The OPT Awards

Now in its 48th year, the OPT Awards celebrate excellence in design, sustainability, and historic conservation across Oxford. This year, the awards have been refreshed with updated categories that better reflect the diverse and evolving projects shaping the city: Building Conservation, Adaptive Re-use, New Buildings, Public Realm, Green Spaces, and Community Impact.

The awards are open to a wide range of projects, large or small, from exceptional new architecture and the conservation of historic buildings to projects that enhance the wider landscape or have a strong community focus. Whether an architect, owner, occupier, or local resident, anyone can enter a project for consideration.

See below for the 2025 OPT Awards Entry Guidelines and a reference Application Form. The live application will be available for submission on Monday 10 March.

Entries will close on Thursday 1 May at 5pm.

General Eligibility

To be eligible for consideration, projects must meet the following criteria:

  • Location: Projects must be situated within Oxford and its immediate green setting.
  • Public Access: Project outcomes should be visible from the public realm and/or available for local people to visit.
  • Accessibility: Projects should create environments which can be used safely, easily and with dignity by everyone.
  • Sustainability: Projects must demonstrate a commitment to sustainability, incorporating environmentally responsible practices and contributing to long term environmental stewardship.
  • Completion Date: Projects must have been completed between January 2022 and May 2025.
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Judging Panel

Our Judging Panel is composed of local experts with a wide range of skills and knowledge of Oxford. 

Alice Purkiss (Chair), Head of Heritage Partnerships, University of Oxford. Aimee Akinola, Project Administrator, Blenheim Palace. Hannah Fraser, MSc Historic Conservation Student, Oxford Brookes University and OPT Intern. Dr David Lewis, Associate Professor of Architectural History and the Historic Environment, University of Oxford Department for Continuing Education. Prof Elizabeth McKellar, Emerita Professor of Architectural History, Open University and President, Society of Architectural Historians of Great Britain. Jack Parker, MSc Historic Conservation Student, Oxford Brookes University and OPT Intern. John Stevenson, OPT Trustee, Retired Architect and Lecturer in Architecture, Oxford Brookes University. David Streat, OPT Trustee and Chartered Surveyor. Dr Geoffrey Tyack, Architectural Historian. Liz Woolley, Local Historian. Anna Eavis, Chief Executive (OPT). Laura Warden, Senior Planning Officer (OPT). Charlie Jacobs, Planning & Projects Officer (OPT). Louise Lockyer, Membership & Communications Manager (OPT).

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