
Do buildings need to be 'green' to be considered good architecture ?
Updated: Dec 6, 2021
Energy performance does not seem to have been a priority for the judging Panel on this years (2021) RIBA House of the Year. This may be considered particularly surprising as it is two years since the Royal Institute of British Architects (RIBA) declared environment and climate emergency and committed to developing the RIBA Ethics and Sustainable Development Commission’s action plan and made a pledge to support the government’s 2050 net zero emissions target.
The RIBA webpage states that:-
"RIBA Awards are regarded by both the public and profession as the most valued architecture awards with an unrivalled approach to the judging and promotion of good architecture ...
... RIBA Awards and prizes are the most rigorously judged awards for architectural excellence..."
Research shared with The Design Review Panel by by Hawkes Architecture, which can be seen below, indicates that none of the short listed contenders have an A-rated energy performance certificate (EPC). Surprisingly half were D-rated, and one project has not even had an EPC produced.

The 2021 RIBA House of the Year Longlist only includes one house (The Walled Garden, by McLean Quinlan) that achieved an A rating, and this project appears not to have been shortlisted.

The RIBA webpage states that:-
"RIBA House of the Year