The Illinois Institute of Technology College of Architecture has announced the four finalists for the MCHAP.emerge, the emerging practice award of the Mies Crown Hall Americas Prize - MCHAP, which recognizes the most outstanding architectural works in North and South America. Every two years, the prize is awarded at an event held at IIT's S. R. Crown Hall, Mies van der Rohe's masterpiece in Chicago.
Among the finalists for this edition is a Brazilian project: the Children's Village in Formoso do Araguaia, Tocantins, designed by Rosenbaum and Aleph Zero. Of the other three finalists, two are from Mexico and one is from the United States.
The designers of the winning project, to be announced at a symposium on April 12 at IIT, will receive the MCHAP.emerge Award and the MCHAP Research Professorship at the IIT College of Architecture, where they will lead a studio and receive a $25,000 grant for research and publication.
"Reviewing more than 200 projects completed in the Americas over the last two years is a humbling and rewarding task. It reminds us of the exceptional energy, commitment, and imagination required of the architectural profession to respond to contemporary needs. Everywhere, we see modesty and authenticity across diverse generations of architects operating in complex and varied contexts. Design ingenuity with profound spatial, social, and environmental impact was evident in both small-scale urban interventions and bolder architectural works, even under severe constraints. The selected projects across South and North America are inspiring and speak to their time: a time of uncertainty, reflection, and change. The work of these emerging architects shows a rare confidence in architecture's ability to engage with complex social and cultural processes without compromising intellectual and design integrity," said Ricky Burdett, Chair of the 2018 Jury.
The MCHAP 2016 - 2017 jury includes Chair Ricky Burdett CBE, Jose Castillo, Ron Henderson, Rodrigo Pérez de Arce, and Claire Weisz.
Discover the four finalists below:
Children's Village / Rosenbaum® + Aleph Zero
Common-Unity / Rozana Montiel | Estudio de Arquitectura
Maria Montessori School Mazatlán / EPArquitectos + Estudio Macías Peredo
Embodied Computation LAB / David Benjamin
This article was written by Romullo Baratto. The translation is powered by AI.
