Pub design awards

As I noted in the talking head film, when we think of pubs we don’t often think of new pubs. But new pubs are being built, although sadly not enough to offset the numbers we are losing.

To celebrate new pubs CAMRA has a new-build category in its Pub Design Awards with the award in 2023 given to The Strawberry Thief in Swindon. This prize however, hasn’t been awarded every year, suggesting that not enough new pubs with excellent design are being built.

In celebration of all things pub-design, the CAMRA awards also give prizes each year for pub refurbishments, pub conservation and a community local prize (for outstanding refurbished street-corner locals). Pubs, whether built in 1900 or 2000, will always evolve and pubs will always need refurbishment and refreshing (both minor and major) at some stage – their longevity means it is inevitable at some point. Doing this with care is extremely important to not lose the essence of pubs and their key features. Poor refurbishments can have detrimental effects on the experience of consumers and have to be done carefully and compassionately (both for the building and the consumers).

We’ll talk more about pub consumers in the next week of this course. The CAMRA awards celebrate when builds and refurbishment is done well.