THE COMPANY

BUILDING AWARD

New City Architecture Award for 2007

AWARD ANNOUNCED AND CERTIFICATES PRESENTED AT THE LIVERY BANQUET AT MANSION HOUSE - 12 MARCH 2008

The Company of Chartered Architects make an annual award to the building which is judged by the Assessors to have made the most distinguished contribution to the streetscape of the City of London in the calendar year of the Award.

The requirements that must be met for the building to be considered are as follows:

i) The building should be a substantially new work of architecture - buildings which include a minor element of refurbishment along side the new work will be considered eligible.
ii) The building must be located in the City of London.
iii) To be considered eligible a building must have been deemed by the City Corporation Planning Department to be complete free of all Town Planning Conditions during the 12 months leading up to the call for entries on 1 September of the year of the Award. The Corporation make available to the Company a list of such completed projects against which applications will be judged for eligibility.
iv) Any building which has been completed prior to the start of the relevant 12 month period will be considered provided that it has not previously been the recipient of an Award or Commendation.

The assessment of the Award is carried out by a panel including the Master and Renter Warden and up to two other members of the Company and will be Chaired by an independent Assessor - in the current year, Paul Finch OBEt.

Programme:

i) Applications will be invited for submission by 31 October in the year of the Award.
ii) Short-listing will be carried out by a Sub-Committee of the Company during November with a view to final judging being carried out in Early December.
iii) Announcement of the selected building will be made in January
iv) The Award, in the form of Certificates will be presented to the Building Owner, the Architect and the Main Contractor at the Company's Livery Banquet which will be held May. The Award Plaque, tailored to suit the character of the building, may also be presented on this occasion but may be presented on another occasion at a reception at the building.

Requirements:

i) Entries will be submitted accompanied by the attached Request for Details of Entry Form and accompanied by the documents set out on the Form to the Clerk to the Company at the address given.
ii) All photographs submitted will be returned to entrants after the assessment has been carried out provided that a stamped addressed envelope accompanies the Entry Form. It may request electronic versions of the images for this purpose.
iii) The Company reserves the right to use images of the winning and any commended buildings for the purpose of any press release or articles in its own newsletter.

Any questions concerning the Award may be addressed to the Clerk from whom Entry Forms can be obtained.

ASSESSORS REPORT FOR 2007 AWARDS

The judges , chaired by Paul Finch visited nine buildings or sites on Wednesday 27 February and were amazed and impressed. Amazed that it was a bright sunny day free from the rain, hail or snow which normally marks the assessment visit and impressed by several of the candidates for this year's award.

The general comment was that the City has improved considerably in terms of the attention given to public space and the environs of new buildings in recent years, and we congratulate the City of London Corporation's Planning and Streetscape Team for their work and commitment.

There are three buildings the judges wished to mention specifically:

First, the new City Information Kiosk opposite St Paul's, by the MAKE Architects for the City of London Corporation. If there were a 'jeu d'esprit' award (which there is not), then this would have won it. The judges liked the attention to detail, the liveliness of the form, and the attractive face it presents to visitors and tourists.

There were two close contenders for this year's award. The first was 51 Aldermanbury Square, by Eric Parry Associates for Scottish Widows Investment Partnership. There was much to admire in this scheme, including the clever treatment of the facade to reduce the apparent scale of the block, and the thoughtful curvature at the top of the building. At ground level, the cut through to the street beyond has created a significant improvement to pedestrian experience, including the view of the double height reception with its artworks, and the introduction of seating and water. The landscaping in Aldermanbury Square was welcomed; a rather dreary backwater has become a real City amenity.

The winner of this year's award, however, was felt to have succeeded in addressing an even greater challenge: that of designing a building immediately next to Lloyd's of London that works at street level. Foster & Partners' Willis Building at 51 Lime Street for The British Land Co Plc and Stanhope Plc was felt to have succeeded extremely well. This time, curvature had been used for the concave façade addressing the side of Lloyd's, reflecting it magnificently. At street level, there was a real feeling of being in a City of London space, and of being part of the close-knit world of insurance. Excellent paving, generous provision of seating, a new pedestrian route, and a ground floor animated with semi-public uses made this building a pleasure to experience. It is a very worthy winner.

The Award Certificates were presented to:

Architects: Ian Whitby - Foster & Partners

Developer: Richard Elliott -The British Land Company Plc
Andrew Highton - Stanhope Plc

Construction Manager: Peter Savoy of Mace

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