The City of Westminster, England has announced the shortlist for its first People’s Choice Award for the city’s best building from the past decade.

In an effort to engage the public in a debate about what makes a great building, the Westminster City Council asked a panel of architects, developers, councilors, and planners to shortlist 12 designs to be voted on by people who live and work in the city, as well as by visitors. Buildings for the shortlist were chosen based on its use of materials, purpose, and impact on the surrounding space.

"Brilliant architectural design should be recognized for all the fantastic benefits it can have in terms of health and wellbeing, sustainability, and the simple pleasure we all take from having such striking buildings lining our routes home, to shop and to work," said Cllr Robert Davis MBE DL, Deputy Leader of Westminster City Council. "The best people to ask about the impact these buildings have are those who see them day in, day out, and so I am delighted that we have been able to engage the public in a debate about what makes a great building and to promote design excellence."

The 12 shortlisted projects for the Westminster People’s Choice Awards are:

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British architect Amanda Levete of London-based studio AL_A has been selected to design Melbourne's second annual MPavilion. The temporary structure will be used to house talks, workshops, performances and installations in the "downtown oasis" of Queen Victoria Gardens starting this October.

"I’ve visited Australia three times in the past six years and without doubt Melbourne is my favorite city," said Levete, commenting on her commission. "It’s people that make a city creative – and that’s why I love Melbourne. The brief from the Naomi Milgrom Foundation is a great opportunity to design a structure that responds to its climate and landscape. I’m interested in exploiting the temporary nature of the pavilion form to produce a design that speaks in response to the weather."

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