December 2010, 1366. VOLUME CCXXVIII

Finding good cause to celebrate the architects of tomorrow

We’re rarely given to hyperbole, but the December issue, which honours the winners of the annual AR Awards for Emerging Architecture, is always imbued with a special spirit of optimism. It’s a rare chance to sneak a glimpse of the next generation of architects and eavesdrop on their concerns and preoccupations. How are they managing to confront the grave global issues of economic meltdown and environmental crisis? How do they make sense of a speeded up and sensationalist world? Is it possible to make a meaningful connection with context and place? Can technology still serve human ends?

It’s quite a burden to place on youthful shoulders, but what is consistently heartening is how young architects from all over the world manage to rise to the occasion. In the 12 years that the Emerging Architecture Awards have been running, the skill, sensitivity and inventiveness of submissions has remained at a stubbornly high level, and this year is no exception. We could have made ten issues of great projects, but had to draw the line somewhere.

Awards are made for built work by designers under 45, as architecture is one of those professions which is a long, slow burn and a gradual getting of wisdom. You can still reach 40 and not have built anything. But building remains the key: building well and building responsibly. And in an era that promises to be very different from the last one, architecture and architects will be under much closer scrutiny. The latest emerging generation must be able to the meet these new challenges with aplomb, and this issue confirms that they are well up to the task.