The fourth of Beeston Civic Society’s biennial Design Awards is now open for nominations.
The Society’s campaign began in 2018 with an aim to show that Beeston is a great place to do business and live, whilst encouraging good design in buildings, landscaping, and public spaces – as well as fostering a greater sense of belonging and pride in the community.
The awards offer an opportunity for all local people, organisations and businesses to acknowledge projects they feel make a positive difference to the area, and show good design in and of themselves. There are three award categories, and projects can fall into one or more of them:
Beeston Character – adding to our area with good design
Climate + Sustainability – reducing carbon emissions
Streets + Public Spaces – making Beeston a more pleasant place to live and work
Projects of all sizes qualify, whether large developments, a single new build, or small project. Some examples of the sort of projects which could be entered include: new or improved shop fronts; creating better natural habitats; improved front or back gardens; new building(s) (from houses to larger residential or commercial developments); an old building restored to use; retrofitting energy efficiency measures; public space improvements; new play areas; public art; or new parks.
Better by Design
Nomination is open to everyone – including members of the public, developers, builders, property owners and local authorities, and is easy to do via the website. A panel of expert judges has been drawn from sectors such as: architecture, urban design, sustainability, heritage, and conservation. All nominated projects will be assessed by the panel, and winners drawn from category shortlists. An Overall Winner will also be selected and, new for 2025, a People’s Choice award will be decided by public vote. Society Treasurer, Gary Smerdon-White, who is leading the project this year, states, “Our Design Awards are a great chance for everyone to show their support for a better and more vibrant Beeston.”
There will be a special presentation evening in November for all those shortlisted, winners, kids’ competition winners, and special guests.
Kids’ Corner
As well as a Design Awards very definitely for grown-ups, the Society is running a competition for local primary schoolchildren to enter called The Dreamiest Bestest Building Ever!! – where local children can submit their design of the best building they can imagine and draw. The winners will be the ones showing a good building design; shown to be made of the best materials and doing the coolest things. Gary explains, “We hope that the designers and decision-makers of the future will get involved and show us all what they think makes a building really good for the planet, or cool, or useful.”
How to Enter
Full information on the Awards and how to nominate are on the Society website beestoncivicsociety.org.uk/designawards, and primary school children from schools in Beeston, Attenborough, Bramcote Chilwell or Toton can enter the competition at beestoncivicsociety.org.uk/competition. There will also be printed entry sheets available from Beeston Library.
Sponsor Opportunities
The Society welcomes local businesses wishing to support the awards through sponsorship – a great way to gain brand association with caring about how Beeston develops, looks and combats the impact of climate change to an engaged audience of industry professionals, and design and sustainability enthusiasts.
Further details can be found on the website, or by contacting them at: [email protected]