The José Entrecanales Ibarra Civil Engineering Award returns

Every three years, the calendar of civil engineering comes round to the same date. The José Entrecanales Ibarra Foundation announces a new edition of its Civil Engineering Award — known within the profession as the "Pritzker of civil engineering" — to be presented next year. The jury is beginning to meet, and with it one of the most respected distinctions in the profession is set in motion.

The "Pritzker of civil engineering"

The label is not decorative. Since 2008, our roll of honour has gathered figures who redefined how the built world is imagined and made: from the German structural engineer Jörg Schlaich, a master of lightweight form, to Javier Manterola, one of the great names in bridge design and himself a Spanish civil engineer. The award has travelled to Germany, Switzerland, the United States, Japan and Spain. We present it at a formal ceremony that in recent editions has been attended by His Majesty the King. That is the measure of each edition: a distinction the profession recognises, without overstatement, as its own "Pritzker".

An award that is waited for, once every three years

This is not a relaunch. It is the three-year cycle coming round again. Our Civil Engineering Award is convened only once every three years, and that cadence is part of its strength: it does not reward the news of the moment, but a life's work. Every three years it returns to its appointment, and that is the story. Next year we present a new edition. That is why the jury begins its work now.

What we recognise, and why

Our purpose is simple to state and demanding to meet: to give public recognition to the professional contributions of those who have notably advanced civil engineering. We reward excellence, to inspire society and encourage collaboration across the civil engineering community. An award is not only a name engraved on a plaque. It is a way of stating what we consider valuable, and where we want the profession to look.

Humanising the future of engineering

Behind the award lies an idea that defines us: humanising the future of engineering. Infrastructure is never an end in itself. It is a bridge — literal and figurative — towards better connected communities, more liveable cities and fairer development. So this award looks ahead without turning its back on the legacy: it honours those who have already left their mark in order to inspire those beginning to leave theirs. We want it to work as a meeting point for the whole community — university, profession, industry and society — around what we share: rigour in the service of people.

The man who gives it his name

The award carries the name of José Entrecanales Ibarra, and not by accident. Our founder was top of his civil engineering class in 1924, he was a restless innovator. He introduced pioneering techniques in Spain, among them the use of compressed air to sink the foundations of the San Telmo Bridge in Seville, and he helped establish modern geotechnical engineering in the country. In 1931 he founded the engineering firm that would carry his surname (later, Acciona), and he signed works that still form part of the landscape, from the El Atazar dam to the expansion of Barajas airport. He was also a professor at the Escuela de Caminos, Madrid's school of civil engineering, for twenty-six years. The Foundation was born of an endowment he himself left to the School. This award is, in the most literal sense, his legacy at work.

What comes next

With the jury beginning to meet, the road towards next year's ceremony opens. Over the coming weeks we will be sharing the rules, the calendar and the composition of the jury. Until then, we invite you to walk it with us: this award is built, like good engineering, by all of us together.

‍