23.09.2009 News: Winners of the "SaieSelection. Low cost & Low Energy Sustainable Housing ” Competition Selected
On Tuesday, 8 September, the jury for the SaieSelection. Low cost & low energy sustainable housing international competition, organized by BolognaFiere in co-operation with Archi-Europe Group and Edilio, and sponsored by ArchitettiBologna, the Consiglio Nazionale degli Architetti, Pianificatori, Paesaggisti e Conservatori and the Coordinamento Nazionale dei Giovani Architetti Italiani, met at the headquarters of BolognaFiere to select the winners in the two categories (Architects Under 45 and Students) for each of the four sections (brick, metal&glass, wood and concrete).
The jury, chaired by Mario Cucinella consisted of seven members: architects Christine Conix of Conix Architects of Anversa and Alessandro Marata, President of the Order of Architects of Bologna and representative of the Consiglio Nazionale degli Architetti; Prof. Brian Ford of the School of the Built Environment of the University of Nottingham; architect Cino Zucchi Cino Zucchi Architetti, indicated by ANDIL for the brick section, Prof. Andrea Benedetti of Bologna University, indicated by ACAI for the metal&glass section, and Prof. Francesco Biasioli, indicated by ATECAP for the concrete section.
The participants came from a long list of countries: Italy, Spain, Portugal, Greece, France, Great Britain, Germany, Switzerland, Austria, Belgium, Slovenia, Poland, as well as Uruguay, Chile, Japan, the Philippines, Mexico, and Iran, confirming the international character of the competition. 161 projects were presented, 104 in the architects category and 57 in the student category. The wood section was the most popular, with 61 projects, followed by concrete, with 45, metal&glass, with 31, and brick, with 24.
An analysis of the winning projects revealed widespread awareness of the importance of sustainability in the low-cost building sector, made evident by intelligent use of materials and by innovative application of climatic and environmental technologies. In particular, the winners showed that a “language” of sustainable architecture exists: no longer just a method of construction that emphasises energy efficiency and reduced consumption, but an architectural sector equipped with specific design codes and a recognisable formal language. All this without forgetting the need to insert these architectural forms in existing urban contexts.
The many interesting projects include the winning proposal by Luca Donner of Donner & Sorcinelli Architetti of Silea in the brick section, an intelligent interpretation of full and empty city spaces represented by factories and courtyards; the winning project in the metal&glass section by Nadir Bonaccorso of Nadir Bonaccorso Arquitectos Associados (Portugal), presenting an innovative interpretation of a traditional design via the use of the fireplace room; the winning project in the wood section by Marco Plazzogna of Bertolone+Plazzogna Architetti of Treviso, an effective revision of the multi-floor apartment building; in the concrete section, the winning project by Filippo Taidelli of Milan provides an innovative solution with contrasting volumes that successfully integrates plant engineering elements, environmental analysis, and cost management.
In the students category, the winning projects demonstrated a generally cultured and sophisticated use of technologies, often integrated with solid environmental analysis and methods for inserting such architecture in the urban context.
The award ceremony will be held on Saturday 31 October at 10 AM during the conference Low cost, low energy sustainable housing in the “Piazza dell’energia” in Hall 14, one of the events linked to SaieEnergia.
Speakers at the conference, chaired by Mario Cucinella, will include Corrado Clini, General Director of research, environment, and development of the Ministry for the Environment, and Valeria Marsaglia, of the Coordinamento Nazionale dei Giovani Architetti Italiani.
In addition, the winners in each section of the Architects Under 45 category will be invited to present their project during a collective seminar, while the winners in the students category will participate in the “Energia dell’architettura” workshop; both are coordinated by Mario Cucinella. All of the selected projects will be displayed in an exhibit in the Saie Services Centre, and will be included in the CD catalogue published by BolognaFiere.
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