The awards celebrate the best research in the fields of architecture and the built environment and have again attracted interest from countries around the globe with entries from New Zealand, Pakistan, Germany, the USA and Chile to name a few.
The scope of entries illustrates the great diversity of architectural research. Encouragingly, the strength of practice-based research continues to grow with particularly strong entries from practice making up almost half of this year’s shortlist. Furthermore, of the 43 entries received, there was an even split by gender.
This year’s annual theme of Ethics and Sustainable Development was chosen to parallel and support the RIBA’s Commission by the same title launched earlier this year. There was a strong focus on ‘people’ rather than just buildings, this includes those who have been displaced, the disadvantaged and marginalised and minority communities.
This year’s shortlist, listed below, includes papers on design and rehabilitation in prisons, architects and architecture in conflict zones, urban refugees in Cape Town, the house as a power station, and regulating architecture and regaining ‘agency’ over projects and outcomes. The winning papers and medallist will be announced at this year’s President’s Medals ceremony at the RIBA on the 4th December 2018.
