Celebrating the future of architecture

Holding reward and recognition events towards the end of a year is something that is fairly common across all sectors of life in London. This period has long been cherished as being perfect for reflection, and so it's quite apt to consider the year that has passed as we prepare for the one ahead. For us as architects in London this is certainly true, in particular as a recent ceremony has enabled our profession to both celebrate the past and embrace the future at once.The first week of December saw the 2016 RIBA President's Medals Student Awards being presented. This is a ceremony which, as the name suggests, gives credit and recognition to those who have brought an exceptional new vision with them to the discipline of architecture. Whilst the awards themselves are presented for the qualities of the work they have achieved so far, the most interesting aspect of them is that they tend to be a reward for a most promising future.It would be true of all fields and endeavours that students should be given every encouragement to progress and succeed. In architecture this has a quite specific, if not unique, purpose. The dynamics of the relationship are truly remarkable. It is always a wonder to see the work of a new architect as it represents an original vision which has been informed by the work of the past. In return, the vision of those of us who have achieved success in London architecture is influenced by this outlook.This year's winners are certainly no exception to the above. If chance permits we would encourage you to inspect and review the winning entrants on the RIBA website. Whether you do so for professional or pleasure reasons, we are confident that you'll be left as impressed as we have been.We'd like to extend our congratulations to all of those promising new architects whose work was selected for consideration, and of course to the winners in particular. The entries gave a stunning insight into the world of architecture - particularly in London - and all hold great promise for the future of our field.