Here you will find answers to some of the most common questions about the Structural Awards.

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What is the deadline to submit projects?

All projects must be submitted by 14 April 2025. 

What is the judging process?

The Structural Awards have a rigorous four-stage judging process:

  1. The judging panel independently review entries to identify projects they believe demonstrate excellence, meet the judging criteria and warrant a place on the shortlist.
  2. The panel meet to deliberate and agree the shortlist.
  3. The judging panel review the provisional shortlist and identify projects they believe to be deserving winners.
  4. The panel meet to deliberate and agree the winning projects.
NB: Members of the judging panel will not review or participate in discussions around projects where they may have a vested interest.

What is the judging criteria?

The judging criteria is designed to ensure that the Structural Awards recognise and celebrate the immense skill structural engineers demonstrate across a vast range of structures.

All entries will be judged in response to four key attributes that exemplify structural engineering achievement:

Planet

The entry should assess how the structural engineering contributes to protecting and regenerating the planet, emphasising sustainability, resilience, and environmental responsibility. 

The judges key considerations include: 

  • Sustainability: Innovations in reducing carbon (first and foremost embodied carbon but also impacts on operational carbon); minimising waste, employing circular economy principles and developing low-carbon materials and technologies. 
  • Regenerative design: Projects that actively restore or enhance the environment, going beyond harm reduction through consideration of the wider system, and creation of processes that enable renewal and positive feedback loops for the environment and society.
  • Biodiversity and ecosystem impact: Projects that promote or protect biodiversity. 
  • Local resilience: Design and construction that prepares the world for the future climate, future energy plans, and the future of construction. This includes an understanding of the local context – recognising that some parts of the world require far more construction than others in order to raise standards of living globally.
  • Longevity and purpose: Projects where structures appropriately balance durability, adaptability, and long-term impact against the immediate need to reduce carbon emissions now. 

 The judges are interested in projects aligned with frameworks like the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals, IStructE’s Hierarchy of Net Zero Design, and principles of regenerative or circular design. 

NB: All entries must submit quantification of the embodied carbon footprint of the structure (superstructure plus substructure, but not other disciplines) using a version the IStructE carbon calculator tool available.

People

Your entry may consider the positive legacy of the project for stakeholders and users, emphasising the human and societal impact of engineering. 

The judges key considerations include: 

  • Social impact: Contributions that serve communities, unlock project potential, or deliver positive outcomes through advocacy, expertise, and creative problem-solving. 
  • Inclusivity: Efforts to engage diverse perspectives and ensure outcomes that benefit a wide range of stakeholders. 
  • Teamwork and collaboration: How the engineering team worked with others to achieve exceptional results. 
  • Leadership and mentorship: Inspiring, guiding, and mentoring others to contribute to the project's success and their professional growth. Attracting, retaining, and mentoring the next generation of engineers by demonstrating the positive contributions of structural engineering. 
  • Human experience: Consideration of how the engineering behind the project serves to enhance wellbeing, safety, and the overall experience of those impacted by it.

The judges want to know how the project fostered meaningful collaboration and left a lasting positive effect on people and society. 

Process

Your entry may consider methods and processes that demonstrate technical excellence, innovation, and ingenuity in structural engineering. 

The judges key considerations include: 

  • Technical excellence: Solutions that demonstrate or extend the ‘Gold Standard’ of technical excellence in structural engineering. 
  • Innovation and ingenuity: Projects that develop pioneering tools, techniques, or methodologies, showcasing creativity and technical expertise to elevate the engineering process. Curiosity and creativity should be matched with deep technical understanding. 
  • Efficiency and effectiveness: Projects where novel and thoughtful processes led to better outcomes than traditional approaches, for example by demonstrating greater efficiency and economy. 
  • Artistry and craft: Projects where structural design has been informed by an understanding of the craft and artistry of making (and vice versa). 

The judges are looking for examples where engineering processes elevated a project and delivered outstanding outcomes. 

Profession

Your entry may consider the positive impact of your project on the structural engineering profession and ways in which it enhances the reputation of the profession more widely. 

The judges key considerations include: 

  • Inspiration: How projects or individuals inspire others within the profession and beyond by demonstrating the specific contributions and resulting impact to a particular building, industry, community, or society. Demonstrating bold, creative, and visionary thinking in structural engineering that is purposeful and impactful, that clearly sets out to inspire the wider industry, and that can be replicated for scalable positive outcomes.
  • Advancing the profession: Evidence of tangible contributions that will help to shape the future of structural engineering, such as sharing and advancing technical knowledge cross-industry, and improving industry practices.
  • Public engagement: Elevating the profile of structural engineering by showcasing positive societal impacts. Inspiring and attracting the next generation of engineers, demonstrating the meaningful, innovative, and transformative role structural engineers play in shaping the world. 

Explain to the judges how your project advances excellence in structural engineering, shaping the future of the profession by inspiring engineers and the public alike. 

What are the awards categories?

The Structural Awards do not have traditional awards categories. This is because the judging panel welcome any and all submissions that demonstrate structural engineering achievement.

The only requirement is that your project celebrates the incredible skill of structural engineers in relation to at least one of the four key attributes of Planet, People, Process and Profession. The panel will score all entries in relation to these criteria and the highest scoring projects will form the shortlist.

 

What type of project is suitable for entry?

The Structural Awards are open to projects of all sizes from around the world that represent the design and construction of a built structure. Eligible projects must be completed and open for intended use between April 2023 and April 2025.

IMPORTANT: 

  • If your project was not completed withing the stated period your entry will not be considered for shortlisting and will automatically be disqualified before the judging process commences.

  • Projects submitted in 2024 cannot be re-entered in 2025 and will automatically be disqualified.

Who can enter?

Anyone can enter into the Structural Awards. Entries typically come from the structural engineering practice involved on the project, although this is not a requirement. 

NB: It is important to note that all companies involved in a project must agree to enter the Awards before any application is submitted. Joint ventures or group projects are also welcome to enter but this should be identified in Step 1 on the entry form. 

Why enter?

The Structural Awards recognise and celebrate the immense skill structural engineers demonstrate across a vast range of structures and disciplines.

Winning a Structural Award means: 

  • Recognition of your achievements by our expert judging panel

  • Extensive media coverage and publicity of your work

  • A celebration of the technical expertise and hard work of your team 

  • A spotlight on your organisation’s commitment to sustainable practices across design and construction

  • A showcase of projects that have tangible benefits for end-users and make a positive impact on communities

  • Joining a remarkable group of Structural Award-winners that enhance the reputation of the profession and inspire others

  • Boosting your business by establishing new relationships and reaching new clients 

When can I submit an entry?

Entries for the Structural Awards 2025 will be open from 29 January 2025 and close 14 April 2025 and all three stages must have been completed by then.

Where can I find out more about The Institution of Structural Engineers?

The Institution is the world’s largest membership organisation dedicated to structural engineering.

Professional membership is one of the leading global benchmarks of competence and technical excellence. Members undergo rigorous technical assessment and commit to continual learning and development.

The Institution drives higher standards and shares knowledge because its members’ work is vital to public safety and meeting the challenges of the future.

The Institution provides a voice for its members, promoting their contribution to society as innovative, creative problem solvers and the guardians of public safety.
Learn more on our About us page.