The Civic Trust Awards scheme raises awareness of the important role played by high quality architecture, landscape and urban design and enhancing the quality of the environment. Now in its 50th year, the programme encourages higher standards across the UK and Republic of Ireland by rewarding outstanding projects in all fields of environmental design.
The Civic Trust gives Awards, Commendations and Mentions not only for good design, but also for the way in which schemes relate to their settings, to surrounding buildings and to the spaces in between. Entries are welcome from all design projects, regardless of size or type that make a positive contribution to their environment and to the communities that they serve. Small projects, and those with community involvement, are particularly welcome.
The Civic Trust Awards are managed by the Civic Trust in partnership with local authorities. The Awards are on an annual basic and schemes must be completed within a given timescale.
The Civic Trust Awards relies on the hard work and support of hundreds of voluntary judges. All entries are judged and visited regardless of location, size or scale.
Traditionally entries have been invited from urban and rural areas in alternating years. In 2008, for the first time, both urban and rural entries will be judged together.
Each area has its own assessment team. An Architect Assessor appointed by the Awards Team leads the ‘Team’ and an Inclusive Design Advisor, a Local Advisor and the Liaison Officer supports them. The team will assess all of the schemes in the area and comments on the aesthetics, quality of the materials and finished building, accessibility of the scheme, sustainability of the scheme and local opinion.
Assessments take approximately one day, however in some areas the high numbers of schemes and the distance between schemes can mean more than one day is required. The assessment day takes place between the end of September and the end of October.
The Assessment Team
The assessing team is made up of an Architect Assessor, Inclusive Design Advisor, Local Advisor and a Local Authority Representative.
At the end of the assessment day(s) the team must have a consensus on what level of the award the scheme is put forward for. Each member of the team must then submit a report on each scheme taken from their view point.
It is important the comments in the report are clear and informative as to why a scheme has been given the level of award it has as applicants can request to receive a feedback report to help improve standards for further projects.
