The Royal Institute of British Architects (RIBA) has announced the second edition of the RIBA International Prize, the highly prestigious award for the world’s best new building.

Now open for entries the RIBA International Prize will be awarded to a building which exemplifies design excellence, architectural ambition and delivers meaningful social impact. The prize is open to any qualified architect in the world, for a building of any size, type or budget.

Entries close on 17 October 2017. The inaugural RIBA International Prize was awarded in 2016 to Grafton Architects for their outstanding university building, UTEC (Universidad de Ingeniería y Tecnología) in Lima, Peru. The innovative ‘vertical campus’ structure was dubbed ‘a modern-day Machu Picchu’ by the RIBA Jury. The RIBA International Prize launches during the inaugural RIBA International Week, featuring a series of events hosted by a group of professionals and industry luminaries including Francis Kéré , Amanda Levete , Sir David Chipperfield , Elizabeth Diller , Odile Decq and fast-rising global talent, Ma Yansong, who will gather to debate the positive role architects can play in the future design of our cities.

Elizabeth Diller, Chair of the Grand Jury welcomed the Prize: “It is my honour to Chair the Grand Jury for the RIBA International Prize. In launching this call to entries, we are also launching a call to arms to the architecture community and to the public to consider the importance of challenging the status quo, of putting forward new paradigms, and of thinking broadly about architecture’s potential reach. Building on the success of its inaugural year, I look forward to beginning the process of discovering a building of strong civic importance that contributes to the culture of architecture while addressing the democratic values of our time.”

The Grand Jury for the 2018 RIBA International Prize will be led by Elizabeth Diller , partner of acclaimed US firm, Diller Scofidio + Renfro, and includes Joshua Bolchover, co-founder of Rural Urban Framework, a pioneering research and design collaborative practice based in Hong Kong and winner of the first RIBA International Prize’s award for Best Emerging Practice; and lay juror, acclaimed choreographer Wayne McGregor CBE, who will bring his passion and unique perspective on architecture to the prize. The full jury will be announced in due course. The winner of the RIBA International Prize will be selected following a rigorous judging process that will see two expert panels of jurors visit each of the shortlisted buildings twice in person, before the Grand Jury selects four finalists to visit for a final time; the winning building will be announced in November 2018.

Entries for the RIBA International Prize close on 17 October 2017. To enter or find out more, visit: http://bit.ly/2umTl6F.