The Institute also announced the selection of the three best international buildings which will now be competing for this year's Lubetkin Prize. The final winner will be announced - together with the Stirling Prize winner - on September 26th by the RIBA in London. — bustler.net
Also announced today: 2013 RIBA Stirling Prize Shortlist
UPDATE: Cooled Conservatories, Gardens by the Bay wins 2013 RIBA Lubetkin Prize
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Having just spent a good amount of time living right around the corner from the Zaha building, I can't help but remember Larry Speck's post a little under a year ago regarding the Arch Record prize given to ZHA for the Guangzhou Opera house (not to mention that childish back-and-forth between Thayer-D and firms that lasted about a month).
I have yet to make it down to Guangzhou to see the Opera House in person, but I can tell you that I was very disappointed with the detailing of the Soho Galaxy up close. The building has been open for 8 months or so, and it already had nasty brown streaks and stains smearing down the sides, curving concrete finishes were lumpy, interior lights were already dirty, the hardscapes and pavings around the peripheries were an absolute mess, and it seemed that the go-to solution to any irregularity through the building was simply to "fill all gaps til they are full with caulk." In an earlier post I did on Beijing I even showed a photo of a glass panel that was clearly put in and left upsidedown...
To the defense of ZHA, a consistent story I get from firms I've met with this summer (including AECOM Shanghai today and SOM China yesterday) is the frustrations that come with the pace that Chinese developers and clients demand the projects. It is very difficult for a firm to maintain control through CM as it gets quickly passed on to a Chinese construction company. Often when this happens, it is out of the designer's hands. "The China Way" as I've heard several people refer to it.
The flip side is that you get to see much more of your work realized, and fast. A planner at AECOM mentioned to me that in her 7 years in one of the California offices she worked on three phases of a single master plan whereas in her first year in China they started and completed 7 projects. The pace here is unbelievable, and if you find the right developer with enough influence, they can try anything, even using the granite curtain wall on curved surfaces in the Guangzhou opera house.
That said, I hope this project does not win the award. I find it frustrating to acknowledge buildings with top honors when they are done with such short-sighted lifespans - regardless of it being a fault of the architect or "the China way" ... I wont even begin to get into the discussion of how many homes were demolished for this, nor how it is a blatant violation of the newly enacted building height codes as it falls just within the 2nd ring road (The China Way), nor how it emits as much light pollution as times square. Furthermore, the building is still empty. Inside the mall it is a ghost town; the only tenant I saw being the realestate agency trying to lease out space. How can this be given an award before it has become functional for its purpose?
I will admit, from a distance it still photographs great, like a styrene model. Indeed it looks and feels like its made out of styrene. The central atrium courtyard plaza is dynamic and fun to walk through, and it is even something that neighborhing residents come and use, and the kids love to play in the fountains. They held a kick ass craft beer festival in the space one evening.
Good photos and a few nice moments, however, don't make up for the insensitivity that this project represents. My two cents. Apologies for the rant. Once I got started I couldn't stop.
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