The UK office market is worth around £6bn and is set to grow to £9bn by 2010. Yet it's crying out for new ideas and wow factor. The Next Generation Award, now in its second year, is a welcome attempt to engage younger firms in this, the biggest sector of them all. Few architects who entered last year's award showed any signs they could challenge conventional thinking while working to a commercial brief. As judges, we weren't looking for built schemes, but on the other hand we were unimpressed with portfolios which did not mention the words 'office' or 'floor space' once. There were good ideas but entrants needed to focus them. This award hopes to encourage them to do that and give young architects the chance to break into a notoriously tough market.
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