The A ′ Design Award & Competition awards prizes in a wide variety of fields, from architecture, interior design, landscape and industrial design to design marketing. This year, 758 works sent from 77 countries of the world were awarded in 74 different nominations. The jury selected projects that were distinguished not only by high-quality and original design, but also by an innovative approach to the task and the use of modern technologies. The winners were presented with platinum, gold, silver, bronze and iron awards. The laureates were invited to the awards ceremony in Italy, and also had the opportunity to participate in the "Best Projects of the Year" exhibition.
In our review, we present the most interesting winning projects in the nominations "Architecture and Construction", "Futuristic Design" and "Landscape Architecture": these are a variety of objects - from "organic cities" and giant skyscrapers of bizarre shapes to surreal-looking universities, tiny shops and meditation houses.
House-ring. The Ring House. Architectural workshop MZ Architects
The house was designed for the family of a young artist from Saudi Arabia. The main task of the architect was to isolate the residential building from the chaotic and noisy urban environment in order to create space for the client for life and creativity.
As a result, a building appeared, consisting of a cylindrical volume, in which a rectangle of a residential building is inscribed, containing all the necessary functions - a bedroom, a kitchen, a spacious living room and a workshop. The cylinder acts as a fence for the local area, where trees can be planted and places for rest are arranged. It turns out something like a symbolic garden under the windows of the house, a large terrace and an atrium at the same time. There is only one opening in the concrete wall of the "ring", which acts as the main entrance.
The authors of the project believe that such a composition made it possible to fully implement the idea of protecting a private house from the outside world.
Graduate School of Technology and Management. Montenegro Architects
The academic building is located on the campus of the Polytechnic Institute in Beja, Portugal. The uniqueness of the building is in a giant sloping canopy over the entrance and garden. This is one of the largest concrete structures in the world, which allows not only to form a memorable and unusual image, but also solves such utilitarian tasks as the placement of amphitheaters and conference rooms necessary for the university. The canopy is more than 50 meters long, and to implement such a project, the authors had to resort to advanced technologies. The purity of the form is emphasized by massive white concrete walls cut through with surreal outlines of window openings.
Hotel "Indigo" in Hong Kong. Aedas company
The hotel was built in Hong Kong and its architecture is imbued with images of Asian and Chinese culture. The exterior design of the building is based on the illumination values of the facades. Fins-like canopies are installed on the shiny copper walls to shield the rooms from direct sunlight where necessary. As a result, the building resembles a fabulous Chinese dragon with scaly skin. The apotheosis of the creativity of the authors of the project was the console of the glass pool, located at the very top of the hotel tower.
Arts Center and Media Library in the Lesser Poland Voivodeship. Ingarden & Ewý Architects
The Art Garden is located in the Lesser Poland Voivodeship in southern Poland, among the old courtyards and streets of historic Krakow. The architecture of the building is set by the zigzag geometry of the roof and the abstract composition of the facade decoration made of vertical ceramic panels. The building of the center picks up the height of the surrounding houses, and the zigzag of the roof interprets the slopes of their roofs. Thus, on the one hand, the principles of continuity are demonstrated, and on the other, the possibilities of modern architecture.
The starting point for the design of the building was the surviving 19th century horse riding arena, which has been integrated into the structure of the new building and converted into a multifunctional hall. In addition, the center includes halls for the exhibition of contemporary art, a media library, a studio theater, a conference hall, a concert hall and rooms for banquets and exhibitions for 300 people.
Family center in Northern Iran. Ali Alavi Design Bureau
The Family Center store is located in Northern Iran, and the designers used materials and shapes characteristic of the region to design it. The sloping, broken wall surfaces are entirely made of wood. With the dimensions limited by height standards, the area of the internal space was increased due to the unusual shape of the building. As the author of the project Ali Alavi himself comments, this form, among other things, also attracts customers who enter this store out of pure curiosity - only to see what is behind such a bizarre facade.
House for meditation. Architectural workshop MZ Architects
The project site is located in a small village in the south of Lebanon. The construction of the meditation house has not yet been completed. Outwardly resembling a giant stone slab that has fallen on the slope of a green hill, the house is conceived as a place for contemplating nature in unity with God. Together with the adjoining prayer hall, the house is in dialogue with the picturesque surrounding landscape. A large terrace inscribed into the slope offers beautiful views of the surroundings and the sea, and inside the building, in the prayer room, on the contrary, a very quiet, "hermetic" atmosphere with dimmed light is created.
Private villas in Doha, Qatar. Architectural workshop MZ Architects
Private residential buildings are located in Doha, Qatar. The client asked to design six villas on a plot of approximately 49,130 m2 for his brothers and their families. The architects proposed several types of buildings, differing in size and detail, but generally in the same architectural style. The conceptual solution is based on the wishes of the client, the characteristics of his lifestyle and the needs of his family. The clear volumes of the building grow one from the other, forming many private spaces and zoning the territory in accordance with its functional purpose.
The design of the project is characterized by its simplicity, coupled with the possibilities of modern architecture, but, nevertheless, it reminds of the traditions of ancient Qatari construction - especially at the level of detail. Yellow facing stone gives an interesting combination with wood and metal.
The Urban Skyfarm project is a vertical farm. Aprilli Design Studio
The urban vertical farm project is designed for Seoul, one of its central business districts, Cheonggyecheon. The author ponders how it would be possible to provide food for the largest city in South Korea and at the same time improve the ecological situation there by applying rainwater filtration, air purification, the use of renewable energy sources, etc.
A water hub in the coastal region of Kerala. Designer - Markaz Architects / Engineers
The project was created as a unique and innovative public transport interchange built on water in Kerala, India. It connects high-speed rail platforms, a conventional train station, metro and many commercial, entertainment and cultural facilities. They are located at different levels of the transport hub, designed in the form of a giant drop.
Baobab Garden. Designer Amaury Gallon
The baobab tree, symbolizing the "spirit of the forest" or "magic tree", became the central element in the landscape design of the garden. Here, a 3-meter tree is assembled from bamboo elements. Thus, the garden combines two cultures: Asia - through the active use of bamboo, and Africa - through the symbolic image of the baobab. An unusual atmosphere is created by thickets of ferns and moss-covered surfaces.
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Representatives of the school of architecture and design of the former USSR were also noted in the competition. Thus, the designer Dmitry Pogorelov presented the project of the car of the future in the category "Futuristic Design", and the famous Odessa designer Viktor Kovtun received an award for the seats he developed for the railway station.
You can view the full list of laureates and familiarize yourself with their work on the official website of the award. The site also contains interviews with the winning designers and projects from previous years. Applications for participation in the competition 2014-2015 accepted at www.adesignaward.com. There you can also get detailed information about participation in the competition, requirements for projects, deadlines for accepting applications and other details.
