They are the cornerstone of our communities, the beating hearts and often the glue which binds together the West's villages, towns and cities.

Whether its a village hall, a youth club or a play group - the region's community buildings often play an unsung, understated yet undoubtably vital role in West Country life.

Now, the Western Daily Press has joined forces with the Royal Institute of British Architects (RIBA) South West to today launch a brand new award recognising the value of these buildings and the unstinting effort put in by those supporting them.

And the winner of the inaugral Western Daily Press Community Award will be decided by our readers in a public vote for a £250 cash prize.

Four buildings across the region have been shortlisted for their grassroots involvement with the local community and now the result rests in your hands.

Head of RIBA South West, Jon Watkins, explained how important good archietecture is in making sure these buildings benefit their communities as much as possible for as long as possible.

"Recognising good design for purpose is a principle of RIBA's aim to advance architecture by demonstrating benefit to society and this new award asks readers to choose what makes good architecture fit for purpose in their neck of the woods," he said.

The four shortlisted buildings are; in Bristol - Withywood Community Centre, Knowle West Media Centre and Netham Pavilion, and in Bridgwater - Springboard Centre.

The idea for the Withywood Centre came from local people in the 1990s when the Withywood Church Community Project (WCCP) was struggling to provide services to the community from an obsolete and run down building.

The building, designed by Quattro Design Architects, was a project which was to be 10 years in the making.

The centre now provides a church, a health centre, community cafe, function halls, internet cafe, youth cafe, play zone, meeting rooms, advice centre and project offices.

Matt Tarling, of Stride Treglown Architects, Bristol, said: "The building is designed for ultimate flexibility and multiple use, where ease of management and security is key.

"Each of the different facilities has its own feel with the specific users consulted at length to ensure their needs and desires were addressed. Local groups were not only consulted but they worked with the architects to create interiors and in some cases provided labour.

"Completion of this project demonstrates an incredible passion and belief in community architecture from the Trust and the community but also the architects themselves who had to bid four times to remain involved in the whole project."

Passion and energy are also two features that can be clearly seen at Knowle West Media Centre.

As one student stated: "If Knowle were a kingdom, then the media centre would be the jewel in its crown."

A group of young people aged 11-21 formed Archimedia and established five objectives for driving the design of the new media centre.

Architects White Design showed a commitment and willingness to work with the students and was keen to ensure the community got the building they wanted. The brief stated the building should; be fit for purpose, be young person focussed and not intimidating, be fully accessible, have a low environment impact and be secure without having a fortress like appearance. Ultimately it was the students who had the influence on layout, accommodation, art work and colour scheme.

James Wainwright, of AWW Architects, said: "The resulting building is a long way from the decrepit 1940s structure that occupied the site. The new building is highly sustainable, constructed from 43 straw bale panels, environmentally friendly and thermally efficient. In addition the centre boasts natural ventilation, rainwater harvesting, solar panels and a biomass boiler.

"This is a building for the future and something of real architectural merit, it provides a fantastic facility and a new focus for the youth in the community but most importantly it provides something the community can feel part of and proud of."

Over in east Bristol, Netham Sports Pavilion, designed by Alec French architects, is a community building which uses the landscape barriers to its full advantage.

Positioned along a level change in the landscape, the lower area of the pavilion is dedicated to sports, accommodating eight changing rooms with showers and facilities for the officials. Meanwhile the lightweight upper level is more flexible, providing a multi-purpose room, catering facilities, a kiosk and external terrace all adaptable for a variety of uses.

The council's policy for renewable sources has also been incorporated, with heating and hot water supplied by a biomass boiler fuelled by reclaimed wood chips from the council owned Blaise Nursery.

Lee Warr, Feilden Clegg Bradley Studios, said: "Whilst it is home to the Bristol Pakistanis, who play all their home games here, the Pavilion has been designed as a facility for the community, as awell as a functional building to support different sporting activities at Netham Park.

"The building is a catalyst and kick started a wave of change for the area. The local community have a flagship building to be proud of and it has brought the park back to life."

It was a similar story for the Victoria and Newtown area of Bridgwater which was recognised by Sedgemoor District Council as having a soul without a heart.

When the government introduced the Building Communities Initiative they seized the opportunity to revitalise the district and as the project started to take shape the community took it on with enthusiasm.

The site is on the edge of the run down Victoria Park where a group of burnt out garages stood, a haven for gangs to hang out when there was nothing else to do. Local people formed a committee and became the drivers behind the scheme.

Exeter Architects, Grainge, were employed to advise the clients on designs and costs. It began with a Children's Unit and Doctor's Surgery to which community rooms, training rooms, offices and a pharmacy have now been added.

The group of buildings surround a courtyard evoking a feel of the Market Place or Village Green which has already been used for an outdoor fête. Wherever possible rooms look out over the courtyard or park giving the interior spaces a light airy feel. The buildings have been constructed in sustainable materials with natural ventilation solar water heaters, sun pipes to light up inner corridors, and a green roof.

Keith Dicken, Chartered Architect said: "The Centre has a true "Living" community feel. It provides a focal point for all types of activity and the Police, Fire Service, Local Authority and Bridgwater College all have a presence here.

A combination of Local Authority enthusiasm for the project combined with the hard work of the committee and the good designs of the architects has given heart to Victoria and Newtown and it will beat for a very long time."

Business solutions firm, Walter Thomas (WT), newly based in Bristol are also supporting the awards.

Managing director Todd Curry said: "In the South West communities are being lost as post offices and other local amenities close. It is very important to give neighbourhoods a local focus, a safe place to meet and interact. These spaces need to be designed with the people in mind and we are very excited to be involved in finding out which community building the public thinks works and looks the best. WT are donating £250 to a local charity of the winning architects choice to help further community support and development."

To support your community building 2008, simply cast your vote by clicking here and scrolling down to the poll panel. Videos of the buildings can be seen on the far right. To vote by text send message with the words: Wdp riba a for Withywood Centre, Wdp riba b for Knowle West Media Centre, Wdp riba c for Netham Sports Pavilion, Wdp riba d for Springboard Centre to our special text number 65100. Voting ends at 12am Sept 11, 2008.

The winning project, as voted by readers of the Western Daily Press, will be presented with the award at a ceremony at Exeter University on 25 September, hosted by past president of the RIBA and celebrity architect, George Ferguson.