An opinion piece by Isabel Allen, Editor, Architecture Today

While you (and indeed we) may question the need for yet another set of awards, we are stupidly excited about the awards we’ve just launched at Architecture Today. We aim to turn awards culture on its head. Rather than celebrating the freshest, newest, buildings in their box-fresh pristine state, we have launched an awards programme that focuses on long-term performance. That looks at buildings that have proved to be resilient, adaptable and relevant over a significant period of time.  

It’s a reflection of recent changes in the way we define value. We know about the costs – environmental and financial – implicit in construction and demolition. We understand that the greenest building is the one that already exists and that demolition should only be considered as a very last resort. Whether we like it or not, every halfway responsible player in construction is having to become adept at retrofitting and conservation; repurposing and refurbishment; at treating existing buildings with the respect that they deserve.  

It demands a step change in the way we educate our students and ourselves. A move towards an appreciation of architecture that is less about new builds and new fashions and more about lasting value. About learning to look and to listen and to analyse. To identify what works and what doesn’t. What needs to be protected, amplified or tweaked, and what can sensibly be changed?   

It’s a complicated business; one that requires not just technical know-how and spatial intelligence, but also a good dose of humility. A willingness to understand somebody else’s vision. To listen to the lessons that history has to teach us; talk to the people who know the building best. To take the time to gather, and analyse information. To learn from the kind of knowledge that can take years to accrue: comparative year-on-year data for different seasons of the year; a building’s ability to adapt to changing patterns of use; an understanding of what happens once its custodians have forgotten their training, or lost the manual, or just lost interest, or moved on. But also to grapple with more nebulous measures of value: artistic worth; social purpose; historic resonance; civic pride.  

We need to learn to debate the issue of value in all its messy complexity. The Architecture Today Awards set out to do just that. We’re asking entrants to join the discussion. To act as advocates, not for their own particular agenda or design, but for the building. To acknowledge its imperfections and the lessons it has to teach us. To define the terms by which it should be judged. To build a case.  

The shortlisted projects will be assessed by live presentations; a day of public crits to test and discuss ideas. The debate is what it’s all about. It’s not about picking favourite buildings; it’s about recognising value. A collective effort to focus on what does and doesn’t matter; what does and doesn’t work. It’s an imprecise, imperfect process. But it’s an attempt to acknowledge the myriad roles that architecture has to play. To grapple with highly complex, hotly contested definitions of architectural value. A moment of collective self-reflection. A chance to re-examine our values within the context of our history and our future. An opportunity to think about the way we build; how to adapt existing buildings without compromising their value; about whether the decisions we make today will stand the test of time. 

Enter the Architecture Today Awards at  https://architecturetoday.co.uk/awards/. The deadline for entries is 21st September 2022