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Members of the public are now being asked by the Bank of England to nominate their favourite architects, designers, painters, photographers and filmmakers, one of whom will be chosen to replace economist Adam Smith.

“There are a wealth of individuals within the field of visual arts whose work shaped British thought, innovation, leadership, values and society and who continue to inspire people today. I greatly look forward to hearing from the public who they would like to celebrate,” Mark Carney, governor of the Bank, said at the launch of the nominations period at the Victoria & Albert Museum in London this week (May 19th).

A new campaign has been launched by the Royal Institute of British Architects (RIBA) to draw attention to issues in the built environment, including developing flood-proof communities, building good quality homes, providing energy-efficient buildings and addressing the state of school buildings in the country – a scheme that any Manchester architect may like to get behind.

Dubbed #BuildaBetterBritain, the initiative is calling for the government to ensure that homes are built that people actually want to live in. In all, 300,000 properties must be built each year, with 1.5 million new homes required during the next parliamentary term.

As award-winning architects in Manchester, AWA understands the importance of sustainability in modern design. And it appears we’re not alone, with the Committee on Climate Change (CCC) recently calling on the government to put environmental issues first when constructing new-builds.

The CCC made a number of recommendations in a new progress report that highlighted the dangers of ignoring energy efficiency measures. One of the key suggestions was the development of new infrastructure that helps tackle encroaching climate change.

A new exhibition that Warrington architects and others around the UK might like to visit is Designs of the Year 2015, on at the London Design Museum between March 25th and August 23rd.

Now in its eighth year, the awards are intended to celebrate design that perfectly encapsulates the year in question’s spirit, extends design practice, enables access or delivers change, with 76 nominees over six categories – architecture, digital, fashion, graphics, product and transport.

The new report suggesting how the face of British architecture will change over the coming years, with high rise farms and floating cities predicted to take centre stage in the future.

New research from a think tank made up of Linda Aitken, Toby Burgess, Arthur Mamou-Mani and Dr Rhys Morgan of the Royal Academy of Engineering suggests that underground basements will become a reality as people seek to create additional space, the Independent reports.

Derek Walker, the chief architect and town planner for Milton Keynes, has died at the age of 85.

Born in Blackburn in Lancashire, Mr Walker grew up in Leeds, studying architecture at Leeds Arts School before distinguishing himself as head of architecture at the Royal College of Art in the 80s.

Here’s a news story that award-winning architects in Manchester will no doubt find interesting – Polish architect Krzysztof Kotala has come up with the idea of constructing an underwater tennis court with a curved roof so players and spectators will be able to see fish swimming all around them during a match.

Keen to build it in Dubai, which is famed for pushing the boundaries of architecture, 30-year-old Mr Kotala said his design will be something totally original and should be built somewhere where a tradition of tennis-playing already exists – hence Dubai.

German architect Frei Otto – best known for his work on site at Munich’s 1972 Olympic Games – has been posthumously awarded the 2015 Pritzker Prize.

The 40th laureate of the prize and the second from Germany, Otto learned that he would be receiving the prize in January but he sadly died before it could be presented to him.

He is renowned for his work on the roofing of the Munich Olympic Park main sports facilities, as well as the German pavilion at the 1967 International and Universal Exposition, a series of tent structures in the 50s for the German Federal Exhibitions and the Japan Pavilion at Expo 2000 in Hannover.

Manchester architects and others around the UK might want to consider applying for the Wood Awards: Excellence in Architecture and Product Design 2015 if they want to showcase their latest projects and really make a name for themselves in their chosen field.

There are various categories you can enter depending on your speciality – Education and Public Sector, Commercial and Leisure, Private, Small Project, Interiors and Existing Building. There are also a variety of categories relating to furniture that might be more applicable – Bespoke, Student Designer and Production Made.

An event sure to inspire Manchester architects and others in the industry, a portion of this year’s World Architecture Festival (WAF) is taking place between June 24th and 27th, making its debut in London, a four-day exhibition featuring landscapes, interiors, future projects and buildings from all over the world.

Free to attend, the event will see the finalists of the World Architecture Festival displayed exclusively for the first time, with a programme of talks also being put on looking at how the environment can be improved through architecture and design, as well as issues affecting communities and cities, and new architecture.