Wienerberger Brick Award 2010
Awards for innovative and creative brick architecture for the 4th time
Wienerberger AG presented its annual “Brick Award”, together with a total of 21 000 euros in prize money for the fourth time. 260 projects from 32 countries were submitted by architecture critics for this year’s competition. The number of submissions has therefore doubled since 2004 (120).
A jury of high-calibre international experts chose the winners. Selection criteria included architecturally innovative design and the appropriate use of brick as a material, as well as the functionality and the environmental friendliness of the building.
The Wienerberger Brick Awards 2010 were presented at a big gala dinner on 8 April at the Liechtenstein Museum in Vienna. More than 300 international guests, as well as the
Wienerberger AG Board of Directors, attended the ceremony. Besides honouring the architects and presenting the trophies, as in previous years, the company also unveiled its “Brick 2010” architecture book. The book celebrates the winning projects, together with 35 other exceptional brick structures from all over the world.
Brick Award 2010 –
the award winners
Winning project: State Forum and Parliament of the Principality of Liechtenstein – Architect: Hansjörg Göritz Architecture Studio
The architect Hansjörg Göritz reinterpreted the original building scheme and created two buildings that, with their exceptionally simple, almost sacral shapes, enhance Vaduz’s urban architecture. The materiality and consistency is truly enchanting, achieved through the use of exclusively yellow ochre brick. 680 000 specially made bricks cover walls and ceilings from the underground garage to the conference room. The warm light that reflects off the surfaces of the bricks creates a special atmosphere both inside and outside the buildings.
Second Place: South Asian Human Rights Documentation Centre, India – Architect: Anagram Architects
On a 50-m² footprint and with a limited budget, the architectural duo Vaibhav Dimri and Madhav Raman has created spatially efficient and cost-effective office space. The otherwise minimalist outer skin of the building has been given an extravagant brick façade on the longer sidewall. Inspired by traditional architecture, a single repeating brick module with an optically complex pattern was configured. This was created in the style of a splendidly carved jalis (brise soleil), a long-standing tradition in Indian architecture. Facing bricks measuring 230 x 115 x 75 mm (the standard brick size in India) were used to achieve this.
Third Place: The Morjan-Poeten House, Germany –
Architect: Nikolaus Bienefeld
The archaic simplicity of the hunting lodge built by the architect Nikolaus
Bienefeld is captivating. The brick-enclosed construction envelope creates a robust, traditional but refined impression, which is testament to the ingenuity with which the brick architecture was planned and executed. The result was also achieved using an economically priced brick – a feat that requires higher levels of skill and experience on the part of the bricklayers. Window and door lintels and the gable edge bring diversification to the regular brick courses and the details reveal an intriguing design freedom borne of using brick as the primary construction material.
Bienefeld is captivating. The brick-enclosed construction envelope creates a robust, traditional but refined impression, which is testament to the ingenuity with which the brick architecture was planned and executed. The result was also achieved using an economically priced brick – a feat that requires higher levels of skill and experience on the part of the bricklayers. Window and door lintels and the gable edge bring diversification to the regular brick courses and the details reveal an intriguing design freedom borne of using brick as the primary construction material.
Special Award: Public Buildings, Republic of Mali – Architect: Emilio Caravatti
The award-winning project began in 2005 as an ongoing work in progress and to date has resulted in several public buildings: two schools, a medical care station, and accommodation for teachers – all in a small savannah region in Beledougou in western Mali. The idea is to complete additional construction projects by expanding a network of skills and experience in cooperation with the local community and through the social organizations that exist in every village. The projects use locally sourced materials and traditional construction techniques, some of which had been forgotten by the locals.
Special Award: Architecture Museum for the Island of Hombroich Foundation, Germany – Architects: Álvaro Siza, Rudolf Finsterwalder
A short time ago, the Portuguese construction artist, Álvaro Siza in collaboration with the architect from Stephanskirchen, Rudolf Finsterwalder, designed a new architecture museum in a nature park on the island of Hombroich. This unpretentious, quiet building is constructed almost entirely in bricks recycled following the demolition of another building. When, in the warm sunlight, the brick walls glow a deep red and the oak windows and doors glow honey yellow, the building, together with its green surroundings, seems to melt into an impressionistic painting and makes the natural bond of this construction method clear.
More information available at News (22.04.2010) at www.zi-online.info
