The 2015-2016 AIA Europe Design Awards Summary
*Excerpted from the AIA UK Journal Article written by Lorraine King, AIA.
On October 3rd 2015 at the AIA Europe Conference in Vienna, The AIA Continental Europe Chapter inaugurated its “Design Awards Program.” Its aim was to recognise AIA Europes’s positon as part of the “global village on one hand, and promoting site specific projects on the other.” The Awards Committee was led by Chair Yael S Kinsky, FAIA, and included Sandra Zettersten, AIA; Alireza Razavi, AIA; Rada Doytcheva, AIA; Sergio Accatino, Int’l Assoc AIA; and Marie Jeanne van Engelen, Prof Affiliate AIA. The range of winning projects from the 2015-2016 Awards – from Montana to Azerbaijan – fulfills the Committee’s global village ambitions.
The 2015-2016 Design Awards jurors were Luciano Lazzari, Giancarlo Alhadeff, FAIA, RIBA, Joe Farrell, AIA, LEED AP, Sibylle Giraud, and George Kunihiro, FAIA who voted projects for specific categories – Architectural Design, Interior Design, Urban Design, Environmental Design and Unbuilt Projects.
The Award for Environmental Design was received by Kevin Flanagan, AIA, for PLP Architecture’s Amsterdam project, the Edge. Edge – developed by OVG Real Estate as the headquarters for Deloitte – was designed in collaboration with Ron Bakker, the PLP founding partner, and PLP key designers Natalia Kafassis and, Nicki Faratouri, along with Arianne Barendregt from OeverZaaijer Architectuur NL.
ŞANALarc with the designers Murat Sanal, AIA, Alexis Sanal, AIA, was the winner of both the Urban Design Award for its Şişhane Park project in Beyoglu, Istanbul and the Interior Design Award for its SALT Research Centre, Istanbul.
The winner of the Architectural Design Award was Tabanlioglu Architects for the Loft Gardens in Istanbul, designed by Melkan Gursel and Murat Tabanlioglu Ihsan, Int’l Assoc AIA. The jury described the project as a “wonderful development of the loft concept into a different building form with … patios, creating a very successful new urban form”.
An Honorary Mention was awarded in the Unbuilt category to Tabanlioglu Architects for their Astana Train Station planned for Azarbijan.
There were three Honorary Mentions in the Architectural Design category:
- Cigler Marani Architects - Marani Vincent, AIA for the Villa Dolni Brezany in the Czech Republic.
- Bitner Architects - Thomas Bitnar, FAIA, for the complete renovation of a 1904 mansion and contemporary addition in Montana, USA.
- Pickard Chilton Architects – Jon Pickard, FAIA; Willian Chilton, FAIA, RIBA; Anthony Markese, AIA, RIBA, for Eaton House in Ireland.
AIA Europe’s Design Awards are open to all AIA Europe Chapter member's projects located anywhere in the world as well as all AIA National members' projects built in AIA Europe'’s territories. The territories include the following countries (not all of which are in Europe), but excludes the UK:
Albania, Andorra, Austria, Belgium, Belarus, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Croatia, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Georgia, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Iceland, Ireland, Israel, Italy, Kosovo, Latvia, Liechtenstein, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Macedonia, Malta, Moldavia, Monaco, Montenegro, Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Russia, Serbia, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Turkey, and Ukraine.
