On February 15, 2023, the Living Places / Simon Architecture Prize 2023 award ceremony was held in Barcelona. An initiative by Simon, with the support of the Fundació Mies van der Rohe, the prize seeks to recognize excellence in architecture from the perspective of the inhabitant. In fact, "it distinguishes those works which strengthen the ability of adaptability of spaces to reach comfort and well-being to its residents".
From a total of 186 nominated projects from 34 countries, the jury comprised of Carla Juaçaba, Marcin Szczelina, Wendy Saunders, Eduard Callís, and Salvi Plaja, selected 5 finalists in the Personal Places and Collective Places categories, together with the winner of the Award for Audiovisual Narrative, the novelty of this edition.
During the awards ceremony, Rambla Climate-House, designed by Andrés Jaque (Office For Political Innovation) together with Miguel Mesa del Castillo, was selected as the winner of the personal category; while the collective category prize went to the Mexican studio TO, Carlos Facio and José Amozurrutia, for the Khitara Music Public Kiosk project located in Mexico City. In the Audiovisual Narrative category, the video of Los Alexis Taco Place in Mexico City designed by RA! was rewarded. Get to know the winners below.
Winner of the Personal Places Category
- Rambla Climate-House / Andrés Jaque (Office for Political Innovation) + Miguel Mesa del Castillo
Location: Molina de Segura (Spain)
La Rambla Clima-Casa advocates against the effects of climate change caused by the increased urbanization of cities and the expansion of their surrounding areas. Through its recovery system program for the severely affected ecosystem of Las Ramblas, this house seeks to raise awareness among residents and encourage sustainable reconnection with urban development.
The video produced by Andrés Jaque/ Office For Political Innovation (OFFPOLINN) + Miguel Mesa del Castillo highlights how the house can be accessed from the lower level and how it is connected to an enclosed garden, protected from neighboring houses. The roof collects rainwater, while humidity sensors automatically trigger the regeneration of the flora, converting the garden into the epicenter of the resident's life.
Winner of the Collective Places Category
- Khitara Music Public Kiosk / TO (Carlos Facio and José Amozurrutia)
Location: Mexico City (Mexico)
The Khitara Public Kiosk is built on an extremely small plot in a marginalized area of Mexico City known as Yuguelito, where a diagonal street cuts across the perpendicular rigid grid. The structure adopts a rectangular shape and its upper floor opens up towards the views of the Xaltocan volcano, allowing the sound of guitars to reach the entire neighborhood. On the ground floor, the slightly-tilted shape creates two small extended openings that also provide an exit in a densely built area. Using reused materials, the construction, carried out by local workers, seems to have always been there, as an integral part of the cultural life of the neighborhood, along with the adjacent library. As the authors put it, the Kiosk, intimate in scale, resonates as a collective space.
The video made by Jaime Navarro became a strong advocate of the social, spatial, and constructive characteristics of the project.
Winner of the Audiovisual Narrative Category
Video: Rene Baptista and Tito Sánchez (Direction and Cinematography); Pedro Ramírez de Aguilar, Cristóbal Ramírez de Aguilar & Santiago Sierra (Production); Jerónimo Sánchez (Score and sound effects).
- Los Alexis Taco Place / RA! (Pedro Ramírez de Aguilar, Santiago Sierra, Cristóbal Ramírez de Aguilar)
Location: Mexico City (Mexico)
This short feature tells a story that takes place in a small food stall, made up of a bar, separating the three stools of the customers from the cook and the tiny bathroom. The entire space is open to the street, becoming an extension of it. The simple and accessible architectural approach connects to daily life episodes, familiar to the audience, taking therefore cinema beyond its simple communicative and promotional tool, and transmitting small personal stories with humor.
