Six winners of the Aga Khan Architecture Prize have been named, with a Russian project among the winners for the first time. The program for the development of public spaces in Tatarstan has received international recognition. By the way, the award ceremony took place in Kazan.
The Architecture Prize was established in 1977 by Karim Aga Khan IV. It is awarded every three years for objects designed for countries and regions with a predominantly Muslim population, or intended specifically for the Islamic diaspora in a non-Islamic country. In 2019, the selection was made for projects implemented from the beginning of 2012 to the end of 2017. The prize fund of the award is US $ 1 million, it will be divided among all the winners.
Public spaces development programTatarstan, Russia
Building area: 68,000 km2
Cost: $ 173,500,000
Project order: 2015
Design: February 2015 - present
Construction: May 2015 - present *
* 185 out of 328 projects were completed at the end of 2017, therefore they were admitted to participate in the award
Until recently, cities and towns in Tatarstan were related by the lack of places where ordinary citizens could relax and communicate. After the collapse of the USSR, people left their native settlements and moved to larger, more promising cities, and the return of the right to private property allowed wealthy individuals and businesses to buy up large plots of land in picturesque places, which made it impossible for ordinary residents to spend time in nature.
The program for the development of public spaces in Tatarstan was created in order to restore (or find) the individual appearance of each of the settlements and return to local residents the right to rest in public places. Almost all 328 landscaped spaces - be it a beach, a park, a square or just a walking path - have infrastructure for cultural events. They can be used all year round, not just in summer. The development of projects for public spaces was carried out with the participation of local residents. It is important that the signs, furniture, decorative items and other components were made by local manufacturers.
The rebirth of MuharraqMuharraq, Bahrain
Land area: 330,000 m2
Cost: $ 110,000,000
Project order: 2010
Design: 2010 - 2013
Construction: in progress since 2002
Delivery: not delivered
It is a project to revitalize Muharrak, a city listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Pearl mining used to be important for Bahrain's economy, and Muharrak was considered the capital of the industry. However, after the appearance of cultured pearls in the 1930s, the city fell into disrepair. Along with it, the demographic appearance of Muharrak also changed: the indigenous population left, and migrant workers came to replace it.
The project, which began with the restoration and adaptation of architectural monuments, has grown into a comprehensive program called the Pearl Route. It is attended by many architects, designers and researchers from Bahrain and other countries, including specialists from the Tokyo workshop Atelier Bow-Wow and
Swiss architect Valerio Olgati. One of the goals of this large undertaking is to balance the demographic composition and, through the improvement of the environment, the creation of cultural and social clusters, encourage the families of the indigenous Muharraqs to return.
The program will preserve a range of architectural landmarks associated with pearl mining, from humble diving houses to wealthy entrepreneurial villas and warehouses. There are also plans to renovate the facades and build four new buildings. The wind towers that used to be used for "climate control" will be restored. During the reconstruction, they use - with an eye to the original buildings - wood and coral limestone left over from destroyed houses. For outdoor furniture and lampposts, Venetian mosaics are widely used, which include particles of oyster shells. The spherical white shades of the lanterns are reminiscent of precious pearls.
Educational project "Arcadia"
South Kanahor, Bangladesh
Architect: bureau Saif Ul Haque Sthapati
Land area: 486 m2
Building base area: 274 m2
Cost $ 50,800
Project order: November 2011
Design: December 2012 - December 2014
Construction: December 2014 - February 2016
Delivery: March 2016
The educational complex "Arcadia" is intended for children from disadvantaged families. However, not the most successful site was chosen for the construction of the institution: every year it is flooded by a river located a few meters from the building. During the rainy season - and this is a third of the calendar year - the water rises by 3 meters.
Saif Ul Haque Sthapati refused to aggressively tamper with the ecosystem and did not build embankments or houses on stilts. The architects came up with an "amphibious structure" that, depending on seasonal conditions, can stand on the ground or float on water.
The site was pre-leveled - with the help of retaining walls made of bags of sand, soil, bricks. On top for amortization they put worn-out tires.
Bamboo pillars, sunk to a depth of 2 meters, became "anchors" for the buildings. The freestanding buildings house three versatile spaces that are mainly used as classrooms, as well as an office, an open platform, a bathroom, a septic tank and a water tank. Access to all of them is provided by a single corridor. The buildings are made of three types of bamboo, and they are kept afloat thanks to the construction of old 114-liter steel barrels.
The materials that went to the "foundation", "anchors" and the roof are treated with a special chemical composition that prevents them from decay. The rest of the ingredients were soaked in a water-repellent liquid made from the local gaaba fruit, a traditional method in Bangladesh. Almost all the work was carried out with the simplest tools, without the involvement of electrical equipment (with the exception of a few drills powered by batteries) and heavy equipment.
Palestine Museum
Birtzeit, Palestine
Architect: Heneganh Peng Architects (architecture) + Lara Zureikat (landscape)
Land area: 40,000 m2
Building area: 3 085 m2
Landscaping area: 26,000 m2
Cost: $ 24,300,000
Project order: December 2011
Design: March 2012 - April 2013
Construction: April 2013 - April 2016
Delivery: May 2016
The museum stands on the slope of the mountains, overlooking the Mediterranean Sea. It was created to “develop a culture of dialogue and tolerance” and to popularize the historical heritage of Palestine.
The concept of the project is largely based on the agricultural past of the area. So, the outlines of the future museum determined the terraces that the peasants built here for farming.
The building has the shape of a double wedge in plan. The main areas for visitors - the lobby, exhibition area, gallery, shop, cafe and cloakroom - are located at the entrance level, which virtually eliminates the need for vertical circulation. The depression in the relief is used to house additional amenities, including shops and an educational and research center. Limestone mined in the vicinity of Bethlehem was used for paving roads and facing the facade. The building has been awarded a LEED Gold Certificate for Sustainable Building Technologies.
Completely different crops grow in the garden: on the periphery - edible, and more "refined" representatives of the flora are planted closer to the buildings.
Aliun Diop University Building
Bambay, Senegal
Architect: IDOM
Building area: 11 500 m2
Base area: 6 895 m2
Outdoor landscape (pools and rainwater canals): 4,316 m2
Cost: $ 6,700,000
Project order: November 2012
Design: February 2013 - September 2013
Construction: May 2015 - December 2017
Delivery: December 2017
Alioun Diop University was founded in 2007, and already in 2012 the space needed to be expanded. As part of this campaign, a new building was built. The building was designed taking into account the natural and climatic features of the area.
The complex consists of, in fact, a lecture hall with 500 seats, a series of smaller auditoriums, three laboratories, ten classrooms and two meeting rooms. The architects deliberately combined all the premises under one roof, rather than scattering blocks around the campus. The rooms are connected by a straight long corridor.
The building is one-story, but on the north side, due to the sloping roof, its height reaches 10 meters. The southern façade is covered by a 203 m long lattice screen. It is made of perforated cinder blocks made by local craftsmen. The wall is part of a passive cooling system, behind this curtain it is comfortable to be even at a temperature of 40 ° C.
The double roof avoids direct sunlight. Each room has its own canopy, over which there is a single heat-reflecting roof. It stretches along the entire length of the building; on the north side, the structure expands, forming a giant loggia, which removes the hot air flow.
On campus, there are stone pools filled with gravel and vegetation, where rain flows and filtered wastewater flow down. Bold architectural solutions combined with traditional construction methods and sustainability principles have kept maintenance costs to a minimum.
Wasit Wetland Center
Sharjah, UAE
Architect: X-Architects (Dubai, UAE)
Land area: 200,000 m2
Building base area: 2 534 m2
Cost: $ 7,600,000
Project order: 2012
Design: 2012
Construction: 2014 - 2015
Delivery: 2015
Wasit is the national natural park of the emirate. With his help, the architects transformed the former landfill into an ecosystem wetland reserve. The place is very popular with locals and tourists.
When designing the complex, the architects relied on the natural topography of the area. To minimize visual interference, they almost completely "submerged" the structures in the ground.
The complex consists of two key elements arranged crosswise. In one there are office and administrative premises, the other is a viewing gallery, from where you can watch birds in an almost natural habitat: the building is surrounded by aviaries on all sides. The third block, adjacent to the gallery at the end, houses a café and a multi-purpose space overlooking the open wetlands.
A well insulated roof helps withstand the extremely hot desert climate. The cantilever steel truss in the observation gallery made it possible to dispense with external columns and to cover the facade with seamless continuous glazing. The interior is deliberately minimalistic, so that visitors can fully focus on the landscape and its inhabitants. The only decoration is, perhaps, information displays. A solid concrete sill, flush with the ground, provides a convenient spot for bird watching.
