This year's laureates were the artist Philippe Parreno and the architect François Roche (R & Sie (n)) for the work "Game" (2003), consisting of two parts - the "Hybrid Energy" pavilion and works of video art "Guy from Mars". The Game was commissioned by artist Rirkrit Tiravanija for his Land project in Chan Mai in southern Thailand, a traditional village where various art objects are housed, performances are held, etc.
The R & Sie (n) Architects Pavilion is a concrete platform on which a wooden structure covered with plastic is erected. Inside is a primitive dynamo driven by a buffalo grazing nearby. The generated electricity is enough to power several laptops and a dozen light bulbs, as well as recharge mobile phones. This unusual structure was created as a backdrop for filming the video art "Boy from Mars" by Philippe Parreno, but, unlike most such temporary structures, it remained standing in the middle of a rice field, serving as a public space for the Tiravania Earth complex.
The jury of the award noted the unusual appearance and purpose of the pavilion, which resembles a mechanism invented by Leonardo da Vinci, as well as the combination of the natural and cultural components in it, as well as architecture and contemporary art.
This year, the award was also nominated for very well-known projects with a clear preponderance of the architectural part: two works by Herzog & de Meuron - the Olympic Stadium in Beijing (with Ai Weiwei) and London Laban Center (with Michael Craig-Martin) and two buildings by David Adjaye, designed by artist Chris Ofili (Folkestone Library and Stephen Lawrence Center in London).
The name of the P. A. A. L. M. A award stands for Premio Artista + Architetto La Marrana Arteambientale; it is organized by the La Marrana Arteambientale Foundation for the Support of the Arts. Last year, it was awarded to Ettore Sottsas and Enzo Cucchi for the Chiostro della pace (Court of Peace) project at the University of Salerno.
