20 Projects Shortlisted for US$ 1 million Aga Khan Award for Architecture

Lisbon, 30 April 2013 — The shortlist of nominees for the 2013 cycle of Aga Khan Award for Architecture was announced today by the Master Jury. The 20 nominees for the US$ 1 million prize range from a modern high rise apartment block to a bridge. Shortlisted projects are located in Afghanistan, Austria, China, India, Indonesia, Iran, Lebanon, Malaysia, Morocco, Palestine, Rwanda, South Africa, Sri Lanka, Sudan, Syria and Yemen.

The shortlist includes:
1. Maria Grazia Cutuli Primary School, Herat, Afghanistan
2. Islamic Cemetery, Altach, Austria
3. Gaoligong Museum of Handcraft Paper, Gaoligong Mountain, China
4. Rehabilitation of Nagaur Fort, Nagaur, Rajasthan, India
5. Mbaru Niang, Wae Rebo Village, Flores Island, Indonesia
6. Apartment No.1, Mahallat, Iran
7. Rehabilitation of Tabriz Bazaar, Tabriz, Iran
8. Reconstruction of Nahr el-Bared Refugee Camp, Tripoli, Lebanon
9. Hassan II Bridge, Rabat, Morocco
10. Mohammed VI Soccer Academy, Salé, Morocco
11. Preservation of Sacred and Collective Oasis, Guelmim Region, Morocco
12. Revival of Birzeit’s Historic Centre, Birzeit, Palestine
13. Girubuntu Primary School, Kigali, Rwanda
14. Mapungubwe Interpretation Centre, Limpopo, South Africa
15. Post-Tsunami Rehabilitation of Kirinda Houses, Tissamaharama, Sri Lanka
16. Hospitals in Sudan, Khartoum and Nyala, Sudan
17. Lycée Français Charles de Gaulle, Damascus, Syria
18. Kantana Film and Animation Institute, Nakhon Prathom, Thailand
19. The Met, Bangkok, Thailand
20. Thula Fort Restoration, Thula, Yemen

Farrokh Derakhshani, the Director of the Award, remarked: “The Master Jury, which includes some of the most prominent architects of our time, made interesting choices this year. For example, they chose schools in Afghanistan and Syria, but they also chose a hospital in Sudan, a high rise in Bangkok and the reconstruction of a refugee camp in Lebanon. In many ways, the choices reflect a central preoccupation of the Award: the impact of buildings and public spaces on the quality of life. Now this seems fairly mainstream, but we must remember that the Aga Khan Award has been talking about “human scale” and “sustainability” since 1977.”
The Award’s mandate is different from that of many other architecture prizes: it selects projects — from innovative mud and bamboo schools to state of the art “green” high-rises — that not only exhibit architectural excellence but also improve the overall quality of life. Since the Award was launched 36 years ago, over 100 projects have received the award and more than 7,500 building projects have been documented.

The shortlisted projects are now being technically reviewed by a select group of architects, urban planners and engineers. The reviews, which emphasise both the impact on the quality of life and architectural excellence, will be submitted in June to the Master Jury for closer evaluation. Five to six finalists will then be selected and announced at a ceremony to be held in Lisbon in September 2013

Web: www.akdn.org/architecture/

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