Bangkok, Thailand – Submissions are now being accepted for the 2015 UNESCO Asia-Pacific Awards for Cultural Heritage Conservation. The Awards recognise the efforts of private individuals and organisations that have successfully restored or conserved structures, places and properties of heritage value in the region. The Awards emphasise the importance of the conservation process, including the technical achievements and quality of the restoration, as well as the social impact, including community involvement in the project.
The deadline for receipt of materials is 31 March 2015. Since the Awards were established in 2000, UNESCO has received 562 entries from 24 countries. A total of 174 projects have received Awards for high achievement in conservation, while 9 have received the Award for New Design in Heritage Contexts (previously known as the Jury Commendation for Innovation).
Entries for the 2015 Awards programme must be submitted to UNESCO Bangkok by 31 March 2015 using an official entry form, a description of the project in the official format outlined in the link below, drawings and photographs in hard and softcopy formats.
Projects involving heritage properties more than 50 years old, which were completed within the last 10 years are eligible for consideration in the conservation category. Houses, commercial and institutional buildings, historic towns and villages, archaeological heritage sites and cultural landscapes, for example, are all suitable for entry. The awards aim to encourage others to undertake conservation projects within their communities, either independently or by seeking public-private partnerships.
Winners will be announced in early September 2015, with a selected number of entries receiving the “Award of Excellence”, “Award of Distinction”, “Award of Merit”, “Honourable Mention” and “Award for New Design in Heritage Contexts”.
The Award for New Design in Heritage Contexts is given to newly-built structures that demonstrate outstanding design well-integrated into historic contexts. The Award encourages submissions of completed new architecture and design that enrich the existing heritage setting. Building annexes, as well as new extensions, new buildings, new public spaces and new structures, such as bridges, are all eligible for consideration.
In 2014 the award programme received a total of 46 projects submitted from 16 countries across Asia and the Pacific, with a total of 14 projects from 10 countries recognized. Although no Award of Excellence was given this year, the restoration of the Saryazd Citadel, Yazd, Islamic Republic of Iran was honoured with an Award of Distinction.
To apply for the 2015 Awards, visit www.unescobkk.org/culture/heritage/wh/heritageawards or email culture.bgk@unesco.org.
