The “Green Obsession” campaign launched by Stefano Boeri Architetti has been declared the winner of the SDG Action Awards, the most important recognition of projects that support the United Nation’s 17 Sustainable Development Goals. As part of the SDG Action Campaign, the United Nations set out to reward initiatives that “mobilize, inspire and connect communities in order to promote positive change.” The winning initiative aims to help improve the relationship between nature and design by implementing the principles of urban forestation. Green Obsession represents a series of conferences, public programs and a book, “Green Obsession: Trees Towards Cities, Humans Towards Forests”, published in 2021 and supported by the Graham Foundation.
Last week, the President*s Design (P*DA) Award chose 8 winning recipients for its 2023 edition. The award that honors designers making a transformative and positive impact on the lives of Singapore’s society and the broader global community recognized Henning Larsen, BIG, and the Singapore Pavilion for Expo 2020 Dubai.
The P*DA presented two categories: Designer of the Year and Design of the Year. Organized jointly by the DesignSingapore Council and the Urban Redevelopment Authority (URA), the biennial award was given to two “Designer of the Year” and six “Design of the Year” recipients. Beyond the excellence of their design execution, the honorees demonstrated a genuine sense of purpose and mission that is consistent with P*DA's core values. The outstanding designs of this year tackle fundamental and systemic issues like consumerism and circularity, dementia and caregiving, climate change and sustainability, and show how Singapore is developing its best design practices that are applicable to enhancing lives worldwide.
Over the course of five days this week, Copenhagen hosted the largest gathering in the realm of sustainable architecture, bringing together over 6,000 participants from 135 nations. The UIA World Congress of Architects 2023 focused on the theme "Sustainable Futures – Leave No One Behind." This event served as a forum for distinguished researchers and professionals of various backgrounds and ages to delve into methods of creating buildings that address climate change, bolster biodiversity, and foster social inclusivity. As the congress drew to a close, "The Copenhagen Lessons" were unveiled, comprising ten principles intended to facilitate swift and transformative progress in the field of sustainable construction.
The XIV Florence Biennale of Art and Design announced that Santiago Calatrava will receive the Lifetime Achievement Award, a "tribute to one of the most influential architects of our times and a recognition of your audacious experimentation, extraordinary talent, and ingenious ability to combine architecture and art in projects imagined and designed in harmony with nature and oriented towards the ideals of beauty.”
The projects were revealed during the Eumies Awards Day 2023, which took place in Palazzo Michiel in Venice as part of the Collateral Events of the 18th International Architecture Exhibition – La Biennale di Venezia. This year, an additional prize has been added: the Young Talent Open. Created by the Fundació Mies van der Rohe, the award was created for schools from the African continent and Council of Europe nations that are not a part of Creative Europe.
1st Prize: South Korea – "Green Wave" / Students: Se kwang Kim, Hyemin Na, Iana Kim. Image Courtesy of 2023 Architecture Student Contest, Saint-Gobain
In the face of increasingly intensive planet-wide challenges, it is now clear that the construction sector must shift rapidly and comprehensively toward sustainable construction. The aim of this mobilization must be to drastically and permanently reduce construction-related greenhouse gas emissions, to preserve non-renewable natural resources, to reduce energy consumption, and to provide decent, comfortable housing for all.
In the 2023 Sustainable Construction Barometer, architects are identified as best placed to drive forward sustainable construction (40%, just after public institutions, 44%). And in order to do this, they must be equipped with the knowledge and tools to carry this forward.
Irish architect Shane de Blacam has been awarded the 2023 Royal Academy Architecture Award in recognition of his commitment to creating communal spaces and the craftsmanship and detail of his projects. In 1976, De Blacam co-founded the architectural firm de Blacam and Meagher alongside John Meagher, establishing a collective practice focused on the careful integration of local materials and the creation of comfortable spaces for people. Each year, London’s Royal Academy awards individuals or collective practices whose body of work has made a meaningful and positive impact on society.
In partnership with Make Architects and Sir John Soane’s Museum, World Architecture Festival (WAF) announces the call for entries for the seventh edition of The Architecture Drawing Prize, sponsored by Iris Ceramica Group. Launched in 2017, the Prize was established to celebrate and showcase the art and skill of architectural drawing.
On June 1st, the ceremony for the VI European AHI Prize was held at the Sant Pau Hospital building in Barcelona. This recognition promoted by Architectural Heritage Intervention, in collaboration with the College of Architects of Catalonia and supported by the Department of Culture of the Generalitat de Cataluña, the City Council of Barcelona, and the Metropolitan Area of Barcelona, arises from the conviction that today, architectural heritage is not only an essential element of knowledge, but also a vital socio-economic resource for the sustainable development of territories.
Enlace. Image Courtesy of Brick Industry Association
Since 1989, the Brick Industry Association (BIA) has sponsored one of the most prestigious architectural award programs in the US: the Brick in Architecture Awards. As the only national association to represent both manufacturers and distributors, BIA is an authority in the clay brick industry. Throughout the years, the Brick in Architecture Awards has become a premiere architectural award featuring clay brick.
This year, the award introduced a new Thin Brick category, and 45 winning projects spanning the United States, Australia, Canada, China and Germany. As this video shows, winners include nine Best in Class, 10 Gold, eight Silver, 17 Bronze and an overall Craftsmanship Award.
Herzog & de Meuron has been honored as the 36th Louis I. Kahn Award winner by the Center for Architecture and Design in Philadelphia. The annual award, founded in 1983 in memory of Philadelphia architect Louis Kahn, celebrates individuals who have made significant contributions to the field of architecture. Jaques Herzog, one of the two founders of the Swiss-based architecture firm, will present a talk on behalf of this office during the official award ceremony, to be held at the University of Pennsylvania’s Museum of Anthropology and Archeology at 6:30 pm on May 31, 2023.
On the occasion of the sixth edition of the AHI European Heritage Intervention Award, the 26 selected projects within the categories of Built Heritage and Outdoor Spaces have been announced, among a total of 241 projects submitted from 28 different European countries.
Every two years, starting in 1998, the Saint-Gobain International Gypsum Trophy has awarded the most recent developments for quality craftsmanship in drywall systems and plastering. This year, the 13th edition of the Gypsum Trophy took place in Athens on April 28th, 2023. From the Americas to Asia, from Europe to Africa, 73projects from 27countries competed in six categories to win one of the 15prizes of the competition.
Participating contractors combine their know-how and creativity with Saint-Gobain plaster and dry lining systems to carry out high-performance projects. Whereas some are built on existing historical structures, others create something completely new. Similarly, some projects were completed with the help of over a thousand employees/teammates, while others by just a few.
See this year's winners below, as well as the details of the Awards.
The remodeling and expansion of the Anahuacalli Museum in Mexico City by Taller | Mauricio Rocha is the 2023 recipient of the Mies Crown Hall Americas Prize (MCHAP), the biennial prize that recognizes a built work in the Americas that best embodies architectural excellence. The winner announcement was made by MCHAP Director Dirk Denison and Jury Chair Sandra Barclay at the MCHAP Symposium and Gala Awards Benefit Dinner that took place in Chicago at S. R. Crown Hall on the Illinois Institute of Technology’s historic Mies campus this Friday, March 24, 2023.
Demas Nwoko. Image Courtesy of La Biennale di Venezia
Nigerian-born artist, designer, and architect Demas Nwoko is the recipient of the Golden Lion for Lifetime Achievement of the 18th International Architecture Exhibition of La Biennale di Venezia entitled The Laboratory of the Future. The decision was taken at the recommendation of the exhibition curator, Lesley Lokko, and was approved by La Biennale’s Board of Directors chaired by Roberto Cicutto. The awards ceremony will be part of the inauguration of the 18th Exhibition and will be held on May 20th, 2023, at Ca’Giustinian, the headquarters of La Biennale di Venezia.
