Selecting the right design approach is crucial when delivering a project. When Abercrombie and Kent Philanthropy were looking for a design team for a new conservation centre, they held a RIBA Competition to attract outstanding architectural talent from around the world.

Independent and impartial, the Royal Institute of British Architects (RIBA) is the UK's leading provider of competition services. Since 1871, the team has delivered competitions to the highest standards of governance, transparency and compliance with UK Procurement Regulations, helping clients identify exceptional design solutions for their projects.

In 2024, the Masai Mara Conservation Centre Competition was launched on behalf of Abercrombie and Kent Philanthropy. The brief was to design a new Conservation Centre on a remote site in a national park, at Oloololo Gate in Kenya’s Masai Mara. The small-scale project objectives centred around sustainability, sensitivity to the local community, heritage, culture, and collaboration with the local project team. RIBA attracted over 100 design entries from 32 countries, enabling the selection of the best design solution from a diverse field of practices, demonstrating RIBA’s global reach and the talent that competitions can generate.

Hot Air Balloon. Abercrombie & Kent © Mark Williams

Following an anonymous evaluation process, UK-based architectural practice Void Studios Architecture + Research was selected as the winning team. The chosen design entry was praised for reflecting Kenya's cultural heritage and the significant progress already made. The practice highlighted that 'much of the success of the proposal is owed to the collaboration with our consultant partners in Kenya.' This project demonstrates how a design competition can be an effective route to identifying high-quality design talent, even for smaller projects, and can discover practices the client may not have otherwise considered.

Projects of this nature demonstrate the value of a professionally managed design competition. RIBA Competitions works with clients across a wide range of sectors, helping them deliver small-scale or large-profile dynamic building projects in the UK and internationally. A successful design competition is developed and proven with best practice principles, including the appointment of a dedicated RIBA Competition Architect Adviser, the development of a clear and solid brief, and a realistic and appropriate timeframe. The result is a high-quality design solution, delivered by a team capable of creating lasting social, economic, and environmental value...and sometimes award-winning architecture.

Maasai Man. Abercrombie & Kent © Mark Williams

For clients, the value of holding a competition provides access to a broad range of design talent while ensuring a fair, transparent and structured method of evaluation. Competitions can encourage innovative design expertise, unexpected solutions, and support informed decision-making, particularly for projects with sustainability, regeneration or community objectives.

Get in touch with the team when you are at the earliest project-planning stage. RIBA Competitions will support you through every step of the process from idea to project commission.

Get in touch:

Email: RIBA.Competitions@riba.org

Call: +44(0)20 7307 5355

Discover more: riba.org/getting-started

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