Dear colleagues,

The 2013 WA Architecture Awards program is now over and planning for next year’s program has already commenced!  Congratulations to all entrants who have received awards and commendations, and best of luck to our award winners in this year’s National Awards which will be announced in Sydney in November.

This year has seen a continuation of the development of our WA awards program.  Thanks to everyone involved for the huge effort made to plan and deliver all of the elements of this year’s awards.  In its second year, the presentation day ran very well with feedback confirming significant improvements were achieved.  The new format awards night was a massive undertaking and had some successes and some not so successful elements. The awards committee are aware that there will always be different opinions on preferred format for the evening, so the significant amount of feedback received from attendees after the awards night has been very valuable and much appreciated.

Based on feedback received, it seems that an overwhelming majority of attendees appreciated the enhanced focus that the theatre format gave to the awards presentations, but  a majority also felt the hospitality part of the evening (food and entertainment) were not successful.  The reasons given for disliking the hospitality varied a lot.  The quality, quantity and availability of food and drink were considered below an acceptable standard.  Some people disliked the stand-up format and others just said the foyer area at PCH was simply not suitable for the number of people who attended.

This year we sold tickets for $10 less than in previous years, however we continue to strive to deliver the best value we can for our members.  The awards committee is already exploring options for next year’s awards night that would allow us to continue to deliver a focussed presentation format, radically improve on this year’s hospitality offering, and  to seek to provide excellent value for the ticket price.

The awards night is the biggest night of the year for our members – a chance to reflect on our achievements, to celebrate with colleagues, and to promote the value of what we do.  The volunteers that work on the awards committee understand this and are working hard on your behalf to continue to improve the whole awards program for all our benefit.

Regards,

David Karotkin
WA Chapter President