The Zumtobel Group Awards, now in its fourth year, has recognized 15 projects for their innovative contributions to sustainability and humanity in the built environment. Winy Maas of MVRDV and Kazuyo Sejima of SANAA were part of the seven person jury in which selected the winners within three categories: “Buildings,” “Urban Developments & Initiatives,” and the newly implemented “Applied Innovations.”
Ranging from Arup’s photo-bioreactor facade system to Lacaton & Vassal architectes’ “House of Transformation,” the awarded projects have been deemed sustainable exemplars for their contributions to the built environment.
See all the winners after the break...
Applied Innovations: Sponsored by the Tridonic, winners in this category were awarded for their “innovations and technological solutions that make a trailblazing contribution to the realisation of a more sustainable built environment.”
1) “Solarleaf” / Arup Deutschland GmbH, Hamburg (DE)
2) “Bamboo Reinforced Concrete” / Future Cities Laboratory, Singapore / ETH Zurich (CH)
3) “The Lowline” N.Y. / James Ramsey, New York (USA)
4) “Kone UltraRope” / KONE, Espoo (FN)
5) “Re-Innovation of Rammed Earth by Prefabrication” / Lehm Ton Erde Baukunst GmbH, Schlins (A)
Buildings: Sponsored by Zumtobel, these five winning projects “meet the highest aesthetic standards and also feature innovative solutions that permit the more efficient use of resources, enhanced environmental protection and the creation of better living conditions.”
1) “House Transformation”, Saint-Nazaire, La Chesnaie (FR) / Lacaton & Vassal architectes, Paris (FR)
2) “Corporate Office for Infrastructure Company” / RMA Architects, Mumbai (IN)
3) “House for all Seasons”, Shija Village (CN) / Rural Urban Framework, Hong Kong (CN)
4) “Port Sudan Paediatric Centre / Studio Tamassociati Architects, Venice (IT)
5) “Vertical Gymnasium Santa Cruz Del Este”, Caracas (VE) / Urban-Think Tank, Zurich (CH)
Urban Developments & Initiatives: Sponsored by Thorn, the winning entries in this category were lauded for making “a pioneering contribution to greater sustainability and quality of life, as well as presenting innovative potential solutions to the core issues facing urban development.”
1) “Architect Network to Support Reconstruction” / ArchiAid, Sendai (JP)
2) “Madrid Río” / Burgos & Garrido Arquitectos; Porras La Casta; Rubio & Á._Sala; West 8
3) “Pres Constitution” / Elemental, Santiago (CL)
4) “Megacity Skeleton” / Research Institute for Humanity and Nature, Kyoto (JP)
5) “Qunli Stormwater Park”, Qunli New Town (CN) / Turenscape, Beijing (CN)
The 15 winners were selected from a pool of 356 entrants. Each project ranking first in its category will receive a prize of €50,000.
“Innovation requires a lot of things, including technical ideas but also institutional and organizational innovation. Today we even talk about social innovation. Really strong, good innovation combines these different forms. The idea of sustainability also requires that all of the different actors take up the challenges that arise out of global issues. The Zumtobel Group Award sets an important example in this regard,” said Rainer Walz, Head of Competence Center Sustainability and Infrastructure Systems, Fraunhofer ISI Karlsruhe (DE) and member of the jury.
2014 Jury:
- Kunlé Adeyemi, Architect, NLÉ Shaping the Architecture of Developing Cities, Amsterdam (NL) member of the Award jury in 2012, 2014
- Yung Ho Chang, Architect, Atelier FCJZ, Beijing (CN) member of the Award jury in 2007, 2010, 2012, 2014
- Brian Cody, Chair of the Institute of Buildings and Energy, Graz University of Technology (AT) member of the Award jury in 2010, 2012, 2014
- Winy Maas, Architect / MVRDV, Rotterdam (NL) member of the Award jury in 2012; chair of the jury in 2014
- Ulrich Schumacher, CEO Zumtobel Group, Dornbirn (AT) new member of the Award jury in 2014
- Kazuyo Sejima, Architect / SANAA, Tokyo (JP) member of the Award jury in 2007, 2012, 2014
- Rainer Walz, Head of Competence Center Sustainability and Infrastructure Systems, Fraunhofer ISI Karlsruhe (DE); new member of the Award jury in 2014
