Applications are now being invited for the first-ever Shropshire Council design and conservation awards. The awards are intended to acknowledge and promote the best architecture, urban design, planning, building conservation and landscape architecture in Shropshire. We've launched the awards to promote, encourage and recognise inclusive, sustainable and high quality developments across the county.

Entries can be submitted over the next seven months to compete in various categories for an award, which will be celebrated at a special awards ceremony to be held in December 2017. Judging will take place in September and October 2017.

There are six individual categories, as follows:

• Restoration or repair of a listed building – for projects achieving the highest standards of historic research, and applying appropriate design and repair techniques
• New design in the historic environment – for projects introducing contemporary design and materials which respect and integrate sensitively into a historic setting
• Landscaping and public realm – for projects providing well thought out and creative private and public open space, so as to enhance a development and its integration into the surrounding built and natural environment
• Commercial scale developments – for projects which have a community or business end use, which provide stimulating and innovative solutions to designing and delivering large scale schemes
• Low or zero carbon building – for projects with green building principles at their core
• Concept or masterplan – for projects pushing the boundaries of design in the county, but which have not yet been implemented

Entries which fit within each category don't compete against each other. An award is given if an entry meets the criteria of the awards, and so several or no awards can be given to each category. Therefore, to receive an award can be perceived as achieving a high design standard, as viewed by the judges. Applicants are asked to select a category their scheme best fits and then the judging panel will make a final allocation.

In addition to this, entries are also eligible for two special awards irrespective of the category they're considered under by the main judging panel. There is one award made for each of these.

• The Chairman’s Award is for an exceptional project
• The People’s Choice Award will be made by a public vote. Entries opt in to this public vote or can be nominated by members of the public.

Further information

Eligibility

These prestigious awards are open to all developments within the Shropshire Council boundary, completed within the last three years (July 2014 onwards).

NOTE: schemes previously submitted cannot be re-entered.

Judging criteria

The following criteria will be used when assessing schemes:

• Quality of design
• Context
• Materials and workmanship
• Sustainability
• Ability to delight

As part of the application submission, it's useful for applicants to take each of the above criteria in turn to explain how their entries achieve the required award standard. The judging panel will be independent of the organisers and made up of representatives from various partner organisations, with relevance to each award.

Important dates

The closing date is set for 31 July 2017. We would need your development to be complete for the judge’s site visits, which this year will be carried out over two weeks at the end of September and early October. The awards ceremony will be held on Tuesday 12 December at Shrewsbury Museum & Art Gallery.

How to apply

Please submit the following information via email to historic.environment@shropshire.gov.uk:

• Applicant contact details (name/address/tel/email)
• Scheme name and address
• Scheme contact details for site visits (name/tel/email)
• Contact details for invitations to the award evening (name/tel/email)
• Suggested category (please tick one you feel is most appropriate)
• Client, owner or developer (name/address/tel/email)
• Builder (name/address/tel/email)
• Architect or designer (name/address/tel/email)
• Other design team consultants (this is optional)

Anyone can put forward a scheme for an award, but they must have the owner and occupier’s permission. Please confirm that this has been obtained. Please also provide a CD or memory stick which includes all of the following:

• This completed application form, preferably as a PDF (scanned)
• One set of drawings such as plans and elevations in PDF format (no more than ten drawings)
• Up to six high-quality high-resolution images (1-5MB each) to illustrate the scheme in JPEG format
• A statement of no more than one side of A4 in 12pt in Word and PDF format describing how this scheme achieves the required standard against each criteria

Please note: information (excluding personal names/details etc.) contained in the application will be used in publicity material for the awards, and may be on public display before or after the event. Please don't submit standard scheme brochures or press releases that would require editing to comply with the above criteria.

Please let us know if you would like to be considered for the Shropshire Peoples’ Choice Award.

Sponsorship

Sponsorship opportunities exist for each of the categories or for the overall ceremony from affiliated organisations with an interest in the built environment of Shropshire.

Enquiries

For further information please contact Elizabeth Mee, principal conservation and design officer:

• 01743 254797
• 07990 087031
• Elizabeth.mee@shropshire.gov.uk