In addition to the Grand Prix, this arena, designed by South African bureau Boogertman + Partners in collaboration with Populous, won the award for Best Public Building. The jury especially noted the symbolism and attractiveness of the solution of its facades, consisting of multi-colored panels interspersed with glazing sections and open openings. Its range is reminiscent of African soil, and the upper part - of mines, an important component of the past and present of South Africa. The shape of the stadium is at the same time a reference to the traditional gourd-gourd vessel and to the melting pot, two important images for the country and the continent. In the dark, the lighting highlights 10 vertical stripes of glazing, marking the direction to 9 other arenas for the 2010 World Cup and Berlin stadium, where the 2006 World Cup final was held, thereby marking the relay race from one final to the next.
The LEAF Awards jury named the Broadcasting Tower student residence in Leeds by Feilden Clegg Bradley Studios as the Best Mixed-Use Complex. Its corten-clad façade conceals classrooms, student housing and a Baptist church. The building has a green roof, and its vertically oriented volume left almost half of the 60,000 m2 plot intact.
The Private House of the Year is Villa PLUS in Shijioka by Mount Fuji Architects, a two rectangular block structure erected on a mountainside above the Pacific Ocean. The Volna apartment building in the Danish town of Vejle by Henning Larsen Architects, also on the seashore, received the award as the best residential complex. To protect it from damp and cold weather, the facade of the building was covered with porcelain tiles.
The headquarters of the eponymous bank ANZ Center in the dock area in Melbourne, a project of HASSELL and Lend Lease design, is designed for 6,500 employees and resembles a small city in plan. Among its many “green” elements is the decoration of the facade with recycled wood, which also connects the building with the “ship” past of the territory.
Isay Weinfeld Arquitetura, the Número bar in Sao Paulo, was named the best interior, and the jury noted not only its cozy and original premises, but also the facade. The winner in the master plan and landscape category was the Estoril Open Space Strategy by URBE Architects in Santiago de Chile. This is a local initiative to connect the urban fabric cut by motorways built since 1995. The awarded project concerns two new areas with infrastructure, blocking the path of the planned flyover. They are designed for use by local residents and are equipped with water bodies that represent mountain rivers descending into the valley (from the squares overlooking the Andes).
The best young architects were named members of the Spanish workshop Arquitecturia for their project of the Ferreries cultural center in Tortosa, in fact - the reconstruction of a historic market building.
SOM Dubai's Burj Khalifa was honored as the Engineering Project of the Year, and the Nanasawa Kibo-no-Oka Elementary School in Atsugi by architect Ben Nakamura was named the best green project. This educational complex for 120 students is a closed eco-system where all waste is recycled, all materials are reused, natural ventilation, rainwater collection is used, etc. The school is not only a response to the calls of ecologists, but also an option for survival in conditions of reducing public spending on infrastructure in rural areas (the school is practically autonomous).