York’s property developers, housebuilders, homeowners and architects are being urged to enter buildings developed in the last three years into the 2018 York Design Awards before the closing date of 21st March.
With eight categories to choose from, the York Design Awards encourage and reward the highest standards of restoration and refurbishment of existing buildings and the best design in new buildings and public spaces in York.
Previous winners include York Theatre Royal, the Hiscox Building, Derwenthorpe Phase 2, Little Knavesmire Sports Pavilion and Kings Square. The awards are independently judged by experts: Geoff Rich a managing partner at nationally renowned architectural practice Feilden Clegg Bradley Studios; Nicky Rutt, who was a finalist in the prestigious AJ Woman Architect of the Year Awards, is an architect at Hawkins Brown practice; David Heath is a former chair of The Society for the Protection of Ancient Buildings (SPAB) and was previously chief conservation architect at English Heritage.
They are joined this year by new judge Andy Davey senior partner at Simpson & Brown Architects, based in Edinburgh, which was behind the comprehensive redevelopment of York Art Gallery which was awarded a York Design Award in 2016. Simpson & Brown specialises in the conservation of historic buildings, the remodelling of existing buildings, and the design of new buildings in sensitive historic settings. Andy trained at the Bartlett School of Architecture at University College London and has been responsible for many of Simpson & Brown’s more prestigious commissions, including the acclaimed new Visitor Centre at Rievaulx Abbey.
Janet Hopton, Chair of the York Design Awards says: “We’ve received some excellent applications so far, and if they are anything to go by, then judging the awards certainly won’t be an easy task and the judges could well be deliberating for some time. We’d urge as many people as possible to submit their buildings for independent scrutiny and don’t miss this chance to be named the best of the best this city has to offer in terms of architecture and design.”
Full details on the categories and how to enter the prestigious awards is available at www.yorkdesignawards.org. Winners will be announced and presented with their awards at the presentation evening which takes place on Monday 25 June at the Ron Cooke Hub, the University of York.
The awards programme operates with the generous support of a number of sponsors who have a strong association with the city. Hiscox are once again the main sponsor, with additional high-profile sponsors Arup, O’Neill Associates, City of York Council, Shepherd Group, York Science Park, The Partners Group, United By Design, Virgin Trains, Ravage Productions, The Grand Hotel, George F White, York Civic Trust, Crombie Wilkinson, Fulprint, Bedern Hall, York Conservation Trust and York Guild of Building.
