IBP Journalism Awards 2020: Full Results, Nominations and Entries

CONSTRUCTION / INFRASTRUCTURE JOURNALIST OF THE YEAR

Winner: Ian Weinfass, Construction News

Three well structured articles packed with detail and enthusiastically presented.

The ‘hard hitting’ piece on ‘Cladding Battles’ benefited from in-depth research and a close attention to detail, while the article on ‘Leicester City RC’s training ground’ drew high praise from the judges – a well structured piece underpinned by a keen technical appreciation. The judges were impressed overall by the imaginative and determined approach to research and information gathering.

 Nominations:

 Rob Horgan, New Civil Engineer – Highly Commended

Three consistently good, well researched articles delivered with pace.

The piece on ‘Net Zero Rules’ was insightful, guiding the reader thoughtfully through the findings of this impactful and potentially far reaching investigation.

The piece on Hammersmith Bridge was in the judges view compelling, capturing the ambition and ingenuity of this unique project.

Jordon Marshall, Building

 Three well researched and well crafted pieces. The Caroline Pidgin interview was informative and revealing. The piece on ‘Cleaning a disaster area during a Pandemic’ added an international flavour, with detail gathered ‘on the ground’ adding impact and emotion to this well structured and skillfully collated piece.

 Fran Williams, Architects’ Journal

 Three comprehensive and worthy articles demonstrating a keen appreciation of construction challenges. The judges found the piece on ‘virtuous Circles’ a skillful presentation of the potential for ‘reclamation’ in construction. In the judges view the ‘Brutal Refurbishment piece captured the technical details in an easy to read style – drawing the reader in.

NEWS REPORTER OF THE YEAR

Winner: Jack Simpson, Inside Housing

Jack has a very clear strong style. He is probing, challenging and investigative, not holding back in pursuing the story.

Nominations:

 Pete Apps, Inside Housing

 A strong submission from a leading voice from the sector. A really important and timely on eviction bans and the reality behind them.

 Lucie Heath, Inside Housing

A journalist that isn’t afraid to explore the issues affecting some of the most vulnerable people in society, getting real stories of their experience that are relevant to her specialist readers.

FEATURE WRITER OF THE YEAR

Winner: Zak Garner-Purkis, Construction News

 Three ‘hard hitting’, well-constructed articles, from this category winner, presented in a fluid style, being both informative and engaging.

The judges found the collaborative piece on Istanbul’s new airport comprehensive and insightful reflecting the skillful application of in-depth research. The pieces drawing attention to ‘Slave labour in London’ and ‘Slavery in the supply chain’ were each powerful and revealing.

The comprehensive and fearless approach gave insight to issues affecting the lives of many: “A fine example of investigative journalism” highly praised by the judges.

 Nominations:

 Pete Apps, Inside Housing – Highly Commended

 Three well structured and skillfully collated pieces. The revealing interview with Toby Lloyd was in the judges view, compelling. The comprehensive and ‘hard hitting’ pieces on ‘Dangerous Cladding’ and the ‘Failure of the Grenfell Tower Refurbishment’ demonstrated the writer’s ability to present complexity with admirable clarity. Three powerful pieces were praised by the judges for their analytical presentation.

 Nathaniel Barker, Inside Housing

 Three well researched pieces of a consistently high standard. The comprehensive piece on ‘Permitted Development Wrongs’ was particularly engaging. A hard hitting piece on the link between Covid-19 deaths and the housing crisis gave clear expression to the far reaching impact of the pandemic.

 Martina Lees, writing for The Sunday Times and Times

 The judges were impressed by three well researched features covering a wide range of topics. The piece on the ‘Rise of the Gladiators’ was powerfully insightful, gripping the reader’s attention throughout. A fast moving piece on ‘Self employed workers’ admirably highlighted the plight of those caught up in the vagaries of the Governments’ coronavirus financial support strategy.

 Richard Waite, Architects’ Journal

 Three well crafted pieces of a diverse and topical nature. The piece on the ‘Grenfell Tower Enquiry’ stood out. The judges commented that this well presented piece was both powerful and revealing.

BUSINESS / FINANCIAL JOURNALIST OF THE YEAR

Winner: David Price, Construction News

 David tackled big and important subjects – the continuing aftermath of Grenfell and the new and changing crisis of coronavirus. He has an ability to get good quotes from his subjects but he is not scared to attack. This was hard edged journalism, well-written. The three pieces were penetrating and urgent.

Nominations:

Luke Cross, Social Housing

Luke knows the housing market inside out and he knows what will interest his readers – and they know that they can trust his judgement. By writing about how social housing will adjust to ESG – environmental, social and governance – after the pandemic he embraced two items high on his readers’ agendas.

Mike Phillips, Bisnow

 Mike writes long-form journalism with a pacy style that would make even non-property readers interested in esoteric subjects. This confident style shows that he knows his subject but he writes with an informality not usually seen in specialist publications or on digital platforms. His submitted articles on Brexit, care-homes and the death of the lease were topical and controversial but well-informed.

EVENT OF THE YEAR

Winner: Dezeen: Virtual Design Festival

The judges were very impressed by the Dezeen entry which demonstrated ambition, imagination and creative flair with varied and engaging content and well branded segments of different offers from interviews to collaborations. They particularly like its ‘phoenix out of the ashes’ response to a looming disaster.

With a reduced team and on a modest budget, the organiser put in place a wide range of virtual events which spoke straight to the interests and concerns of its community. They quickly and clearly identified where the need might be for sharing information, for instance schools of architecture and speedily pulled in a array of impressive, high-profile collaborators. In the circumstances, to bring in ‘over £500,000’ was an extraordinary achievement.

Nominations:

Architects’ Journal / Architectural Review / EMAP: W Awards

The W Awards stood out for the judges as “undoubtedly the purest and most commendable of objectives.” The Awards succeeded in fore fronting the work of women in architectural practice and provided a great opportunity to hear from women working on high profile projects and provided vital mentoring support.

Building/Assemble Media Group: The Building Awards 2019

The judges noted that the Building Awards are clearly a successful and joyous event, however, reading about them seemed like memories of the past, The world has changed irrevocably since the event which made it hard to compare to the other finalists. Going forward the judges hope that the Awards event will find new formats to engage with their audience.

DIGITAL LEADERSHIP OF THE YEAR

Winner: Marcus Fairs, Dezeen

Marcus Fairs’ infectious smile shone through all 50 – yes, fifty – interviews he conducted with architects and designers as part of the innovative and highly profitable Virtual Design Festival, and he has even more reason to smile as winner of this award.

Little wonder that Dezeen continues to show impressive growth, turning even the Covid-19 pandemic into an opportunity.

Nomination:

Jamie Harris, Freelance, formally Building magazine

Jamie follows up last year’s win for digital leadership with this worthy nomination which again shows his ability in a wide range of areas – from helping to design the website to hosting interesting podcasts. The judges wish him the best of luck in whatever he decides to do next.

SCOOP OF THE YEAR

Winner: Jack Simpson, Inside Housing

Jack was miles ahead of the competition with a scoop on the cladding scandal which has left thousands trapped in flats they are unable to sell. The national media took months to catch up with what a big story this is and how it’s blighting the lives of so many.

Nominations:

Louise Clarence-Smith, The Times

A slick telling of a fantastic scoop which was followed up by the rest of the media.

Joey Gardiner, Building

A good old-fashioned scoop which had considerable impacted on publication, within the sector and beyond.

EDITORIAL BRAND OF THE YEAR

Winner: Architects’ Journal

While most 125-year-olds would sit back and consider a life well lived, The Architects’ Journal continues to reinvent itself -and to terrific effect has a clear goal and a well defined strategy. By making climate change its focus, it has positioned the brand for the future, while supporting and educating its readers.

When race and diversity became defining issues of 2020, the AJ was able to build on work it had begun two years before, giving its coverage added momentum and gravitas . In its reaction to the pandemic, AJ struck a superb balance between practical ‘how to’ guides, informative data and a communal sense of creativity in lockdown.

Vision, focus and great execution – the AJ is a deserving winner from a strong field of entries.

Nominations:

Inside Housing – Highly Commended

The campaigning was excellent, and the publication has really made its name in its laser-like focus on flammable cladding. It has not given up on this long-running story and is still pressing for further change. Coverage of COVID was good. The judges were pleased by the appointment of a BAME advisory panel to increase diversity. The judges also commend the Digital Housing Week and the excellent use of social media.

Building

The good journalism and appealing stories deserved to find a wider audience.

Construction News

The judges loved the campaigning zeal and the use of real investigative journalism. This is a brand that tries to give its audience a voice. It has energy and a story to tell.

Dezeen

This is a brand that is bursting with ambition, energy and new ideas. Its Virtual Design Festival in particular is to be commended as a rapid response to the pandemic that generated a lot of traffic and attention.