| This project has
been chosen for its innovative approach to environmental
design, which limits urban development and promotes an
awareness of conservation and nature amongst the urban
population of Tehran. As a setting for outdoor recreational
and cultural pursuits, the park provides spaces for
contemplation, family recreation and social interaction, and
for the appreciation of local culture and entertainment.
Imaginative use of materials, playful sculptures and
indigenous landscaping drawn on the best traditions of garden
design in the region. In an age of global consumer culture,
with the spread of stifling and homogenous urban forms, this
"nature-urban" public park constitutes a refreshing
and welcome change. |
| New
Life for Old Structures |
| The project has
received Award for helping to promote sustainable urban
regeneration within the wider scope of national urban
development, rescuing structures and important traditional
typologies from demolition and deterioration. In a number of
successful interventions in several historical Iranian cities,
the program has attempted to preserve the country's unique
built heritage through the adaptive reuse of private and
public spaces. This has acted as a catalyst for the
introduction of new alternatives that respond to the social
needs of contemporary life in historical urban areas. The
program also aims to create economically viable solutions and
to meet the needs of younger generations. |
| Olbia
Social Center |
| This project has
been given Award for its intimate human scale, its function as
a bridge between several architectural styles and geographic
areas of an existing university campus, and its innovative
fusion of contemporary architectural elements with local
materials. In addition, the complex creates an attractive
place, where students and teachers can meet and exchange
ideas. The spaces themselves meet and flow into one another
with pleasant effect and a series of changing perspectives.
The use of water and other symbolic, historical and cultural
elements is remarkable, the more so because these references
do not merely imitate but, instead, permit new connections to
the past. This project's human, social and cultural elements
provide examples of ways for today's architects to look deeper
into their own cultures. |
| Nubian
Museum |
| The museum has
been cited for Award for its success in integrating the past,
present and future by creating in a single building an
educational institution, dedicated to Nubian history, a
contemporary focus for the revival of Nubian culture and a
museum designed to promote and preserve cultural artifacts for
the future. Built to save the archeological remains of the
area flooded by the Aswan High Dam, the museum was chosen for
the high quality of its construction materials and its
attention to details. The building also successfully adapts
local architectural styles without imitating them. The
appropriate scale and choice of materials create a building
that is stylistically integrated into the city of Aswan.
Nubian monuments in the surrounding gardens have made the
museum a center for community life. As an educational
resource, both for local residents and the international
community, it saves the Nubian culture for present and future
generations. |
| Ait
Iktel |
| This
project has received Award, because it exemplifies a new
approach to development, environmental conservation and the
improvement of living conditions for rural populations. The
success of the project was based on mobilizing the experience
of emigrant villagers, who brought back expertise after living
in modern urban context, joining hands with those who remained
in order to take charge of their own destiny. As a result, old
buildings are now cared for and new installations have been
added to provide basic services as a water supply network,
electricity and education facilities. The cooperation between
the villagers has enhanced daily life with preserving the
traditions of this isolated and poor population. The success
of the project makes it an example for the entire region,
bringing hope to rural communities throughout the Islamic
world and reinforcing their determination to improve their own
lives. |
| Kahere
Eila Poultry Farming School |
| This
project has received Award, because it draws on
traditional local planning relationships, with a courtyard
dominated by a central tree articulating teaching and
accommodation spaces. The complex is adjusted to the
conditions of the tropical climate: technologies re simple,
including locally made stabilized earth-blocks, woven
split-cane panel ceiling and pigmented concrete floors and
roof tiles. Sophisticated structural elements, columns and
trusses, are made of composite timber and metal, strengthening
the materials available to local craftsmen. The architecture
uses a deceptively simple language and it is distinguished by
clarity of form and appropriateness of scale. The solution is
a fine example of an elegantly humble yet modern architecture
that successfully crosses the boundaries of local Guinean and
Nordic traditions and , in the process, avoid mimicry. |
| Datai
Hotel |
| This
project has received Award for its ecological approach to
coastal development through sensitive sitting of its buildings
away from the beachfront and careful adaptation to the
prevailing topography, vegetation and climate in such a
way as to allow nature to reclaim the terrain after
construction. It features a lively integration of interior and
exterior, encouraging the enjoyment of nature, as well as
architecture. Also of particular interest are the creation of
spaces with elegant proportions, its excellence in details,
the sensitive selection of materials and the very good use of
natural light. The
project attains a level of quality, both in terms of
materials and experiences, that is rarely achieved in tourist
developments. It is a successful combination of talent,
stylistic refinement, attention to details, traditional forms
and materials and the rigor of modern architecture. |
| Barefoot
Architects |
| This program of
works was given Award for its integration of social,
ecological, cultural and educational elements in such a way as
to aid rural development, while promoting the architectural
traditions of the region. The Barefoot College comprises a
unique experiment in employing rural people to implement local
social-aid programs. Its utilization and improvement of the
practical construction skills of villagers had led to the
creation of buildings that enhance the vernacular tradition of
the region. As a result, Barefoot Architects, local people
with no formal trading, have been able to build a college
campus with buildings that combine advanced techniques and
traditional building materials, using sustainable
technologies, such as rainwater harvesting and solar power.
The architects have been able to apply and spread their skills
in the surrounding community, installing rainwater harvesting
systems in local schools and building two hundred new homes,
to upgrade rural living conditions. |
| SOS
Children's Village |
| This
project has received Award for creating a pleasant and
attractive environment scaled to the needs of children. The
aim of the village is to provide care for orphans in family
houses, rather than in a large, impersonal institutions. Its
well-defined layout creates generates communal outdoor areas,
shaded courtyards and gardens. These spaces serve a safe and
calm playgrounds for the children and form desirable oasis
within the arid, desert surroundings. The thoughtful and
integrated architecture is a sober, modern interpretation of
vernacular traditions, employing locally available building
materials. Culturally and aesthetically, it sets a precedent
for the creation of a new architecture that looks to the
future and acknowledges the past. |
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