Thornton Education Trust announces major programme of architecture education awards

The Thornton Education Trust (TET), a new charity championing world-class architectural education for children and young people, is launching a major programme of awards to recognise those who are introducing future generations to architecture and the built environment.

Young people’s voices are often excluded from urban design discourse and there are few opportunities to develop their creative design skills and knowledge to contribute to the debate. To create better places and spaces, we need more built environment professionals and organisations to commit long term to engaging children and young people in architecture and urban design.

TET is launching its inaugural Inspire Future Generations Awards in June 2021, to recognise built environment professionals, educationalists and organisations who have made a difference in showing how children and young people can benefit from engaging in architecture and urban design. The awards are both a way of celebrating achievement and of building capacity in this neglected area by showcasing best practice.

Open to practitioners, built environment professionals and the private/public sector, the inaugural awards will recognise outstanding people and initiatives from around the world that have taken place since 2016. Winning entries will need to demonstrate how they have made a tangible impact on closing the gap between architecture and education, through activity, collaboration or research.

Successful initiatives, organisations and individuals will need to show how they have encouraged children and young people to engage in and advocate for a better built environment and will demonstrate best practice and innovation.

The award categories in 2021 include a youth engagement programme, eg. for community projects that might involve a range of stakeholders.

A short video intro to the awards can be viewed here.

Applications made online here