Sustainable design awards 2012

The Argyll and Bute Design Awards are intended to recognise, promote and celebrate examples of exceptional design quality within both an urban and rural context across the whole of the Argyll and Bute Council Planning Area. The Awards provides a means of stimulating greater public awareness of good design and establish good examples on the ground.

The last Design Awards event was held in 2009.      

Eligibility period

The 2012 awards will consider development projects that have a Building (Scotland) Act 2003 Completion Certificate dated between 1st June 2009 and 31st December 2011. Entrants should make clear when the work referred to in their entry commenced and was finished, in order that the judges can satisfy themselves that it was completed within the eligible period. The awards will only be open to developments for which full planning permission has been approved and completion certificates issued. 

Categories

The following categories of Awards will be considered:

• New build residential category (single or small scale). This will be awarded to the entry that can demonstrate the highest standard of sustainable design.
• New build large scale residential development category. Placemaking skills will be considered as a critical element of this category as well as excellent masterplanning principles, high standard of design and evidence that the location, orientation of the buildings and the design of the surrounding space form a critical component of the design brief and proposed / completed project.  It is also important to make evident how people have primacy in proposals.
• New build non residential This category will cover commercial, community / public and industrial buildings
• Redevelopment or refurbishment of an existing building category. This category will consider the best examples of these buildings brought back to productive life. Excellence in the sphere of restoration or adaptive re-use.

Sustainability will be a theme which will run through all the four categories of awards and this must be clearly demonstrated in the submissions. Submissions must clearly demonstrate an actual long-term positive environmental impact, or the probability of it.

Levels of Awards

There will be two levels of Awards, these being (1) Awards, and (2) Commendations, as appropriate to both the quality and scale of the new developments.

Judging

The judging panel will comprise the following;

• Senior Councillor (to be confirmed).
• Gareth Hoskins, respected Scottish Architect.
• Michael Stewart, Former Head of Planning, Stirling Council.

The process will culminate in an Awards ceremony. We will have a web based nomination/submission process with the public being asked to vote on-line on the nominations after the closing date. The public voting process will be used to help inform the short listing process which will be undertaken by the judging panel. It will be essential for the judges to make site visits to all those short listed. There will be a maximum of three nominations short listed under each of the four categories. Site visits for the 12 short listed nominations will take place during April and May 2012.

Judges who have a connection with any entry will not be allowed to vote on that entry or lobby the other judges on its behalf.

In the evaluation process the following criteria, as appropriate, will be taken into account and should be specifically addressed in your submission:

• Professional knowledge – Ability to apply professional knowledge in achieving a quality product.
• Context   
• Design and detail
• Sustainable development – Balancing economic development with the environment and social justice.
• Material and workmanship
• Regeneration – Enhancement of the physical environment through urban design.
• Innovation – Originality of achievement or approach.
• Community interest – Demonstrating that planning has achieved benefits for the community, including equal opportunities.

Deadline for Entries.

The deadline for entries will be Friday 30th March 2012.

Who can enter?

Anyone can enter the planning Awards. This includes local authorities, consultants, community groups, developers, public agencies and voluntary organisations involved in the design process

How to enter

Entry Forms can be either be submitted online, or by downloading the form and guidance and sending it back to us.

It is important that applicants decide on the categories most appropriate for their entry(ies) (applicants may enter as many categories as they wish). All submissions must be prepared with supporting material. A completed entry form must accompany each entry, along with 4 high quality photographic prints.