Magma Architecture Wins AIA UK Design Award

Magma Architecture‘s Olympic and Paralympic Shooting Arenas have just been distinguished with a 2013 AIA UK Excellence in Design Award. Driven by the desire to evoke an experience of flow and precision inherent in the shooting sport through the dynamically curving space, the shooting arenas were the only buildings of the London 2012 Games to be selected. While all three ranges were configured in a crisp, white double curved membrane façade studded with vibrantly colored openings, the fresh and light appearance of the buildings truly enhanced the festive and celebratory character of the Olympic event. For more images and information on their award-winning project, please visit here.
Architect Gia Wolff Wins Inaugural Wheelwright Prize

Brooklyn-based architect and Harvard GSD alumni Gia Wolff has been awarded the $100,000 Wheelwright Prize for her proposal Floating City: The Community-Based Architecture of Parade Floats. Now in its first edition, the Wheelwright Prize is a travel grant issued by Harvard University in an effort to foster new forms of architectural research led by cross-cultural engagement.
Mohsen Mostafavi: “The positive response to the Wheelwright Prize has been extraordinary. It is inspiring to see so many talented architects with clear agendas and visions. I am delighted for Gia Wolff, the winner of the prize. Her proposed investigations at the intersection of design, performance, and temporality will surely provide us with new insights and new directions for the future of architecture.”
Smithsonian Cooper-Hewitt Announces 2013 National Design Awards Winners

Now in its 14th year, the Smithsonian Cooper-Hewitt National Design Awards is continuing its legacy to recognize outstanding achievement across a variety of disciplines in the design community. The awards were established to “promote design as a vital humanistic tool in shaping the world”. This year the recipients will be honored at a gala in October during National Design Week in New York City. The goal of recognizing this achievements is to reinforce the idea that “everything around us is designed” and the potential for innovation and creation is present across all types of development. The winners of this year’s design awards were selected based on excellence, innovation and public impact.
Join us after the break for a look at the 2013 Winners. (more…)
2013 EBie Finalists Announced

Known as the ‘Oscars of Sustainable Existing Buildings’, the finalists for the annual EBie Awards were recently announced by the Urban Green Council which aimed to celebrate sustainability improvements in Existing Buildings (therefore the EBies) and the individuals who made them happen. Recognizing “unsung heroes” who have made great strides in improving environmental performance, research shows that changes to existing buildings will have the greatest environmental impact, despite new buildings often getting the spotlight. More images and information on the finalists and their projects after the break.
American Academy of Arts and Letters Announces 2013 Architecture Award Winners

The American Academy of Arts and Letters recently announced the recipients of its 2013 architecture awards. Beginning in 1955 with the inauguration of the annual Arnold W. Brunner Memorial Prize in Architecture, this is awarded to a preeminent architect from any country who has made a significant contribution to architecture as an art. In 1991, the Academy began giving Arts and Letters Awards (formerly called Academy Awards) to honor American architects whose work is characterized by a strong personal direction. An additional award category was created in 2003 to honor an American from any field who has contributed to ideas in architecture through any medium of expression. Information on the winners after the break.
Museum of Moving Image Wins 2013 Red Dot Design Award

LEESER Architecture’s design for the Museum of Moving Image has recently been announced as the winner of the 2013 Red Dot Design Award in its highly competitive Architecture and Urban Design category. Completed in 2011, the Museum of the Moving Image houses a comprehensive collection dedicated to educating the public about the art, history, technique, and technology of film, television, and digital media.The existing structure is seamlessly integrated with the substantial new addition through a grand lobby which connects the two. More information on their award after the break.
2013 President’s Medal Awarded to Renzo Piano

The Architectural League of New York announced early this month the award of its 2013 President’s Medal to Renzo Piano of the Renzo Piano Building Workshop.The President’s Medal is the Architectural League’s highest honor and is bestowed, at the discretion of the League’s President and Board of Directors, on individuals to recognize an extraordinary body of work in architecture, urbanism, or design. This award also exemplifies the Architectural League’s 130-year history of encouraging and honoring excellence in architecture, urbanism, and design. The medal was presented to Renzo Piano, one of the world’s most admired architects, by Architectural League President Annabelle Selldorf on April 9th at a dinner with over 350 guests in Manhattan. For more information, please visit here.
Peter Wilson Awarded 2013 AIA (Australian Institute of Architects) Gold Medal

Peter Wilson, partner in the Münster based office of BOLLES+WILSON, was recently awarded the AIA‘s (Australian Institute of Architects) highest honor, its 2013 Gold Medal. The recognition acknowledges Peter Wilson’s role as remarkable statesman for Australia as well as an outstanding body of architectural works of great distinction, widely published and exhibited over more than thirty years. The Gold Medal also cites Wilson’s longstanding contribution to the development of architectural drawing as a tool of representation and research. More information on Wilson’s award after the break.
5468796 Architecture Receives First Emerging Architectural Practice Award from RAIC

The Royal Architectural Institute of Canada has announced 5468796 Architecture Inc. as recipient of the inaugural Emerging Architectural Practice Award. The firm is a Winnipeg-based collaborative studio of 12 young professionals with Johanna Hurme, MRAIC, Sasa Radulovic, MRAIC, and Colin Neufeld, MRAIC leading the office. The firm operates under the principle that each project, while keeping to the parameters of cost, client expectations and site restrictions, must “advance architecture in some way”.
Join us after the break for more on 5468796 Architecture and their recent award.
‘Up-Downtown’ DawnTown’s 2012 Competition Winning Installation

Up-Downtown, the prize-winning installation in DawnTown‘s competition for the creation of a temporary installation on the theme of the “Evolution of Miami”, is taken literally to present an interactive story of Miami’s rise. “A city is a complex machine, where everything is interconnected and any movement affects the other,” said Manuel Clavel-Rojo, co-creator of the Up-Downtown team. The installation, exhibited at HistoryMiami, features a 10’ x 10’ x 10’ box structure using steel for supports. A mirror sits at its base, with blue and pink neon lights representing the water’s edge and roadways, creating a perimeter of the downtown area. More images and information after the break.
Estonian Young Architect Award 2012: Veronika Valk

Back in January, I had the opportunity to be part of the jury for the Young Architect Award in Estonia, which was officially announced by the President of Estonia, Mr. Toomas Hendrik Ilves, the past Thursday Feb 14th in Tallinn, at the annual meeting of the Union of Estonian Architects .
The objective of the award is to encourage innovative and creative thinking by young minds, and it gives the winner the chance to travel anywhere in the world, giving the opportunity to expand their vision and contribute back to the development of the country.
During the process I had the chance to learn more about the new generation of Estonian architecture after reviewing the works and trajectory of the 8 shortlisted young architects, a generation with very diverse backgrounds and projects, but with one thing in common: a commitment to open up architecture and make it part of the larger public.
This year the ward went to Veronika Valk, who was recognized for her built work and her efforts to raise awareness around architecture (organizing international lectures, workshops, writing articles, and more). More about Veronika and the award after the break:
Allies and Morrison Architects’ District//S Wins National Urban Design Awards Practice Project Award

Allies and Morrison Architects were just awarded the Francis Tibbalds Prize for best Practice Project at the National Urban Design Awards 2013 for their District//S project. The prize was presented to the practice at a ceremony held last night at London’s Royal Overseas League. The 452,100 sq ft of high quality residential accommodation situated on the edge of Beirut’s historic city centre impressed the judges with its “comprehensive response to the historic character of Beirut, going well beyond the superficialities of appearance to reflect the cultural and functional nature of the city”. More information after the break. (more…)
2013 Young Architects Award
The American Institute of Architects (AIA) has selected fifteen recipients to receive the 2013 AIA Young Architects Award. Defined as professionals who have been licensed ten years or fewer, the Young Architects will be honored for making significant contributions to the profession and providing exceptional leadership. The recipients will be presented the award at the AIA 2013 National Convention and Design Exposition in Denver, Colorado.
The complete list of the 2013 Young Architects:
Or2 Project Wins Good Design Award / Orproject

Designed by Orproject, their Or2 project, which is a single surface roof structure that reacts to sunlight, won the 2012 Good Design Award. This award, which is known as the world’s most prestigious, recognized, and oldest Design Awards program, is organized annually by The Chicago Athenaeum Museum of Architecture and Design in cooperation with the European Centre for Architecture, Art, Design and Urban Studies. Special software components have been developed in order to create the shapes and to generate the cutting schedules so that the beauty of Or2 is its constant interaction with the elements, where its appearance is unique at each moment of the day. More images and architects’ description after the break. (more…)
2013 AIA Institute Honor Awards for Regional & Urban Design

You’ve reviewed the work selected by the American Institute of Architects (AIA) to receive top honors in architecture and interior architecture at the 2013 National Convention and Design Exposition in Denver, Colorado. We now present to you the projects and initiatives that have been announced by the AIA as exemplars for excellence in regional and urban design. Check them out after the break.
2013 AIA Institute Honor Awards for Interior Architecture

Eskew+Dumez+Ripple © Timothy Hursley
Earlier this week, we presented the American Institute of Architects’ (AIA) top selection of architecture that best exemplifies excellence in the United States for the year of 2013. Now, we bring you this year’s recipients of the Institute Honor Awards for Interior Architecture. Continue after the break to see who will be honored with this prestigious award at the AIA 2013 National Convention and Design Exposition in Denver.
The Menil Collection selected to receive AIA Twenty-five Year Award

The Menil Collection Houston, designed by architect Renzo Piano, has been selected for the 2013 AIA Twenty-five Year Award. Recognizing architectural design of enduring significance, the Twenty-five Year Award is conferred on a building that has stood the test of time for 25 to 35 years as an embodiment of architectural excellence. Projects must demonstrate excellence in function, in the distinguished execution of its original program, and in the creative aspects of its statement by today’s standards. The award will be presented this June at the AIA National Convention in Denver.
More on The Menil Collection after the break.
2013 AIA Institute Honor Awards for Architecture

The American Institute of Architects (AIA) has selected the 2013 recipients of the Institute Honor Awards, the profession’s highest recognition of works that exemplify excellence in architecture, interior architecture and urban design. Selected from over 700 total submissions, 28 recipients located throughout the world will be honored at the AIA 2013 National Convention and Design Exposition in Denver.
Top honors in architecture were awarded to the following: (more…)
Vo Trong Nghia named Vietnamese Architect of the Year

By popular vote on the architectural website Ashui.com, Vo Trong Nghia has been announced as Vietnam’s Architect of the Year 2012. The Quang Binh native was awarded over two other nominees after a four day public vote.
A graduate of Japan’s Nagoya Institute of Technology class of 2002, Vo Trong Nghia leads an award-wining, self-titled practice known for its intricate bamboo and sustainable structures.
View a selection of his work after the break. (more…)
Eduardo Souto de Moura to receive Israel’s prestigious Wolf Prize

Breaking news from Tel Aviv: The Wolf Foundation has announced that Pritzker Prize laureate Eduardo Souto de Moura will be honored with Israel’s prestigious Wolf Prize. The Portuguese architect was named “to reward his advancement of the craft and ideas of architecture.”
Since 1978, Wolf recipients have been annually award to honor those who have advanced the fields of art and science. Often, they are considered to be strong contenders for Nobel prizes, as about one out of every three laureates in chemistry, physics and medicine have gone to receive the Nobel.
Learn more after the break… (more…)
2013 Institute Honors for Collaborative Achievement Recipients
Three influential groups have been chosen by the American Institute of Architects (AIA) to receive the 2013 Institute Honors for Collaborative Achievement. The award recognizes and encourages distinguished achievements of allied professionals, clients, organizations, architect teams, knowledge communities, and others who have had a beneficial influence on or advanced the architectural profession.
This year’s award goes to: the Chicago Architecture Foundation for DiscoverDesign.org, the Palm Springs Modern Committee (PS ModCom), and the DC Preservation League. Continue reading to learn how these three programs have had a positive impact on the profession. (more…)
