As the landscape of canvas pavilions rises on Castle meadow, last week saw Abergavenny play host to another major architectural event in the Eisteddfod calendar.

World renowned sportsman Gerald Davies, of Wales and British Lions rugby fame, CBE, and Deputy Lieutenant of Gwent formally announced the shortlist for the Eisteddfod’s Architectural Gold medal in the fine architectural surroundings of the upper floor of the ‘Chapel’ in Market Street, Abergavenny.

Amongst the shortlist of seven projects across Wales, there are two from Monmouthshire by the young architectural practice of Hall + Benarczyk who are based at Chepstow.

One of their two projects is a private house called the “Chicken Shed” at Trefynwy, the other is the magnificent Llandegfedd Reservoir Visitor’s centre and watersports facility carried out for their clients Welsh Water, who have demonstrated the best skills of a good architectural patron by setting their aspirations high, ensuring that architectural quality remains to the fore in their deliberations about who to hire and who will deliver.

Their good judgement has been rewarded by the architects producing two fine buildings on the edge of the water near Pontypool.

Amongst the other shortlisted schemes were the Burry Port Community Primary School by Architype and Carmarthenshire County Council; Cardiff and Vale College by BDP; Caernarfon Castle Entrance Pavilion by Donald Insall Associates, Conwy; Pontio Arts and Innovation Centre at Bangor by Grimshaw Architects and Cardigan Castle Visitors centre by Purcell, all fine contributions to the public buildings of Wales.

The final choice as to who is awarded the Gold Medal and possibly a plaque of merit from that shortlist of seven will be announced on the Maes on Castle Meadow on Saturday July 30.

In the closing lines of Davies’s moving speech in the Chapel he referred to these dark days currently, and juxtaposed that with the warmth of the open welcome to everyone and the joy of cultural expression through all the arts, that is the long standing Eisteddfod tradition of Wales.

Sunlight streamed through the Chapel windows for a brief moment, and the applause rang to the rafters.