A shortlist of eight buildings has been revealed for the 2019 Royal Society of Ulster Architects (RSUA) Design Awards.

Six of the nominees are from Belfast, including The HMS Caroline and Belfast City Quays 2, with the other two buildings from Saintfield and Killyleagh in County Down. They were selected from 23 entries.

The judging panel will visit all the shortlisted schemes before the awards show on Friday 17 May at the Ulster Museum.

Ciarán Fox, Director of the Royal Society of Ulster Architects (RSUA), said: "This year's shortlist is brilliantly diverse with no two projects alike. From a distinctive local transport hub to the restoration of a ship from the first world war, there is much to celebrate. Northern Ireland always has some remarkable housing projects but it is great to see a social housing project make this list, reflecting a new focus by housing associations on architecture.

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"The last two years have been challenging for architects seeking to deliver the best value to society in Northern Ireland. There have been quite a few sizeable commercial projects where perhaps design quality was not a major consideration for the client. A number of significant publicly funded projects have stalled and many of those that have proceeded have sought design on the lowest fee basis. In that context, the clients, architects, other consultants and builders involved in these shortlisted projects are to be particularly commended.

"Looking ahead architects are concerned about the flow of new public buildings due to the absence of devolved government. But there is hope too. Public bodies are now taking meaningful steps to help improve design quality through procurement processes that seek creativity and long term value. Simultaneously some local councils are becoming more aware of their role as guardians of design quality through the planning process."

The full list of shortlisted projects is as follows:

• CTC Transport Hub, Belfast - Hall McKnight

• House Lessans, Saintfield - McGonigle McGrath

• Killyleagh Castle, Killyleagh - Alastair Coey

• Number 50, Belfast - McGarry-Moon

• 65-67 Fitzroy Avenue, Belfast - Studiorogers

• Raidio Failte, Belfast - McGurk Architects

• Belfast City Quays 2, Belfast - Grimshaw

• The HMS Caroline, Belfast - The HMS Caroline Project Team.

(CM/JG)