The Sir Zelman Cowen Award for Public Architecture is a national architecture award presented annually by the

Australian Institute of Architects (United we advance architecture) , predecessor = , merged = , successor = , formation = , extinction = , status = Professional body; members association , headquarters = L1/41 Exhibition St, Melbourne , leader_title = CEO , leader_ ...

(AIA) since 1981. The named award is given to the work adjudicated to be the most significant for the advancement of public architecture in that year. Alongside the Named Award, National Awards and National Commendations are also given by the jury.

Background

Definition of the award

The award recognises 'completed works of architecture of the highest quality' in the public architecture category. Originally the award was offered for 'non–residential buildings' with winning and commended projects including a wide array of building types including; cultural, education, health, transport, sports facilities, tourism, infrastructure, religion, justice, correctional facilities, war memorials, public administration, commercial buildings and a fountain. Projects in this awards category must be predominantly of a public or institutional nature and generally fall within Building Code of Australia (BCA) Class 9, excluding projects within the definition of 'Educational Architecture or any BCA Class 9b building used primarily for educational purposes'. Projects awarded Named Awards and Architecture Awards by state-based Chapters of the AIA will be considered for a National Award in the same year. Since 2015 education projects have been assessed in a separate award category for the

Daryl Jackson Daryl Sanders Jackson AO (born 7 February 1937) is an Australian architect and the owner of an international architecture firm, Jackson Architecture. Jackson also became the associate professor of the University of Melbourne and Deakin Univers ...

Award for Educational Architecture.

Zelman Cowen

The named award recognises

Sir Zelman Cowen Sir Zelman Cowen, (7 October 1919 – 8 December 2011) was an Australian legal scholar and university administrator who served as the 19th Governor-General of Australia, in office from 1977 to 1982. Cowen was born in Melbourne, and attended ...

, a 1953

Fulbright Senior Scholar The Fulbright Program, including the Fulbright–Hays Program, is one of several United States Cultural Exchange Programs with the goal of improving intercultural relations, cultural diplomacy, and intercultural competence between the people of ...

in Law from the

University of Melbourne The University of Melbourne is a public research university located in Melbourne, Australia. Founded in 1853, it is Australia's second oldest university and the oldest in Victoria. Its main campus is located in Parkville, an inner suburb nor ...

and

Harvard University Harvard University is a private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1636 as Harvard College and named for its first benefactor, the Puritan clergyman John Harvard, it is the oldest institution of higher le ...

, a prominent legal scholar and university administrator, and later the 19th

Governor General of Australia The governor-general of Australia is the representative of the Monarchy of Australia, monarch, currently King Charles III, in Australia.Australian Capital Territory The Australian Capital Territory (commonly abbreviated as ACT), known as the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) until 1938, is a landlocked federal territory of Australia containing the national capital Canberra and some surrounding townships. ...

, three in Queensland, two in Victoria and one each in Northern Territory and Western Australia. An award was not made in New South Wales until 1998 for Olympic Park Station. Around 60% of awarded buildings were paid for with public funds and 40% with private funding. Cultural projects have accounted for around 40% of all awards, followed by education (22%) and transport (9%).

Commendations (1981—2006)

From the inception of the award commendations were an optional award allocated at the jury's discretion. Only six commendations were given in the first ten years of the award. Fourteen were awarded in the next decade (between 1992 and 2001), and overall 26 commendations were made in 24 years, averaging around one per year.

National Awards and Commendations (Since 2007)

From 2007 the Award was changed from only awarding Commendations, to awarding the named award (Sir Zelman Cowen Award) as the highest award (see table above), a National Award for Public Architecture (equivalent to a High Commendation) and a National Commendation for Public Architecture. A total of 68 commendations have been awarded since 2007, over 17 years, at an average four National Awards/National Commendations per annum, in addition to the named award.

References