The Royal Fine Art Commission Trust today launches a new award scheme to promote beauty in UK buildings and streets, as part of its charitable mission to promote design excellence in the built environment.
The Building Beauty Awards celebrate buildings, engineering structures and urban landscaping schemes that add beauty to our environment. Everyone from architects to members of the public is welcome to submit an entry free of charge at buildingbeautyawards.com. The deadline for entries is the end of March 2022.

The judging panel will be led by one of Britain’s foremost design critics, Stephen Bayley Hon FRIBA, founder of The Design Museum in London and Chairman of the Royal Fine Art Commission Trust. He will be joined by the architectural commentator Paul Finch OBE, the architectural writer Clive Aslet and the cultural historian Kassia St Clair. Other judges will be announced shortly. Winners will be announced at a ceremony in early Summer 2022.

Commenting on the new awards, Stephen Bayley said: “the importance of beauty in our surroundings is huge. Beautiful buildings make us happier and healthier while ugly buildings dull our senses and lower our spirits. Forthcoming reforms to the planning system will give people greater power to insist on beauty. Through these awards we want to draw attention to the excellent work being done by architects, engineers and designers, celebrating the contribution of those who take the trouble to ensure that our built environment lifts us up rather than drags us down. ”

Alongside the awards, the Trust is launching a Building Beauty Grants scheme to promote small-scale beautification projects across the UK.

Applications can be made from today at buildingbeautyawards.com.