The New Zealand Institute of Architects (NZIA) is inviting entries into the 2016 Warren Trust Awards for Architectural Writing. The essay competition has two categories: Open and Secondary School.

One winner in each category will be decided, and up to three Highly Commended Awards will be made. The Open category award carries a cash prize of $1,500, and the winner of the Secondary category will receive $1,000. Authors of Highly Commended Awards will receive $500. The Institute of Architects will publish the award-winning essays.

The essay topic for 2016 is to write about a journey you have made to an architectural site – it could be a new building or an old one, a town or a city or even a ruin. Explain why you went and describe what you found, and what it means to you. The Open word limit is 1,500 and the Secondary School limit is 800 words.

NZIA communications manager John Walsh said the purpose of the Warren Trust Awards is to encourage people of different ages and from all walks of life to write about architecture. “We want to promote an informed critical culture, and we’re especially keen to encourage younger writers to write about architecture,” Walsh said. “We hope the competition will appeal to people who enjoy writing and would like to tackle the challenge of an architectural topic in an essay format.”

Walsh said last year’s inaugural Warren Trust Awards for Architectural Writing attracted more than 80 entries. ArchitectureNow featured some of the winning and highly commended essays from 2015. Follow the links to read Tessa Forde’s winning Open category essay, Stuart Taylor’s Highly Commended essay, and the winning Secondary School category essay by Matthew Connolly.

Entries into the 2016 Warren Trust Awards for Architectural Writing must be received by 3 October.

Details of the competition, including entry criteria and submission address, are on the NZIA website.