainability credentials of each of the winners.
Each judging region hosts a ceremony to announce the regional award winners: the London award winners were announced on 10 May at RIBA’s Portland Place HQ, and all the judges were guests to see the 40 London winners that had been chosen from a 76-strong shortlist,
I particularly enjoyed meeting the others judges and getting to understand their experience and perspective, all of which helps me to become a better engineer.
During the visits, we met the architect and client along with some of the occupiers and got to understand why the project was commissioned, the brief, opportunities, constraints and the final product and how the building was performing in use. One of the projects we visited had been 15 years in the making! I particularly enjoyed talking to a client who had learned so much about the construction process and who was able to share their observations with us.
One particular client set out to design and build their own Passivhaus home from scratch. He gave us a great pros and cons discussion on construction details, water tightness, and the commissioning of his heat recovery and ventilation unit, and heat pump. He took great delight in opening up the tiny plant room and showing the architects all his shiny equipment.
By contrast, we also met the developer and master planners for the huge regeneration of the King’s Cross area of London; fifteen years in the making and nearly all complete. The master plan, which has only just secured planning, includes new schools, a university, student accommodation, five public parks, offices, market and social homes, a new nature reserve, the preservation of historic buildings, and major refurbishments.
Different architects were chosen to design the buildings to create more interest and diversity of style and materials. Architects include: Allies and Morrison; David Chipperfield; AHMM; Eric Parry; WilkinsonEyre; and some new practices including Piercy&Company, Coffey, and Morris +Company.
Probably the most important project we visited was a social housing regeneration scheme where the architects worked closely with the residents to refurbish and transform a challenging, unsafe neighbourhood into somewhere that is now safe and welcoming. We met many of the residents who were so appreciative of their refurbished and new homes and the estate’s transformation.
I enjoyed the judging experience and, while intensive and time consuming, it is rewarding, and, of course, you never stop learning.
More information on the awards can be found here: www.architecture.com/awards-and-competitions-landing-page/awards