Marmomacc Names Architectural Award Winners

VERONA, Italy — Architects from China, Germany, India, Portugal and Spain will receive the honors of Marmomacc’s International Stone Architecture Award this year.  

The winners, announced today, are the latest in the 12th edition of the biennial program created by Veronafiere – producer of the Marmomacc stone fair – as part of the group’s committment to the culture of stone.

A five-person jury picked the honorees from a field of 27 projects submitted from 13 countries. Selection is based on the architectural quality of the projects and the expressive use of stone materials;as with previous editions, an “ad memoriam” award was presented, as well as one for vernacular architecture.

This year’s jury includes Francesco Dal Co, editor of Casabella, Italy; Thomas Herzog, Architecture faculty, University of Munich, Germany; Juan José Lahuerta, Architecture faculty, University of Barcelona, Spain; Alessandro Mendini, editor of Domus, Italy; and Vincenzo Pavan, Architecture faculty, University of Ferrara, Italy.

Prizes will be presented on Sept. 24 during Marmomacc 2011, at Verona’s Museo di Castelvecchio. The projects will also be featured in an exhibit during the trade show.

Click photos to enlarge

Max Dudler
Berlin

Jacob und Wilhelm Green Zentrum, Berlin
Principal stone: Spessart limestone

Created as the central library and media collection for the Humboldt Universität in Berlin. It has a capacity of 750 students, while offering two and a half million volumes and 500 computer stations.
The jury: Dudler inserts a large compact lithic volume, with extraordinary transparency and openness, into the urban fabric. The Spessart limestone that covers the facades, roughened by high pressure water sprays, substantially contributes to the concept of solidity that the building strives to communicate.

Victor López Cotelo
Munich

Residential Complex in Santiago de Compostela, Spain
Principal stone: Local granite

A redevelopment of a complex of historic structures, along with new construction,  recovered an abandoned tannery and the surrounding area, while respecting and interpreting, through a modern approach, the typical elements of industrial buildings and of the Galician countryside.
The jury: López Cotelo manages to avoid the self-referencing nature of several recent architectural works built in the capital of Galicia. The project reconnects the old and new buildings to the urban context, through discreet additions of masonry in local granite and a series of measured stone walks that link the various land levels together.