Behind every great piece of architecture is superb engineering. Collaboration between the two fields create buildings/structures that achieve the seemingly impossible. The award recognises projects that excel in structural engineering and push the boundaries of architecture through creative engineering.
Eligibility Criteria
• The projects must have been approved by the Planning Authority after the 1st January 2018 and built, completed and commissioned by the end of December 2023.
*All projects that were granted a permit prior to the 1st of January 2018 but benefitted from the 2-year permit extension during covid are also eligible to be submitted.
Compulsory Entry Requirements
• Documentation on innovative materials used in the project, or their innovative application;
• What measures were taken to reduce the project’s overall environmental impact and how well were those measures carried out;
• Photos of the building/structure in its wider context, showing how the project has positively contributed to its surroundings (before and after);
• Photos of the completed project.
Judging Criteria
- Form: Through its materiality, shape and detailing, is the building/structure clearly recognizable and relevant in its response to its site, audience and intent?
- Function: Does the structural design positively contribute to making the project work well for the intended use, including for its client, users, and the public at large? Is the functionality of the design playing a crucial part in contributing to the benefit of the neighbourhood?
- Impact: Does the engineering design of the building/structure impact positively so as to make a significant contribution in its relationship to its surroundings?
- Environmental consideration: What active and passive engineering means were used in the structural design to assure more efficient use of energy and minimise negative impacts on the ecological environment?
- Innovative: Does the structural design project have originality of concept and thinking? Is there ingenuity in its structural engineering for the project to take a fresh and successful approach to the design brief? Does it solve the challenges and constraints of construction and offer new solutions? Does it push material and conceptual boundaries?