The European Commission and the Mies van der Rohe Foundation recently announced the six finalists competing for the 2011 European Union Prize for Contemporary Architecture – the Mies van der Rohe Award. They have been shortlisted from 343 works in 33 European countries. The award ceremony will take place on June 20 at the Mies van der Rohe Pavilion in Barcelona, Spain.
See the complete list with photos from the finalists after the break.
The Philips Livable Cities Award has announced a shortlist of eight initiatives, narrowed down from 450 ideas received from 29 countries around the world. The eight simple solutions all share a common thread, a reasonable approach to improving the health and well-being of people living in cities. Shortlisted designs include a smart grid athletic light for city recreation in NY, design your own park competition, a shade stand in Kampala, and a moveable street park in Buenos Aires. Cast your vote for your favorite Philips Livable City by March 24th. Design Your Own Park Competition in Binghamton, USAIn many cities, neglected urban spaces are seen as unsightly and unusable areas of land. David Sloan Wilson’s shortlisted ‘Design Your Own Park Competition’ idea would turn these areas into a space Binghamton residents can use and be proud of.Shade Stand in Kampala, Uganda James Kityo’s idea involves creating 45 ‘Shade Stands’ across Uganda’s capital, Kampala, providing shelter against both the hot sun and torrential rain, and displaying posters about health education topics. Plaza Movil Street Park in Buenos AiresManuel Rapoport’s ‘Plaza Movil Street Park’ idea would see Buenos Aires’ streets temporarily closed to traffic during weekends and public holidays, and portable playground equipment and benches used to convert them into recreational spaces.Smart Grid Athletic Light in New York City, USA Andrew Burdick’s ‘Smart Grid Athletic Light’ shortlisted idea involves modular solar or wind-powered streetlights connected to a ‘smart grid’, allowing children and sports teams to play later in the day in a well-lit and safer environment. Neighborhood Network Scheme in Abeokuta, NigeriaMichael Iyanro’s idea proposes the development of a ‘Neighborhood Network Scheme’ in Abeokuta, Nigeria, by providing access to a network of welfare services, designed to help elderly citizens live independently and more securely within their city.Rainwater Aggregation in Sana, Yemen In Sana’a, Yemen, water can quickly become scarce, posing a risk to vulnerable city residents. Sabrina Faber’s shortlisted idea of ‘Rainwater Aggregation’ addresses this problem by using existing flat rooftops to capture, filter and store water during rainy periods. iQare in Edinburgh, UKEve Hatton’s shortlisted idea, ‘iQare’, works by simplifying how elderly people in Edinburgh, UK, access the latest digital tools. Thus making it easier to remain independent, stay in touch with friends and family, and access service providers and retailers.Health Education Initiative for the Deaf in Embu, KenyaJacob Ireri has submitted an idea to address the significant challenges faced by deaf children in Embu, Kenya. His ‘Health Education Initiative for the Deaf’ aims to promote health-related information through the teaching of Kenyan Sign Language.
The Brooklyn Chamber of Commerce holds the annual Building Brooklyn Awards. Currently accepting nominations for the 11th Annual Buidling Brooklyn Awards, the event is a signature real estate industry event that recognizes recently completed new, and renovation construction projects, that have a positive impact on the borough’s economy and quality of life.
The event honors individuals who have made significant contributions toward enhancing the business conditions and economic climate of Brooklyn. This year’s awards ceremony will be held on Thursday, July 14, 2011, at the Steiner Studios in the Brooklyn Navy Yard.
More information and images from last year’s winners after the break.
The AIA Honor Award recipients for 2011 were announced this week and will be honored at the AIA 2011 National Convention in New Orleans. Recognizing excellence in architecture, interior architecture, and regional and urban design, 27 recipients were chosen from over 700 submissions.
Awarded buildings, including links to features on ArchDaily, can be found after the break.
There are some buildings that have the power to make one step back and simply enjoy being part of our profession. For us, Steven Holl’s Horizontal Skyscraper does just that. As we’ve been sharing with you, it is a project that gracefully hovers above the Shenzhen landscape, allowing both the ground and the elevated ground plane to be occupied. The project balances the built with the natural as reflecting pools and lush greenery are interspersed with small restaurants and cafes, and as the “sunken cubes” of the main wings of the center – glass volumes offering 360 degree views – strengthen the connection with the landscape.
The building has recently been awarded a 2011 AIA Institute Honor Award for its architectural creativity and contextual thoughtfulness. The jury commented, “This project skips along from mound to mound and manipulates the landscape – it builds it up and shapes it into a powerful form above the land with inventive manipulation. The building is shading the landscape and letting it breath – integrated sustainability. A reinvented building type with the building floating over the landscape – dancing on the landscape.”
More information, with more photographs from Iwan Baan, after the break.
Special thanks to our reader, John, for informing us about the 2011 Topaz Medallion which was recently awarded to Larry Speck, FAIA of the University of Texas-Austin. The Medallion, awarded by the AIA/ACSA to an outstanding architectural educator who has been involved in the teaching for at least a decade, recognized Speck for his pedagogical ways and his ability to make architecture “accessible and vital to a wide community of students.”
More about Speck and the Medallion after the break.
We’re always excited to bring you news on the latest awarded architects for their contemporary achievements and advancement of the field – whether it be our coverage of the Pritzker, AIA Honor Awards, or the Aga Khan awards, to name a few. Yet, the Richard H. Driehaus Prize is one prize that recognizes architects whose work embraces the ideas and theories of the past. Specifically, the prize is bestowed upon those who work ”embodies the principals of traditional and classical architecture and urbanism in contemporary society.” Robert A. M. Stern, dean of Yale School of Architecture and principal of his firm, has been named the 2011 recipient of the Driehaus Prize for his commitment to incorporating classical theories into his projects of all scales. According to Stern, the firm is grounded in the belief of “…continuity of tradition and strive in our work to create order out of the often chaotic present by entering into a dialogue with the past and with the spirit of the places in which we build.”
More about the award after the break.
Selecting the most outstanding projects in sustainable construction from several thousand submissions will be the challenging task of more than fifty leading experts on sustainability. The jury members for the 3rd International Holcim Awards competition include architects Bjarke Ingels (Denmark), Keller Easterling (USA) and Michel Rojkind (Mexico) – all independent experts of international stature engaged in the sustainable development of society, building processes, construction materials, and building projects.
Entries in the USD 2 million competition are evaluated using five “target issues” to define sustainable construction. Three of these stem from the triple bottom line of balanced social, environmental and economic performance. The two remaining issues pay homage to contextual and aesthetic impact, along with innovation and transferability. A series of five jury panels will meet in June/July 2011 in each of the five world regions: Europe, North America, Latin America, Africa Middle East, and Asia Pacific.
The Iakov Chernikhov International Prize for Young Architects recently announced its 2010 laureate, Fantastic Norway, recently featured here on ArchDaily and now we have the complete Top Ten nominee list to share with our readers. Among this group of young and promising architects you will find some outstanding works that will hopefully go a long way to shaping the future of the profession. The complete Top Ten and links to their work after the break.
On November 17th Fantastic Norway was awarded the 2010 Iakov Chernikovs Architecture Prize by the ICIF. We here at ArchDaily have previously featured the work of Fantastic Norway and wish to congratulate them on their accolades and share with our readers some examples of their work.
More after the break.
The Piranesi Prix de Rome 2010 International Prize has been awarded to the Musealization of the Archaeological Site of Praça Nova of São Jorge Castle designed by architect João Luís Carrilho da Graça of JLCG Arquitectos.
The recent recipient of the 2010 AIA Chicago Unbuilt Design Award, the Culver House Development sparks the conversation of sustainable design within the private sector of the prestigious Gold Coast neighborhood, Chicago, Illinois. A mixed-use development, the building was designed to achieve LEED Gold status. Both the office space and eight dwelling units capitalize on the thoughtful design of the energy efficient and ample day-lit spaces.
The jurors are quoated as descirbing the Culver House Development plan as “very smart” and the scheme “handsome.” In reference to the varied floor plans of the residential units jurors claimed that “it breaks the typical pattern of every floor being the same” and continuing stating, ”it is like a jigsaw puzzle.”
More about this award winning design following the break.
Architects: Dirk Denison Architects Location: Chicago, Illinois, United States Project Year: Unbuilt Renderings: Antonio Petrov , Daniel Wolf
In a very rare and prestigious occasion the students of the College of Architecture at Illinois Institute of Technology received the award for 2010 AIA Chicago Distinguished Building Honor Award. The Field Chapel in Baden-Wurttemberg Germany was part of Professor Frank Flury’s 2009 Design/Build studio. Here you can check out our featured article about this project with photographs and sketches of the whole design/build process.
Sustainable development typically looks at the “triple bottom line” of economic, ecological and social factors and has become the Zeitgeist of the industry. In the context of the built environment, innovative and contextual impacts must also be factored into any calculation of sustainability. With such broad elements to be considered, it’s no wonder that exemplary projects in sustainable construction are rarely the work of one single person or profession, but combine the expertise of several fields: architecture, engineering, research, biology and sociology.
To bring the concept of broad sustainability for the building industry to life, the 3rd International Holcim Awards for Sustainable Construction identify and recognize the cutting-edge of sustainability – propelling more widespread and consequential adoption of approaches to build a more sustainable future. The Holcim Awards competition also includes a category for the “Next Generation” of university students to share their concepts for the sustainable projects of the future.
Candidates may be nominated by IFLA Member Associations, delegates, individual members and allied organizations, as well as independent sources.
BIG has proven in the past to be a source of innovating projects. Their idea is far beyond the superficial: it´s about improving the city, as you can see on this presentation by Bjarke Ingels for 8 House.
For this project -which will open in October-, BIG has been honored by the Scandinavian Green Roof Association as the Best Green Roof in the Scandinavia for its 1.700 m2 sloping green roof at an award ceremony held at 8 House in Oerestad, Copenhagen.
More information about this award after the break.
Chaired by Paolo Baratta, the Board of the Biennale di Venezia has awarded the Golden Lion for Lifetime Achievement to Rem Koolhaas. The much deserving architect has produced dozens of thought-provoking and inspirational works that constantly push the limits of the current state of architecture. His strength lies in his buildings’ strong conceptual nature that is carried through to ideas about circulation, structure and programmatic organization. ”Rem Koolhaas has expanded the possibilities of architecture. He has focused on the exchanges between people in space. He creates buildings that bring people together and in this way forms ambitious goals for architecture. His influence on the world has come well beyond architecture. People from very diverse fields feel a great freedom from his work,” explained the board.
More about the award after the break.
Standard, a Los Angeles-based architecture and design practice, received an award from the Los Angeles Business Council (LABC), as winner of the Single Family Housing category at the 40th Annual Los Angeles Architectural Awards for the Hidden House project. The modern single family residence was chosen as an example of local architectural innovation for the home’s eco-friendly construction, which involved incorporating an existing two bedroom cottage into a new, larger structure, without marring the natural context of the home’s expansive and rare 7-acre site.
