Shortlist highlights of the 2015 Structural Awards

Another edition of the Structural Awards is almost coming to a close. Every year, the Institution of Structural Engineers celebrates the achievements and innovations of structural engineers worldwide, as well as their crucial roles in creating design solutions for our built environment. This year's shortlist includes a diverse range of projects in 13 award categories. But you'll have to sit tight for the next few months, as the winners won't be announced until The Structural Awards ceremony at The Brewery in London on November 13.

The competition is anyone's game. Last year, the Glass Lantern at the Apple Store Istanbul scored the highest accolade, The Supreme Award for Structural Engineering Excellence. Before that, the Taizhou Bridge in China won the top prize in 2013.

Check out some of this year's shortlisters below.

New Home for The National Polish Radio Symphony Orchestra | Katowice, Poland
Structural Designer: BuroHappold Engineering

Description: "This concert hall is the new home of The National Polish Radio Symphony Orchestra, with capacity for an audience of almost 1,800. Katowice is famed for its Silesian mining culture, and the venue has been designed both to reflect the region’s landscape and heritage (featuring references to the Nikiszowiec district’s brick buildings) and stand as a symbol of modern Poland."

Amphibious House | Buckinghamshire, United Kingdom
Structural Designer: Techniker

Description: "Positioned on an island in the River Thames, the UK’s first amphibious house can rise up by 2.5 metres, more than enough to cope with an extreme flooding event. The house remains operational during a flood and can be occupied as soon as flood waters recede."

Qianximen Jialing River Bridge | Chongqing, China
Structural Designer: China Merchants Chongqing Communications Technology Research & Design Institute Co. Ltd. T.Y. Lin International

Description: "Chongqing is one of the fastest-growing cities in the world, with a population of 32 million. Intersected by two major rivers, the Yangtze in the south and the Jialing in the north, the city held an international competition for two new “Twin River Bridges”. The Qianximen Bridge was one of the winning designs, featuring a single tower shaped like the shuttle of an ancient Chinese weaving machine, to express Chongqing’s history and culture."

Vegas High Roller | Las Vegas, United States
Structural Designer: Arup

Description: "The Vegas High Roller is the current Guinness World Record Holder for the tallest observation wheel. Standing at 168 metres tall, it is a major new landmark for Las Vegas, and the key feature in a new pedestrian street development in the city. The wheel carries 28 fully air conditioned, spherical cabins."

Melbourne School of Design | Melbourne, Australia
Structural Designer: Irwinconsult

Description: "The Melbourne School of Design was commissioned via an international design competition in 2009. A key element of the brief was the concept that the building itself would teach the students about design, structure and construction. To this end, the design team exposed a number of key structural elements."

Merchant Square Footbridge | London, United Kingdom
Structural Designer: Knight Architects AKT II

Description: "This winning design for a footbridge across the Grand Union Canal is the focal point of the new Merchant Square development. The simple and spectacular design sees a three meter wide cantilevered deck raised on hydraulic jacks with an action similar to a traditional Japanese hand fan."

Entry Pavilion to the National September 11 Memorial Museum | New York, United States
Structural Designer: Buro Happold

Description: "The Pavilion acts as an entrance to the National September 11 Memorial Museum in New York, USA. It houses two 80-ft tall ‘tridents’ reclaimed from the original Twin Tower exteriors. The tridents are so huge they had to be installed first and the Pavilion built around them. The structure also features an auditorium and a private suite for victims’ families."

Singapore Sports Hub | Singapore
Structural Designer: Arup

Description: "The Singapore Sports Hub is a key project in Singapore’s urban redevelopment and sports facilities masterplan, which promotes a more sustainable, healthy and active society. The Hub provides a unique ecosystem of sporting, retail and leisure spaces, including the new National Stadium -- a highly adaptable, state-of-the-art, 55,000 seat sports venue featuring a retractable roof and movable seating."

Housing for Low-Income Communities in El Salvador | El Salvador
Structural Designer: Arup 

Description: "A project to develop an alternative form of permanent, low-cost and appropriate housing for low-income communities in El Salvador. The design blends modern engineering principles and technologies with a traditional construction method, creating a low-tech house design that is immediately familiar to local communities, but with a modern look that makes it very popular."

Steel and glass features for the 300th anniversary of Omsk, Russia | Omsk, Russia
Structural Designer: Malishev Engineers

Description: "As part of the forthcoming 300th anniversary celebrations of the Siberian city of Omsk, the city decided to refurbish and renovate Valikhanov Street in the city centre, which cuts through historic parts of the town. The project involved the design and construction of steel and glass 'crystals' to be scattered along the street as if by an imaginary 'wizard'."

Sussex House | Sussex, United Kingdom
Structural Designer: Packman Lucas

Description: "This private residence on the Sussex Downs features highly sustainable construction elements, including a separately housed bio mass boiler, an insulated beam and block floor, upper storey insulation wrap, louvered solar shading and high performance glass to inhibit heat loss."

Find the full 2015 shortlist here.

Also check out previous Structural Awards competitions on Bustler here.

Photos courtesy of the 2015 Structural Awards.