The deadline for all UK and EU entries excluding Scotland is midnight on Friday 7 February 2014. For entrants with buildings based in Scotland please visit www.rias.org to enter the awards.

You can download all RIBA Awards 2014 entry information here

RIBA Awards entry information 2014

Awards and eligibility

Before applying online please read all the information on this page

RIBA Regional, National, EU Awards and RIBA Stirling Prize are for buildings in the UK or EU by RIBA Chartered Architects and RIBA International Fellows.

A Regional Award:is for the important contribution to (the discipline of) Architecture

An RIBA National Award:is for a significant contribution to (the discipline of) Architecture

An RIBA EU Award:is for a significant contribution to (the discipline of) Architecture outside the UK but within the EU

The RIBA Stirling Prize:is for the exceptional contribution to (the discipline of) Architecture

The RIBA’s International Awards are changing with the development of a new International Prize, a successor to the RIBA Lubetkin Prize. Practices will be invited to enter projects for the new international award, in summer 2015. There will be no International Awards or Lubetkin Prize in 2014.

The Regional awards and Regional special prizes (excluding Scotland and Northern Ireland) are judged and presented locally. Entrants who win a Regional award can then be considered for an RIBA National award, the winners of these are then eligible for the prestigious RIBA Stirling Prize which will be presented in October 2014.

To be eligible to apply the four points below must be met

• Ensure you are a current RIBA Chartered member or RIBA International Fellow
• Your building(s) must be completed and occupied (partially occupied commercial and housing projects subject to RIBA approval) between 1 January 2012 and February 2014.
• Clients' permission to submit the building has been obtained prior to application.
• If the practice submitting the building worked in collaboration with another practice, both architects must be in agreement on the entry and how the building should be credited.

As an entrant you could win:

RIBA Chartered architect or RIBA International Fellow, building in the UK:

• Regional Award
• Regional Special Award (if building meets the specific criteria)
• RIBA National Award
• RIBA National Special Award (if building meeting the specific criteria)
• RIBA Stirling Prize 

RIBA Chartered architect building outside of the UK but in the EU:

• RIBA EU Award
• RIBA Stirling Prize

RIBA International Fellow building outside of the UK but in the EU:

• RIBA EU Award

How to enter

Creating your application

Create your personal login for your awards entry with an RIBA Chartered membership number and your email address. The membership number should be 8 digits long and contain numbers only e.g. 12345678

If you are an International Fellow you must contact [email protected] for your membership number

Once you have started your online entry you may work on your submission(s) right up until the closing date

To complete your online entry you will need to provide the following

1. EU entries only (projects outside of the UK but within the EU) – a hard copy A1 board, preferably landscape, this should include: the name and location of the project, name of the practice and any additional practice to be credited, up to six - eight images (internal and external), a plan and section, up to 300 words describing the project. This must be mailed to RIBA Awards Office, RIBA, 66 Portland Place, W1B 1AD, UK. We strongly recommend that postage is made as special delivery or recorded as the RIBA will not be responsible for undelivered items. The RIBA will not pay for any customs or VAT fees incurred in the posting of entries. A1 boards will not be posted back to the entrant.

2. All entries - Project name, project address with postcode, practice address, name of any other practices to be credited (if applicable), gross internal area in sq m, in the case of largely landscape/urban design projects gross external area in sq m, cost of project incl build and fit out if done/overseen by the architect (excl land costs and fees), cost per sq m and occupation date of the project.

3. All entries - Contact details for project director/architect, client, contact for jury visits (if different from project director/architect and client), marketing/pr contact if external to the practice entering and contractor of the project.

4. All entries - Entrant must choose the RIBA Region for the project, this is based on where the project is located not the practice entering.

5. All entries - 300-500 words describing the project setting out client’s brief, planning constraints, materials and method of construction, summary of time-table, programme and budget constraints, and a short statement on how the project meets the principles of inclusive design.

6. UK entries only – if your project is eligible and you wish to be considered for them, up to 300 words in support of each application for Regional Special Awards (apart from Regional Sustainability prize – see 12), these are:

• Regional Conservation award - the project should respect and enhance the original buildings but also have regard to the wider context. Projects may also demonstrate an understanding of and give reference to the vernacular traditions and materials of their locality
• Regional Small projects award – for projects under £250,000. The project should demonstrate creativity and architectural merit within the limits of its budget
• Regional Sustainability award – for projects which go beyond statutory requirements and demonstrate elegantly and durably the principles of sustainable architecture. (Judges will use sustainability statement supplied for all awards – see 12)
• Regional Client of the Year award - rewards the Client’s demonstrable commitment to procuring and achieving quality architecture. 
• Regional Architect of the Year - this new award is given to an established architect or practice based in the region, on the basis of a regional award made in the same year but also taking into account a track record of previous award-winning schemes.
• Regional Emerging Architect of the Year - this new award is given to an ‘emerging’ architect or practice based in the region, on the basis of a regional award made in the same year. This might mean either an architect or practice winning its first RIBA Award, OR one established within the past five years, OR an individual architect under 45.
• Regional Building of the Year - the project which best demonstrates architectural excellence whilst contributing positively to its economic, social, environmental and cultural context. It has made a significant contribution to the discipline of architecture in this Region in 2014 and is therefore recommended for a National RIBA Prize.

7. UK entries only – if your project is eligible and you wish to be considered for them, up to 300 words in support of each application for National Special Awards, these are: 

• RIBA Manser Medal - to encourage innovation in house design, to show how social and technological ambitions can be met by intelligent design and to produce exemplars to be taken up by the wider house building industry. The prize is named after Michael Manser, former President of the RIBA, who is well known for his own steel and glass house designs
• Stephen Lawrence Prize – The RIBA Stephen Lawrence Prize is funded by the Marco Goldschmied Foundation, and was set up in memory of the teenager who was setting out on the road to becoming an architect when he was murdered in 1993. The prize, which rewards the best examples of projects that have a construction budget of less than £1 million, is intended to encourage fresh talent working with smaller budgets
•  RIBA Client of the Year award - honours the key role that a good client plays in the  creation of fine architecture

8. All entries - A list of key consultants to be credited (structural engineer, services engineer, landscape architects etc) with contact details.

9. All entries – name and contact details of photographer/s. The architect must have the agreement of the photographer that these images may be used free of copyright for the purpose only of promoting the awards.

10. All entries - A one-page pdf to be uploaded by the entrant which summarises the project. Designed to be an at-a glance summary of the project, this should include: the name and location of the project, up to four images (internal and external), a plan and section, up to 100 words describing the project. This should include the name of the practice and any additional practice to be credited.

11. All entries - A sustainability statement, provided by the RIBA for entrants to be uploaded by the entrant. In this two page word document the entrant should provide annual energy figures (if project has not been occupied for a year please provide projected figures) describe the building’s performance in use, with particular reference to energy use for all entries, and energy performance figures and statistics signed off by an environmental engineer for all projects with a contract value of over £1m. No such scheme will be considered for an award without the required information.

12. All entries - Entrants must upload 8 - 12 images as jpegs; they should be a mixture of external and internal shots of the project. These images are used for judging purposes, they should convey and highlight what is good about the project, we advise both wide shots and closes ups and if possible show the building in use.

Entrants must also upload up to 8 plans as jpegs or pdf which must include a location plan, site plan, floor plans, elevations and sections).

Each image and plan must be uploaded as separate files, if they are not you will be asked to resubmit them. Please refer to below for format and naming convention.

Images, file type: JPEG, Quality and size: up to 5mb in size, no less than 2mb, DPI: 300, Please note no symbols in the naming protocol: ProjectName01PhotographerName.jpg.

Plans, file type: JPEG or PDF, Quality and size: up to 3mb in size, no less than 500kb, please note no symbols in the naming protocol: ProjectName01Plantype.

13. All entries - Online entry payment by credit card or debit card

Each entry requires one payment. The entry fee is dependent on the value of the building entered, see payment bands below (applicable to all entrants, including EU).

• Payments must be made separately, i.e. they cannot be grouped together for multiple entries and you must pay the full amount, including VAT.
• Payments must be made online using a valid credit or debit card at the end of the entry process.
• Once payment is made you cannot alter your entry - payment results in the final submission of your entry.

Entry costs: These are unchanged from 2013

 Building value up to £350k - £75 + VAT £15 = £90

 Building value between £350k and £1m - £160 +VAT £32 = £192

 Building value between £1m and £5m - £295 & VAT £59 = £354

 Building value between £5m and £20m - £420 + VAT £84 = £504

 Building value over £20m - £450 + VAT £90 = £540

Judging and criteria

How it’s done and what the judges are looking for

RIBA Awards judging 2014

All RIBA Awards are judged by RIBA Members and lay assessors. Every judge plays a crucial part in a rigorous and thorough process that leads ultimately to the RIBA Stirling Prize.

Judging involves balancing the complexities that any building project will have faced with aesthetic, sustainability and perhaps conservation considerations, as well as the local context. It requires an examination of the client's brief and how intelligently and creatively that has been fulfilled, whilst taking into account the constraints of budget and planning. It means taking a collective view and having a clear vision on what constitutes architectural excellence.

What does a Regional Jury do?

The Regional juries, consisting of a Regional Jury Chair, Regional Representative, Regional Lay Assessor, Sustainability Specialist and Conservation specialist, plus two architects drawn from across the region will meet in Feb/March 2014 in the relevant region. Using the entry materials provided, they will discuss and decide which projects will be shortlisted and visited.

The RIBA regional offices organise all jury visits and will contact the architect directly, inviting both architect and client to the visit. Regional jury visits should take place in March/April 2014. Once visits have been completed the jury will decide their Regional winners, Regional special awards and their recommendations for their RIBA National Award shortlists. Regional Awards will be announced at awards events across the country in the months of April and May.

What does a National Jury do?

The National juries, consisting of a National Jury Chair and Regional Representative (the person who chaired the regional jury) will meet in April/May 2014. Using entry materials provided and recommendations from the Regional juries they will discuss and decide which projects will be shortlisted and visited.

The RIBA regional offices organise all jury visits and will contact the architect directly, inviting both architect and client to the visit. National Jury visits will take place in May 2014. Once visits have been completed the National Jury Chairs will meet and decide all National Awards. National Awards will be announced at the end of June 2014.

National Awards Group EU Judging

Once all schemes outside of the UK have been submitted, the RIBA National Awards Group will meet and shortlist EU schemes based on the material provided.

If you are shortlisted you will be notified by the RIBA and a visit will be arranged where both the architect(s) and client will be asked to attend. If you are not shortlisted you will be notified in writing. We regret that at this stage feedback cannot be provided on individual entries.

Once all EU visits have been completed the RIBA Awards Group will meet and decide RIBA EU Award winners.

Criteria

Every judge will be asked to consider each of the following points in relation to every scheme. Before any visits are made, every judge will read and digest the criteria below (given in alphabetical order) and study all the submitted materials. They will then visit a building, look in detail at all its aspects, interior and exterior etc, listen to the story that both architect and client have to tell, interrogate them about the process and its results. After discussion with fellow judges, they will arrive at their provisional judgements. Once all visits have concluded, the jury will meet for a final time, take those provisional judgements, apply the criteria once again and decide their awards.

The judges are looking for buildings that fulfil as many of the criteria featured as possible; they will use their local knowledge and professional expertise to evaluate the relevance of the criteria to individual schemes and judge accordingly.

• Appropriateness of its structural and servicing systems
• Budget – value for money
• Capacity to stimulate, engage and delight its occupants, visitors and passers-by
• Complexity of brief / degree of difficulty - its architectural ambition and ideas
• Design vision. Is this reflected in all aspects of the design?
• Extent of innovation, invention and originality
• Fitness for purpose, especially in response to the client’s brief as reflected in the level of client satisfaction
• Has it made a significant contribution to its immediate environment?
• Response to the issues of accessibility and other social factors
• Selection of materials and the way in which they are detailed
• Size/space – but not in terms of m2, the spatial experience it offers
• Sustainability – environmental and economic
• Timetable – the project should not have gone over time without good cause
• Type of contract e.g. traditional, design and build 

Key dates

Open for entries: 5 December 2013 (excluding Scotland)

Entry closes: Friday 7 February midnight (excluding Scotland)

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