Fifteen years ago, we initiated the idea of the ArchDaily Building of the Year Awards with the goal that our readers would select their favorite buildings from our database. Thanks to this concept, you have transformed this award into one of the most democratic and influential in the field. Year after year, you have wielded your collective discernment to spotlight architectural excellence spanning diverse cultures, economies, and landscapes across the globe.
As we reflect on the latest iteration of our awards, it's abundantly clear that this year is no exception to the rule. The 75 finalists already showcased an array of exceptional structures, serving as a testament to the power of collective intelligence in curating a showcase of architectural ingenuity that resonates with the zeitgeist of our times. So, without further ado, meet YOUR winners.
The ArchDaily Building of the Year Awards is brought to you thanks to Dornbracht, renowned for leading designs for architecture, which can be found internationally in bathrooms and kitchens.
THE WINNERS
Best Applied Products
The Mayoral New Warehouse Logistics Center / System Arquitectura (Spain)
Two driving ideas for the project emerged from this condition: (1) the break from the conventional rectangular prism for this typology by curving its facades and distancing itself as much as possible from the existing building to soften the significant height difference between the buildings and their volumes. (2) The search for an envelope with a textile language that engages in a dialogue with the original warehouse, exploring, the concept of transparency and opacity of fabrics.
Commercial Architecture
Solar Trees Marketplace / Koichi Takada Architects (China)
An “architectural forest” of 32 trees in Shanghai, designed by Koichi Takada Architects, has been built to serve as an evolving retail space and a symbol of a future that returns nature to our cities.
Cultural Architecture
Istanbul Modern Museum / Renzo Piano Building Workshop + Arup (Turkey)
The building is based on an 8.4 x 8.4-meter grid with steel-brace concrete columns designed to resist significant seismic events. The circular columns and round mechanical funnels form an architectural landscape at ground level. The round shapes of these structural elements soften the transition between light and shadow and create a bright and safe environment by removing the sharp division between light and dark.
Educational Architecture
Lung Vai School / 1+1>2 Architects (Vietnam)
The curved mud walls embrace the terrain making the classrooms seem to burst from and absorb nature, eliminating the boundary between inside and outside. Thanks to the thick mud wall system, large windows, and skylights in the roof, ventilation is assured. Sufficient lighting and air circulation make the school appear like a natural entity.
Healthcare Architecture
Steno Diabetes Center Copenhagen / Vilhelm Lauritzen Architects + Mikkelsen Architects + STED (Denmark)
Steno Diabetes Center Copenhagen redefines the way we perceive sickness and health, as it draws on the science behind how architecture combined with nature can be used not only to treat but also to prevent and educate. Designed in cooperation with users, the hospital incorporates warm materials, strategic flows, and daylight. It is organized around a large two-story garden with six smaller lush courtyards, with a public rooftop garden.
Hospitality Architecture
Yellow-Mini Café / JOYS Architects (Thailand)
The location of the project has a hidden feature that cannot be clearly perceived if one does not enter the site. The hidden features of the location are the slight slope of the land and the tall vertical trees. The purpose is to elevate this feature of the site's clear perception.
Houses
CHUZHI House / Wallmakers (India)
Chuzhi is a project that helps to understand what can be built in odd sites that are generally deemed ‘unsuitable’ for construction. The owner was in a fix as there were unwanted obscure plots at the periphery of the community characterized by steep rocky topography, huge trees, and thick vegetation making people reluctant to make homes there as the buildable area seemed less.
Housing
450 Warren / SO-IL (USA)
Our design frees urban multi-unit dwellings from traditional protocols. We engage with what makes the city more livable: conversations with the outdoors and conversations with others.
Industrial Architecture
Mallcom Factory / IKSOI (India)
Built on an old textile mill compound in Ahmedabad, Mallcom's new factory is a PPE garment-stitching unit. The design of the unit takes a holistic approach that balances the needs of the manufacturing sector with the social, economic, and environmental realities of current India.
Interior Architecture
Readellion Bookstore / prototype (Ukraine)
The 44 sq.m space is designed to be easily reorganized based on the constantly changing and expanding content. In the middle of the space, there's a custom-designed suspended island that can be raised by a pulley to create room for presentations or book club meetings.
Offices
On Labs - New Global Headquarters for On running / Specific Generic + Spillmann Echsle Architekten (Switzerland)
The building's functions are laid out as experiences along the mountain trail going up the building. The steps are getting narrower and steeper for each floor going up, just like climbing a mountain. The bottom floors are characterised by earthy tones and heavy shapes, while the upper floors follow themes of forests, lakes, clouds and thin air at the border to space. This project doesn’t just include workplaces, it also includes a conferencing area, bar, canteen, lab, workshops, studios, rooftop garden, library and an exhibition space.
Public & Landscape Architecture
Opera Park / Cobe (Denmark)
Located next to The Royal Danish Opera, the site had been a modest green lawn since the completion of the Opera nearly 20 years ago. Utterly transformed today, the island which was otherwise prime for developing new housing, is now home to a diverse and natural landscape. Named The Opera Park, this new public harbor-front park creates a green counterpoint to Copenhagen's otherwise densely built inner harbor.
Religious Architecture
Sagrada Familia Parish / ARQBR Arquitetura e Urbanismo (Brazil)
The architectural concept adopted unfolds itself from the relationship between spirituality, nature, and community. Spirituality communicates itself in the Catholic religion through its rites, celebrations, and sacred symbols. The sacred sense stands and renovates itself through the sensitive contact of nature, which evokes the divine presence and the integration with the cosmos.
Small Scale & Installations
Patagonian Shadow Pavilion / DRAA (France)
The mix became known as the Chilote/German technique due to its place of origin, characterized by ingenious carpentry made only of wood and roofs and facades made of Alerce tiles. Furthermore, there are some connections that unite the Auvernia-Rhône-Alpes region with northern Chilean Patagonia.
Sports Architecture
Indoor Sports Field of Shaoxing University / UAD (China)
Buildings in daily life are often rooted in the bustling urban environment and integrated into all aspects of life. They can be found ubiquitously and are often overlooked. For example, eaves that provide shelter during rain, walls that provide shade during summer, and street edges that turn into resting seats. Therefore, when examining architectural design, the most ideal scenario is to integrate human, material forms of design and natural elements into the same context, making them blend with each other and jointly shape the theme and soul of space.
Once again, thank you for being a part of the Building of the Year Award. Your participation and support have been invaluable to its success. We truly appreciate your commitment to celebrating the best architecture in the world.
