LSC & RIBA Come Together to Launch Design Awards

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The Learning and Skills Council (LSC) have joined the Royal Institute of British Architects (RIBA) to create a new award scheme to recognise and promote design excellence.

The new scheme will be called the RIBA/LSC Further Education Awards. The award will carry a first prize of £5,000 and will be bestowed on a RIBA architect, who has designed a Further Education college that has been built in England within the last two years. The winning design will be selected from submissions by architects and will be judged on the strength of design, innovation and quality.

There will also be an additional prize of £2,000, which will be awarded for entries of special merit. Submissions for consideration in the scheme will need to be made before 2nd June 2006 and the winners will be announced at a presentation evening at RIBA, in London on 8th November 2006.

The Right Atmosphere

Chris Banks, Chairman of the LSC summed up the scheme, saying: “Anyone who teaches will tell you that their students will be more responsive, attentive and enthusiastic in a bright, airy and stimulating “state of the art” classroom. This award will recognise some of the best new buildings that are providing this kind of environment.”

Mr. Banks continued: “Over the past four years, the LSC has approved grants of just under £1 billion to support 524 building projects in the learning and skills sector, worth a total of nearly £3.2 billion. More than half of the estate has now been renewed. This means there are some exciting new buildings out there and the architects responsible deserve to be recognised.”

RIBA also held a conference, entitled “The Design for an Effective Learner Experience – What Makes FE Different?” this month to bring together architects, designers and college managers to explore the issues surrounding building design in relation to educational facilities.

Dan Atkinson

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