Deadline to nominate Northern Ireland building design prowess

Today (25 January) is the deadline to nominate Northern Ireland’s most remarkable developments in land, property and construction. The RICS (Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors) Northern Ireland Awards will present accolades for Community Benefit, Building Conservation, Regeneration, and Design and Innovation at an awards ceremony in Riddel Hall, Queen’s University Belfast on 10 May. The scheme is open to anyone working within the property profession, and will celebrate the talents of surveyors, developers, engineers, planners, architects and others.

As well as choosing winners and commended projects in the four categories, the RICS Northern Ireland Awards will also name an overall project of the year. Phyllis Agnew, Senior Partner and Head of Real Estate from law firm Tughans which sponsors the awards said: “These are difficult times for property and construction as a whole and we think it is therefore more important than ever to highlight the good work that is being done. We are delighted to be involved with the awards and look forward to seeing who the winners are in May.”

The Northern Ireland winners will also be entered into the RICS Awards Grand Final, where they will compete with other regional winners from across the UK and internationally to be the overall category winner and for the ultimate accolade – Project of the Year. The Grand Final will take place in London in October 2013.

Last year’s Northern Ireland Project of the Year was The Belfast Streets Ahead Project, which was praised for transforming the city centre and encouraging further sustainable private sector investment. It also won the Regeneration category.

Brownlow Community Hub, Craigavon (Community Benefit); Queen’s University Sports Facilities (Design and Innovation); and the restoration of St Columb’s Cathedral, Londonderry (Building Conservation) were the other category winners, selected from 19 shortlisted projects.

See RICS Awards for further information.