RIDBA FAB Awards

The entry deadline for the RIDBA FAB Awards has closed and some very exciting entries have been received.

With Spring just around the corner it will soon be time for the RIDBA FAB Awards.

The FAB Awards ceremony is run by the Rural and Industrial Design and Building Association to recognise excellence in farming and agricultural buildings.

Following the success of the first event in 2013, new categories were added in order to attract some exciting new entries.

The categories added to the award scheme include diversification to reflect the diverse range of uses that buildings in the countryside are now put to, working farm buildings above and below 250m2, small industrial buildings, equestrian and unusual buildings. These are in addition to an overall first, second and third prize.

Entries for this year’s event include a new, green-roofed fire station in Hirwaun in the Rhondda Valley; the conversion of a 17th Century barn into offices at Boyton Hall near Chelmsford, Essex; a play barn at Pink Pig Farm in Cunthorpe, Lincolnshire; a new clubhouse for Lampeter Rugby Club in Ceredigion; new buildings at Oswestry livestock auction in Shropshire; a technology centre at Throws Farm in Stebbing, Essex; and an agricultural sales and servicing showroom in Swineshead, Lincolnshire.

Entries in all categories are judged on three criteria, with 30% of the marks being allocated for functionality/fit for purpose, 50% for aesthetics/design, and 20% for sustainability.

The FAB Awards aim to recognise and reward RIDBA corporate members, typically a contractor or fabricator of steel or timber framed buildings, and their clients, who have taken the time and effort to ensure their new buildings are sympathetic to and even complement the local landscape, while ensuring they are fit for purpose and have been designed with sustainability in mind.

Winners of the 2015 awards will be announced at a gala presentation dinner attended by Countryfile presenter Tom Heap at the Royal York Hotel in York on Friday 24th April.

The awards are sponsored by a host of organisations, including Joseph Ash Galvanizing.