Register now for the AJ Small Projects 2023 launch event

The AJ’s 2023 Small Projects award will be launched with a free-to-attend networking drinks event held at Sheppard Robson on Wednesday 9 November, where last year’s judge, Eleanor Fawcett, will speak on what it takes to win and the AJ will be on hand to answer any questions on how to enter. The award recognises the very best of smaller, lower-budget architecture.

With a background in architecture and urban design, Eleanor Fawcett is head of design at Old Oak and Park Royal Development Corporation. She previously worked on the regeneration of the Lea Valley and delivering the Olympic Legacy on behalf of the Mayor of London for over a decade.

Register for the 2023 AJ Small Projects launch

Fawcett, along with Pedro Gil, Fiona Scott and Rashid Ali, judged AJ Small Projects 2022, when Akin Studio was named winner of the AJ Small Projects Award in 2022 for its self-build ‘tree house’ in rural Herefordshire.

Its project Drovers’ Bough, a 32m² residence standing above an old drovers track in a woodland in the West of England, is accessed via an elongated staircase and contains a double-height living room with kitchen, bathroom and mezzanine sleeping area.

Earlier this year, the jury including Fawcett, said Akin Studio’s ‘rigorous’ scheme ‘responded to place in a thoughtful, bespoke way’ and deemed the £70,200 project ‘an incredibly original outcome to an efficient decision-making process’.

Now in its 28th year, the annual AJ Small Projects Award, run again in association with Marley, celebrates completed projects with a contract value of £350,000 and under. The limit has been increased again this time to reflect rising inflation costs and to ensure we can continue to celebrate the rich diversity of projects on a smaller budget.

Since they were first launched in 1996, the intention of the award has remained the same: to give much-deserved recognition to schemes realised at a more modest cost. From home extensions to workspaces, restaurants to shop fit-outs, pavilions to small houses, architects all over the country are busy working on projects that may not make headlines but nevertheless provide a real indication of the depth of design talent across the UK today.

Previous winners have included David Leech Architects, Carmody Groarke, Haworth Tompkins, Hawkins\Brown, Mole Architects and last year’s winner, Akin Studio.

This launch event will be great chance to get top tips for entering and ask questions about the AJ Small Projects Award.

All projects entered into the awards will be featured in the AJ Buildings Library and the 20 shortlisted projects will be published in a special print issue of The Architects’ Journal in April 2023. Those shortlisted will then present their schemes in front of a jury for a live-judging session.

This is a FREE to attend event – so don’t miss out! Book now to attend.