Awards

You build a motor car and put it on the market, and if the public like it, they will buy thousands of them. Its design, performance, price, durability and value for money will reap its own rewards. We don’t have the luxury of a mass market selecting the best on the market through mass consumption. Each building project, and the software used to design and manage them, is a unique endeavour, and the only way of deciding which are worthy of public acclaim is through architectural and project design competitions and awards ceremonies where industry experts and consumers can vote for their favourites in each category.

That’s why The Hammers competition, the Construction Computing Awards - is so successful – and is now in its 17th year. This month gives you the opportunity to reflect on the last year and choose who you think deserves the accolade in each category. And not only to choose your favourite, but to consider why they attract your vote, and what attributes they bring to the industry. Like the motor industry, that’s the only way to succeed – to learn lessons from the leaders in the field.

That’s why the industry favours design competitions, and I am lucky enough to be on the judging panel for Vectorworks student design competition – and am currently going through a large number of pdfs supplied by student nominees. The striking thing amongst these is that the majority of the student’s names have global origins. I would like to think that it demonstrates a recognition of the quality and depth of architectural design courses that we have in UK universities, and that we have large numbers of overseas students who have chosen to take advantage of them. The quality of the nominations is outstanding and bodes well for the future of the industry.

David Chadwick

To make sure you get your copy of the Newsletter emailed to you personally, every time, click here to register.