The short-list has been announced for this year's Birmingham Design Initiative (BDI) Industry and Genius Awards, naming the top building, environmental and product designs in the West Midlands.
Birmingham hot spots like the recently reopened Town Hall, the new Masshouse flats development, and Fort Dunlop - the future home of The Birmingham Post - are up for gongs with the top designs in the region.
With just over three weeks left until the award winners are revealed in a ceremony at Birmingham's IMAX theatre, the organisers of this year's event have released details of the 45 short-listed entries.
Around 100 entries were submitted for the high-profile awards scheme, which serves to recognise and celebrate the most inspirational building, environmental and product designs borne out of Birmingham and the West Midlands.
The awards evening sees prizes handed out in six Places and Genius categories; architecture, landscape, conservation, urban design, green design and interior design, and six Product and Genius categories; jewellery & silversmithing, digital design, interior products, ceramics & glass, luxury products and industrial design.
And, for the second time running, the awards will recognise collaborations between Birmingham creatives and industry, which includes sectors such as manufacturing, engineering and healthcare.
Coun Paul Tilsley, deputy leader of Birmingham City Council, which is sponsoring the awards, said: "The announcement of the short-listing is always eagerly anticipated, not only by those who have entered the awards but by the wider creative community.
"The awards have become the most prestigious event on the calendar for rewarding creativity in Birmingham and the West Midlands. The city council is proud to sponsor this event and support the superb level of creative output the region has to offer."
The awards ceremony on November 29 will see the winners in each of the six categories presented with trophies designed by sculptor Tim Tolkien, the great-nephew of the legendary Lord of the Rings author, and the designer of the famous Spitfire Island sculpture.
Mr Tolkien will also be on the panel of judges for the event, and said he was "delighted" to be involved with the awards.
"There is some fantastic creative talent across the region and it is crucial that this is encouraged and recognised on a regional, national and international level," he said.
"These awards help to showcase the calibre of work achieved by designers and artists in our region, which is something we should be proud of and rightly reward."
The panel will be chaired by Prof Michael Parkinson, the author of this year's masterplanning study into the design and layout of central Birmingham. Established in 1989, the BDI Industry and Genius Awards were set up to discover the most inspirational examples of environmental, building and product design in the West Midlands.
They are principally funded by Birmingham City Council through its EQUAL: The Last Mile programme.
Other main sponsors include The Royal Bank of Scotland, Rider Levett Bucknall and AWM's NetInfinity initiative.
The winners of this year's awards will be announced at a ceremony hosted by Blackadder actor and TV personality Tony Robinson, which will be held at Millennium Point on Thursday, November 29.
More than 20,000 nomination forms were handed out by the organisers of the awards earlier this year in their hunt for the top buildings and designers in the Midlands.
Bill Houle, the director of Trigram Properties and a member of the BDI, said: "The design and quality of our environment and locally manufactured products is a topical issue and creates passionate comment and speculation among the general public, as well as within the wider design industry."
* The BDI Industry and Genius Awards short-list in full:
Places & Genius Architecture
Bedworth Heath Children's Centre: Sjölander da Cruz Architects; BCU Seacole Building: Associated Architects; RSC Courtyard Theatre: Ian Ritchie Architects; Somerville Primary School, Small Heath: Urban Design, Birmingham City Council.
Landscape
Aston Business School Courtyard: Architects Design Partnership; Handsworth Park Restoration: Landscape Practice Group, Birmingham City Council; Park Central: Landscape Practice Group, Birmingham City Council.
Conservation
Fort Dunlop: Shedkm/Urban Splash; Scholars Gate: BBLB Architects/Trigram Properties; Town Hall: Urban Design, Birmingham City Council/Rodney Melville and Partners.
Urban Design
Masshouse: Masshouse Developments Ltd; Park Central: Gardner Stewart Architects/Crest Nicholson; Southside: Glenn Howells Architects/Crosby Lend Lease Green Design; 19 George Road: 3D REID/Calthorpe Estates; NFU Building: SMC Corstorphine & Wright; The Mews, Smethwick: BM3 Architecture/Black Country Housing Group.
Interior Design
BCU School of Acting: Associated Architects; Centre City: Monteith Scott; Opus Restaurant: Suzanne Barnes Design Partnership; Vinappris Wine Bar: The Space Studio
Products & Genius Digital Design
Aston Computer in the Home: Aston Pride IT; Birminghammusic.com: Birminghammusic.com; Real Time Information: WMPTA/Centro.
Interior Products
Baa Baa Blind: Farway; Wave Seat: Cantoo; Barbarian: ISU Ltd.
Jewellery & Silversmithing
Apollo Jug: Martyn Pugh; Canned Nymphaea Necklace: Val Hunt, Creative Recycling Artist; Sparkle Collection: Sara Preisler Gallery.
Ceramics & Glass
Lilly Vessel: Blaize Ceramics; Pearlescent: Galle Roche; Float: Steelite International.
Luxury Products
Gladys Cardigan: Keep & Share; Pearl Neckpiece: Kate Mead Designs; SLOT egg cup: Gifts of Distinction.
Industrial Design
Dualarm: AVF; Computing Scales: H2 Product Development; Unidesk: David Rowe.
Industry and Genius
Computing Scales: H2 Product Development/Avery Berkel; Constellations at Attwood Green: Optima Community Association/Crest Nicholson/BDP Lighting/Rob Colbourne/Paul Manasseh; Endlife: University of Wolverhampton/Kate Pemberton; New Hospital Arts Project: University Hospital Birmingham/various artists; Patient Hand Units: H2 Product Development/Static Systems.
