Vocabulary Practice: Ants (1) | A2 - Elementary

Winners Announced for This Year’s British Architecture Awards

LONDON (15 December)—Fifty extraordinary structures chosen from around 250 shortlisted candidates have won the prestigious British Architecture Awards this year for the most innovative architecture by British architects or foreign architects with offices in Britain. Now in their twenty-second year, the British Architecture Awards are jointly presented by the London Museum of Architecture & Design and the British Centre for Urban Planning & Art. They recognize the architects of exceptional contemporary structures that shape our lives in a wide variety of ways, including skyscrapers, corporate headquarters, bridges, park pavilions, hospitals, private residences, and academic institutions.

Among this year’s biggest winners were Simon Thorpe for Maitland Street Car Park, a stunning 9-level, 768-space car park with various eco-friendly features in Central Manchester; Marcus Fryer for Horizon Bridge, a breathtaking 195-meter-long pedestrian bridge uniquely equipped with 4,500 blinking LED stars synchronized with music; and Isobel McDuff for The Spire, an elegant 28-floor apartment building with a heated rooftop swimming pool that is located near Edinburgh’s busy shopping areas.

As in previous years, because of the sheer number of winners, the awards were given out over the course of three evenings and three ceremonies from Friday, 12 December to Sunday, 14 December. The opening night saw the awards presented in the Corporate and Commercial categories, Saturday's awards were for the Residential and Urban Planning categories, and the final night recognized those in the Institutional category. Maitland Street Car Park made history by being the first structure to win its architect two awards in the same year: one in the Urban Planning category and the top honour, Most Innovative Design of the Year.

To: Len Goldman <[email protected]>

From: Mi-Lyung Choi <[email protected]>

Subject: SparkLite Fire Pit

Date: September 6

Dear Mr. Goldman, 

I was very excited to receive the information pack for your latest patented invention. The SparkLite Fire Pit seems fantastic and is certainly a product that we would be highly interested in making available in Summit Sports & Camping Stores. We love its portability and solar charging option. — [1] —. However, I do have a few questions about its design. First, would you mind clarifying how the air jets pump oxygen into the wood fire? — [2] —. Also, the information pack outlines how the fire intensity can be controlled via smartphone app. Which operating systems is the app compatible with?

— [3] —. While I would very much like for you to answer those quick questions at your earliest convenience, I would also like you to visit our headquarters in person with one of the fire pits. As I am sure you know, our executives prefer to see new products in use firsthand before approving a contract to purchase and sell them. We would be grateful if you could attend a meeting at 2 p.m. on September 13 at which you would be allotted one hour to showcase the device's functions and capabilities.

Based on the product specifications and photographs you sent me, not to mention the popularity of your camping stove and multifunctional cooler, which are still among our top sellers, I am confident that we will choose to stock the SparkLite Fire Pit. — [4] —.

I look forward to hearing from you.

Sincerely, 

Mi-Kyung Choi 

Head of Purchasing

Summit Sports & Camping