Architecture News: changing design world

ARCHITIZER AWARDS THE ROLE OF DESIGN

IN A CHANGING WORLD

Opposite Page: Bamboo Bamboo Canopy + Pavilions by llLab (Arch-Exist Photography) Other Photos (from top left, clockwise): Yabuli Entrepreneurs Congress by MAD Architects (Arch-Exist Photography); Bamboo Branch Academy by Archermit (Arch-Exist Photography); Smart Design Studio by Smart Design Studio (Romello Pereira); Lyngen Aurora by Snorre Stinessen Architecture (Snorre Stinessen); Victorian Music Box by CCY Architects (Draper White); Maggie’s Leeds by Heatherwick Studio (Hufton+Crow); The Rajkumari Ratnavati Girl’s School by Diana Kellogg Architects (Vinay Panjwani); Quinta de Santo António Hotel & Winery (MIR)

This year’s Architizer A+Awards understandably focused on “a year of unprecedented social and environmental challenges”. The theme of the ninth annual awards was “Architecture for a Changing World”, with the key objective of celebrating architects and designers “whose work strives to create a more resilient built environment for generations to come”. According to Architizer, a leading global online architecture platform, the awards were founded on the premise of democratising architecture and honouring the best architecture and spaces from around the world. The program’s overall mission is “to nurture the appreciation of meaningful architecture around the world and champion its potential for a positive impact on everyday life”. The 2021 A+Awards attracted more than 5,000 entries from 100-plus countries, “including countless pioneering projects that respond to the most pressing global challenges today – from climate change and the COVID-19 pandemic to urbanisation and economic inequity”. The winners include innovative projects by both renowned firms and emerging practices, among them: · Tadao Ando Architect & Associates (Hei Art Museum, Shunde, China) · Heatherwick Studio (Maggie’s Leeds, Leeds, United Kingdom) · Diana Kellogg Architects (The Rajkumari Ratnavati Girls’ School, Jaisalmer India) · VTN (Vo Trong Nghia) Architects (Stepping House, Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam) · Caspar Schols (ANNA Stay, Denbosch, Netherlands) · Studio Zhu Pei (Jingdezhen Imperial Kiln Museum, Jingdezhen, China) “The designers behind these projects come from vastly different geographies and personal experiences,” said Architizer content director Paul Keskeys, “but they all share at least one thing in common: they possess the creative courage not just to iterate on the present, but to forge entirely new ideas for the future.” A jury-selected winner and a popular choice winner were awarded in each of the 94 categories, with over 400,000 votes cast by the voting public. Special honoree awards are also being presented to a selection of other outstanding projects that demonstrate “the extraordinary power of architecture to catalyse change in communities worldwide”.