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The architecture projects that won big in 2016

2016-12-20T17:56:00-05:00

2016 was one hell of a year for many people. Thankfully, the world is still full of inspiring folks, like the many architects and designers who ceaselessly work hard toward a better future. The last 12 months flashed by with a multitude of memorable structures brought to life from renowned and emerging practices alike. And several of those projects won accolades in some of architecture's most prestigious competitions. Here's Archinect and Bustler's list of 2016's top award-winning projects, in no particular order:

SANAA's Grace Farms “River” building wins latest MCHAP

The IIT College of Architecture bestowed their second biennial Mies Crown Hall Architecture Prize to SANAA's meandering Grace Farms community center in New Canaan. The prize distinguishes the best architecture in the Americas.

The Rainforest Solutions Project wins the 2016 Fuller Challenge Award

Initiatives like the Rainforest Solutions Project show that compromise is attainable despite multiple clashing perspectives. The ...

The Next Helsinki shortlist demonstrates that a new Guggenheim isn't the only option

2015-04-21T18:02:00-04:00

The controversy surrounding the Guggenheim Helsinki has made the project a hot topic in recent years. While the large response to the Guggenheim Helsinki Design Competition is already widely known, is a new Guggenheim Museum truly what Helsinki needs? This is the burning question of The Next Helsinki counter-competition organizers, who describe the Guggenheim franchise as "the cultural equivalent of Starbucks". Organized by Checkpoint Helsinki, Terreform and G.U.L.F. (Global Ultra Luxury Faction), architects, designers, urbanists, and environmentalists worldwide submitted their alternative ideas on how the site can be transformed to best meet Helsinki's cultural, spatial, and sustainability needs.

The call for ideas drew in 217 international entries from 40 countries on five continents, according to architect Michael Sorkin, who chaired the jury. In the end, the jury shortlisted eight entries they deemed as outstanding ideas -- which are not necessarily refined and final proposals. (...

Fairy Tales 2015 competition winners revealed

2015-03-17T16:50:00-04:00

From endearing and colorful to clandestine and foreboding, Blank Space's annual Fairy Tales Architecture Competition is back a second time with more architectural anecdotes to tell. Blank Space co-founders Matthew Hoffman and Francesca Giuliani started the open competition as one way to showcase how architecture shapes society and vice versa in a multitude of perspectives. Young architects, designers, artists, illustrators, writers and the creatively inclined worldwide put their storytelling skills to the test by creating their own architectural fairy tale narrative. In its inaugural run, the competition attracted over 300 entries from 50 countries. One year later, 1,200 participants based in 65 countries submitted entries.

The jury awarded the $1,500 first prize to Empty by Zigeng Wang, a Masters student at Princeton University. Wang's rich, sci fi-inspired illustrations narrate the ethical and environmental dilemmas of a post-industrial and globalized world. The story attempts to "...

UNESCO Afghanistan reveals Bamiyan Cultural Centre competition results

2015-02-18T15:28:00-05:00

The UNESCO Office in Afghanistan announced today the grand prize winner and four runner-up teams in the Bamiyan Cultural Centre Design Competition. Launched last November, the single-stage competition invited architects worldwide to propose designs for a cultural center in the Bamiyan Valley of Afghanistan that would contribute to the country's gradual process of reconciliation, restoring peace, and economic redevelopment after decades of political conflict.

In addition to complementing the physical and historical landscape of Bamiyan, the new Bamiyan Cultural Centre will be built as an emblem of heritage preservation, cross-cultural exchange, and strengthening cultural identity.

Out of 1,070 submissions from 117 countries, the seven-member Jury selected "Descriptive Memory: The Eternal Presence of Absence" by Carlos Nahuel Recabarren, Manuel Alberto Martinez Catalan, and Franco Morero from Argentina as the winning proposal, with a cash prize of US$25,000. The Jury included Elizabeth...

Renzo Piano’s The Shard wins Emporis Skyscraper Award

2014-05-20T17:24:00-04:00

Skyscrapers designed by some of the world's biggest firms go head to head to get to the top in the yearly Emporis Skyscraper Award, the international prestigious prize for skyscrapers. Winning the top prize this year is Renzo Piano and Adamson Associates' "The Shard", which is also currently Western Europe's tallest building at 306 meters tall. The London-based tower was chosen out of 300 skyscrapers at least 100 m. in height and that were completed in the previous calendar year.

Do you agree with the jury's winner selection? Have a look at this year's top 10 below.

(Pictured above) 1. The Shard (London, UK)
Architects: Renzo Piano Building Workshop, Adamson Associates International

2. DC Tower 1 (Vienna, Austria)
Architects: Dominique Perrault, Hoffmann-Janz

3. Sheraton Huzhou Hot Spring Resort (Huzhou, China)
Architects: MAD, Shanghai Xian Dai Architectural Design

4. Cayan Tower (Dubai, UAE)
Architects: SOM, Khatib & Alami

5. One Central Park, East Tower (Sydney, Australia)
Architects: Ateliers Jean Nouvel, PTW Architects

6. Flame Towers (Baku, Azerbaijan)
Architect: HOK

7. Mercury City (Moscow, Russia)
Architects: F. Williams, G.L. Sirota, M.M. Posokhin

8. Ardmore Residence (Singapore)
Architects: UNStudio, Architects 61

9. AZ Tower (Brno, Czech Republic)
Architect: Architektonická kancelář Burian-Křivinka

10 (tied). Nanfung Commercial Hospitality and Exhibition Complex (Guangzhou, China)
Architect: Andrew Bromberg of Aedas

10 (tied). Tour Carpe Diem (Courbevoie, France)
Ar...

Results of Taiwan’s Kinmen Passenger Service Terminal competition

2014-05-13T17:59:00-04:00

The two-stage Port of Kinmen Passenger Service Center International Competition‏‎ in Taiwan has come to a close. Since our last update in January, five star-studded firms — who worked with local architects — were in the final round to become the master architect to design a new multi-functional terminal facility and expansion for the Port of Kinmen.

At the end of the competition, the jury awarded three prize winners and two honorable mentions:

1ST PRIZE: Junya Ishigami + Associates / Junya Ishigami (Japan) with Bio Architecture Formosana Architecture / Ching-Hwa Chang (Taiwan)

2ND PRIZE: Tom Wiscombe Architecture, Inc / Thomas Wiscombe (USA) with Fei & Cheng Associates / Philip T.C. Fei (Taiwan)

3RD PRIZE: Lorcan O'Herlihy (LOHA) Architects / Lorcan O'Herlihy with EDS International Inc / Yuan Liang Tsai (Taiwan)

HONORABLE MENTION: Miralles Tagliabue EMBT SLP / Benedetta Tagliabue (Spain) with Shou Dong-Gang (Taiwan) and Su Mao-Pin Architect / Su Mao-Pin (Taiwan)

HONORABLE MENTION: Josep Mias Gifre (Spain) with Mias Engineering Limited (Spain) and Tai Architect & Associates / Yu-Tse 'Daniel' Tai (Taiwan)

See more project photos on Bustler.

2014 eVolo Skyscraper Competition Winners

2014-03-20T20:19:00-04:00

The winners for the 9th annual eVolo Skyscraper Competition have finally been revealed! The sky is indeed the limit for the popular worldwide competition, which gave participants complete freedom with their skyscraper designs. Imaginative ideas aside, entrants also had to examine the skyscraper's definition, purpose, and potential in the 21st century.

Out of 525 entries from 43 countries in all continents, the Jury awarded three winners and 20 Honorable Mentions.

1st place: "Vernacular Versatility" by Yong Ju Lee - U.S.

2nd place: "Car and Shell: or Marinetti’s Monster" by Mark Talbot and Daniel Markiewicz - U.S.

3rd place: "Propagate Skyscraper" by YuHao Liu and Rui Wu - Canada

Find out more on Bustler.

Click the thumbnails below to see the Honorable Mentions.

Winning results of the Çanakkale Antenna Tower competition in Turkey

2014-03-03T21:23:00-05:00

Results are out for the Çanakkale Antenna Tower competition, Turkey's first international competition since 1997. After being shortlisted in Stage Two, Powerhouse Company & IND (Inter.National.Design) won 1st Prize out of 8 finalist teams, including renowned names like Sou Fujimoto and Snøhetta. The city's government plans to have the 100-meter broadcasting tower completed in 2015. The Colloquium and Award Ceremony will take place on March 15 in Çanakkale.

Below is the complete list of finalist rankings.

Pictured above: 1st Prize: Powerhouse Company & IND (Inter.National.Design)

2nd Prize: Snøhetta & Özer/Ürger Architects & Battle Mccarthy

3rd Prize: AL_A

1st Mention: TEGET (Teğet Mimarlık. Consultants: Yonca Çeltikçi, Mehmet Okutan, Muharrem Akbulut, Lütfi Kutluay, Öykü Kocaman)

2nd Mention: Ian Ritchie Architects & Arup

3rd Mention: FR-EE/Fernando Romero Enterprise & KOTU+MAPmx Studio & Werner Sobek

4th Mention: Sou Fujimoto & Aecom

5th Mention: OLAF GIPSER & ARUP & Deniz Aslan

Head over to Bustler for more details.

Winning ideas announced for the Hormuz Bridge International Competition

2014-02-24T17:50:00-05:00

The results are out for the Gulf Architecture Biennial's Hormuz Bridge International Competition. The open ideas competition invited entrants to propose designs for a bridge or other connective structure to link both sides of the Hormuz Strait in the Persian Gulf. Three winners and four honorable mentions were awarded. Eighteen additional entries will be included in the first volume of Gulf Architecture Biennial and publically displayed.

First Prize: XXXXXX02 or The Frozen Leviathan by Matteo Mannini

Second Prize: A CITY FOR THE STRAIT: The Hormuz Federation by Edourad Champalle

Third Prize: Backbone of Strait of Hormuz by Chien Bang Wong

Honorable Mention: Global Security Pipeline by Nick Axel

Honorable Mention: Jeser El Amwaj by Dhaval Gadani, Louis Peragallo, Christian Pereda

Honorable Mention: Rail Reef by Triple O Studio

Honorable Mention: Moses Highway by Andriy Vyshnevskyi, Vitaliy Kozlov, Bogdan Krutsko, Orest Galan

Learn more about each proposal on Bustler.

Winners of the d3 Unbuilt Visions 2013 Competition

2014-01-17T17:55:00-05:00

d3 announced four Grand Prize winners and 11 Special Mentions in the 2013 Unbuilt Visions competition. The program recognizes excellence in unbuilt projects to promote critical debate about architecture and design.

Grand Prize Winners:

Coastal Caretaker - Ursula Emery McClure, Michael McClure, Kristi Dykema Cheramie, Sarah Young (USA) - see title pic above

Here After: The Material Processor - Aron Wai Chung Tsang (HONG KONG)

Sadic Apiaries - Loukia Tsafoulia (GREECE-USA)

Urban Paradox - Chris Tsui (HONG KONG)

And here are a few Special Mention projects:

Special Mention, Built Ecologies: Cloud Ecologies - Lydia Kallipoliti (ANAcycle), Andreas Theodoridis (207x207), Stella Nikolakaki (207x207), Katie Okamoto, Ezio Blasetti (USA-UK)

Special Mention, Dystopian Futures: Post-Nuclear Necropolis by Compagnie-O Architects: Joke Vermeulen, Francis Catteeuw, Bram van Cauter, Ioannis Gio (BELGIUM)

Special Mention, Commemoration: Slanted Memorial - Jin Young Song (KOREA-USA)

Special Mention, Fantastical Typology: Grimm City: An Architectural Fairytale - Pascal Bronner, Thomas Hillier (UK)

All images courtesy of Unbuilt Visions competition.

Find more projects and competition details at Bustler.

Winners of “Brutalist Facelift” and “Ghost Town Challenge” for Karosta, Latvia

2013-12-30T15:38:00-05:00

Results were recently revealed for Homemade Dessert and Liepaja City Council's 'Brutalist Facelift' and 'Ghost Town Challenge' — two related competitions in a series to revive the cityscape of Karosta, a former Soviet military town outside of Liepaja, Latvia. Each jury selected three winners — who won prize money and media attention — for each competition.

Hosted by Homemade Dessert Architecture Competitions, Brutalist Facelift had entrants redefine the image and future of the historically debatable brutalist-style architecture for Karosta.

For Ghost Town Challenge, participants submitted their visions for a new city cultural center.

Brutalist Facelift winners

1st prize (US$2,500): Ilana Simhon (US)

2nd prize (US$1,000): Joanna Burton (Spain)

3rd prize (US$500): Emily Kutil + Jordan Hicks (US)

Ghost Town Challenge winners

1st prize (US$6,000): Fabien Grousset + Hélène Besson + Julien Colom + Guillaume Friolet (France)

2nd prize (US$3,000) - Gilles Retsin + Isaie Bloch (UK)

3rd prize (US$1,000) - Johann Bertelli + Gustavo Deleu Nogueira + Julie Deglesne (France)

Eco-Porn Competition results expose the sassy side of green architecture

2013-12-20T14:29:00-05:00

Participants in Reality Cues' cheeky Eco-Porn Competition got to have some fun with the green architecture trend. But since there weren't enough submissions to go through with the full judging process, only Honorable Mentions were given.

Here's a handful of the entries that piqued our interest:

Floramorphism: Bloominating Inorganic Objects by BanG studio – Babak Bryan & Henry Grosman

If Robert Moses had his way in 1941… by Ida Tam

Tower of Babel by Feliks Bochenek

The Green Roof Trope by Eric Karasek

Winners of the London Cinema Challenge re-imagine the movie venue

2013-12-19T19:31:00-05:00

Have a seat and grab some popcorn, the results are out for Combo Competitions' London Cinema Challenge. Limited to only their imaginations, designers from all disciplines created their own movie-viewing spaces set on Central London's Newman Street. Entrants also had to include a unique twist in their submission.

Three winners and four honorable mentions were selected:

First prize - Cine'stival by Etienne Fabre and Jean-Emmanuel David

Second prize - Symbiotic Venue by Nada Alqallaf and Jaime Sevilla

Third prize - Peep(le) Show by Shuping Liu and Jackie Krasnokutskaya

Click the thumbnails below to see the Honorable Mentions.

Winners of the third edition IS ARCH Awards

2013-12-11T20:40:00-05:00

IS ARCH revealed the winning projects of the third edition IS ARCH Awards on Dec. 9. Out of 159 submissions from students and young architects, the competition resulted in three winners, 10 Honorable Mentions, and 30 Finalists.

Here are the top three winners:

1st Prize: ENCLOSING LANDSCAPE
By Ana Bruto da Costa, Joana Gonçalves, João Moreira

2nd Prize: ARCH FRAME
By Kang Ji Ho, Shim Hun Yong, Hwang Ki Soo

3rd Prize: HELSINKI CENTRAL LIBRARY
By Elena Capodarca, Luca Caroti

To see more projects, check out the article on Bustler.

Warming Huts Competition v. 2014 winners

2013-12-05T15:07:00-05:00

It's that time of year again — when the Warming Huts Competition winners are announced, that is. Every year, the competition invites architects around the globe to develop their most innovative warming-hut designs. With no theme for v. 2014, the competition was met with a variety of submissions.

The international jury chose three winners out of 190 entries. As for the other three: one hut was selected for a separate University of Manitoba competition; one from an invited local architect (Étienne Gaboury); another hut — soon to be determined — will become a class project for Kelvin High School’s drafting program.

NUZZLES by RAW DESIGN INC. - Toronto
Red Blanket by Workshop Architecture Inc. - Toronto
Windshield by Kate Busby & Bella Totino - Vancouver
University of Manitoba winner: SKYBOX - Winnipeg
Étienne Gaboury's winner - Voyageur Hut
Kelvin High School - TBA

2011 Buckminster Fuller Challenge Semi-Finalists Announced

2011-04-08T17:40:52-04:00

The Buckminster Fuller Institute announced the Semi-Finalists for the 2011 Buckminster Fuller Challenge. The jury will select a winner who will be revealed at a public ceremony in New York in early June 2011. The winner will be presented with the OmniOculi sculpture and the $100,000 prize money to honor and encourage further development of their work.