BNA Best Building of the Year 2019 has begun

The 14th edition of BNA Best Building of the Year - the architecture award of the Netherlands - starts from today (Jan. 22). Architects and their clients are invited to submit their best building, completed in 2018, on www.gebouwvanhetjaar.nl submit. The election will be conducted by a six-member expert jury with Jort Kelder as jury chairman. They will judge the buildings in the categories Identity & Iconic Value, Livability & Social Cohesion, Stimulating Environments and Private Residential Experience. The award ceremony will take place on May 17, 2019.

Not the most beautiful, but best buildings
Jort Kelder thinks it is valuable for the discussion about architecture that buildings are judged not only on beauty but also on their added value with regard to social cohesion and livability. "I am very much looking forward to the upcoming judging adventure in patriotic architecture. Although a layman, I have always been interested in architecture. Not only because of the beautiful and good buildings, especially the bad and ugly creations that still tarnish the eye for generations to come."

New: judges also pay attention to accessibility
The jury will (in future) also look at accessibility: buildings where both people without and with disabilities can not only enter barrier-free, but where the user, occupant and visitor can do all those activities for which the building was designed. BNA director Fred Schoorl: "So this goes beyond wheelchair-friendliness, an accessible building emphatically also takes into account the needs of, for example, less mobile seniors and the visually impaired who make up an increasing proportion of our population. In short: accessibility contributes to an inclusive society, so it is high time to add it as a criterion to this election."

Added value for people and society
With the Best Building election, the BNA (Branchevereniging Nederlandse Architectenbureaus) wants to make visible the added value of architecture for people and society. The award is therefore primarily intended for clients and users. Last year The Gelderland House (Team V Architects) was the Best Building in the Netherlands according to the professional jury. The Public Award went to the Eindhoven residential complex Space-S, designed by Inbo.