Pubs to stake claim for design success

Entries for the Campaign for Real Ale (CAMRA) National Pub Design Awards are now open for 2011.

The awards, in association with English Heritage and the Victorian Society, concentrate on new-build pubs, conversions to pubs, conservation work and refurbished pubs.

Work must have been completed in 2010 to be eligible for the 2011 awards.

Entries will be judged by a panel of architects, authors, historians and heritage experts.

CAMRA said the aim of the awards is to encourage "high standards of architectural design in the refurbishment and conservation of existing public houses and in the construction of the new".

It also wants to raise awareness of the many factors that contribute to the character of the British pub as an institution.

The award categories:​

• New-build Pub: The pub might reflect pubs of the past or it could be completely modern, using 20th and 21st-century materials.

• Conversion to Pub Use Pubs are judged on the tastefulness of the pub's interior and exterior.

• Refurbished Pub:Refurbishments should be appropriate for the individual pub and not be an excuse to use uniform furnishings to brand the pub with a brewery or pubco's image.

• The CAMRA and English Heritage Conservation Award: This is usually handed out in appreciation of any work on a pub that conserves what is good at the premises, makes good some of the crass refurbishment efforts of the past and makes sure that the fabric of the place will survive for further generations of pub-goers to enjoy.

The closing date for entries is 30 September. Application forms can be downloaded at www.camra.org.uk​.