At the UIA World Congress last week, Joseph Rykwert was awarded the Jean Tschumi Prize for his work in architectural criticism and teaching over the past six decades. The prize adds to a fantastic year for Rykwert in which he received the RIBA Gold Medal and was awarded a CBE by the Queen. Read on after the break for all the winners of the 2014 UIA Prizes.
Jean Tschumi Prize 2014: Joseph Rykwert
Awarded for "architectural teaching, criticism and history which have contributed to excellence in architectural education", the UIA honored Joseph Rykwert, saying: "For more than sixty years, his erudition and his innovative scholarship have radically changed the relationship that architects have with the past, their conception of space and their perceptions of buildings and cities."
Special Mention: Haig Beck & Jackie Cooper
Sir Robert Matthew Prize 2014: Seoul Metropolitan Government
The Sir Robert Matthew Prize is awarded for "the amelioration of habitats and public spaces in the interest of harmonious and cooperative development," and went to Seoul thanks to their efforts to renovate the Yeongdeungpo Dosshouse Town. The UIA called this pilot program "exemplary," adding that "Cooperation between the city government, architects and the inhabitants of the dosshouses paved the way for efficient implementation of the project and have succeeded in bringing hope, dignity and joy into the neighbourhood."
Vassilis Sgoutas Prize 2014: The Emergency Architects Foundation and Architects Without Borders (Spain)
This award is given for "architecture serving the most impoverished and for the conception of inventive solutions for reducing poverty and indigence."
"By bringing a humanitarian dimension to the practice of architecture, Fondation Architectes de l’Urgence and Arquitectos sin Fronteras (Spain) have opened the door for collective, innovative and exemplary actions in the service of disaster-stricken populations or in areas of extreme poverty," said the UIA.
Four special mentions were also awarded for the Vassilis Sgoutas Prize:
- To Nigerian architect Kunlé Adeyemi of NLE Architects for his school prototype on waterfronts in African Cities.
- To the Norweigian team, TYIN Tegnestue Architects, composed of Yashar Hanstad and Andreas Grøntvedt Gjertsen, who define themselves as “Architects of necessity”.
- To South African architect Carin Smuts, who designs sustainable structures for marginalized township communities.
- To Australian architect Anna Rubbo, founder of Global Studio (2005), for her educational and humanitarian work.
