The Kamra tal-Periti has nominated Professor Richard England as a candidate for the Robert Matthew Award.
This award commemorates the first President of the Commonwealth Association of Architects (CAA), Sir Robert Matthew and recognises innovative contributions to the development of architecture, in the Commonwealth context.
The award is given to an architect or architectural office making the most outstanding contribution having particular relevance to the country or region in which they operate. Past winners include Ken Yeang with TR Hamzah and Yeang of Malaysia, Philip Cox of Australia, Ian Ritchie Architects of UK, and Arup Associates of UK.
Professor England burst into the architectural scene in Malta in 1962, with the design of the iconic Church of St Joseph in Manikata.
Over the last half century, his work attracted the attention of the international architectural world.
In the early 80s, he was commissioned by Iraqi architect Rifat Chadirji, to work together with other world-famous architects, including Carlfried Mutschler, Arthur Erikson, Sheppard Robson, Ricardo Bofill, Robert Venturi, and Arup Associates, to prepare plans for the Bab Al-Sheikh district of Baghdad.
His buildings have been published in leading international architectural journals, and have received innumerable awards around the world, including 10 International Academy of Architecture Awards and two Commonwealth Association of Architects Regional Awards.
Among many other awards, he received the Grand Prix of the International Academy of Architecture in 2006 and 2015, and the Annual Award of the Academy in 2012. In 2016, he was one of the winners of the European Architectural Awards.
This professional recognition by peers was accompanied by academic recognition at a number of Universities all over the world.
"Richard England has been Malta’s foremost architectural ambassador, to all the corners of the world, making Malta proud that it has contributed, in this discipline, at the highest levels of achievement," the Kamra tal-Periti noted in its submission for the Award.
The results will be announced later this year.