ArchSociety

Umm we were just waiting for the name to appear in the list of Pritzker laureates! Yes it is no other than Swiss architect Peter Zumthor wins the ‘Nobel of Architecture’ the Pritzker Prize.
Undoubtedly Zomthor deserved it. He might get this honor even before!
Zumthor is admired for his exceptionally focused, uncompromised and determined designs. Zumthor is not like a so called ‘stararchitect’ of international architecture! Rather he is working in his office at a remote village of Haldenstein in the Swiss mountains for last 30 years in a steady and integrated progress. He is also known for his remarkable texts like ‘Thinking Architecture’. In his own words in that book he says:
“I believe that architecture today needs to reflect on the tasks and possibilities which are inherently its own. Architecture is not a vehicle or a symbol for things that do not belong to its essence. In a society that celebrates the inessential, architecture can put up a resistance, counteract the waste of forms and meanings, and speak its own language. I believe that the language of architecture is not a question of a specific style. Every building is built for a specific use in a specific place and for a specific society. My buildings try to answer the questions that emerge from these simple facts as precisely and critically as they can.”


Kolumba Museum in Cologne



Protective Housing for Roman Excavations, Chur, Graubünden, Switzerland
(Photo credit: Helene Binet)


Thermal Bath Vals, Graubünden, Switzerland
(Photo credit: Helene Binet)

For more information
Download the Press Release | Download Projects Photo Booklet
Visit Pritzker Prize Homepage.

It is said that the design competition of the House of Arts and Culture of Beirut Lebanon is somewhat the largest design competition of the year! And of course it’s really exciting to see the winning designs to realize how they won, what special they did!
And yes there’s a lot to learn from the designs as well.
Here you can download all the winning projects
| Report of the Jury |
1st Prize | 2nd Prize | 3rd Prize
For detail information and special mention projects
Visit darbayrut.org/intro-results.html



[Images: 1st Prize winning project by Architect Alberto Catalano of Milan, Italy, Image courtesy: House of Arts and Culture Lebanon Competition website]

ArchSociety apologize for the late publication of such an amazing design competition! We think many of you already know about the competition and already registered, yet its important to let everyone of the community know about it.

Its none other than the Open Architecture Challenge of this year. Open Architecture Challenge is organized by the Open Architecture Network which is a concern of Architecture for Humanity.

Lets look into the issues of the challenge of 2009. Many of the architects must have wondered about a better design of the classrooms of the junior schools, if architects would participate and do something for the poor classrooms they must become more effective places for learning. And its the students and the teachers of the schools who also think about their dream classrooms!


OAC this time gives you the opportunity to talk with the students and teachers of a school and together design a better classroom. Who knows through your design the quality of education might change, the future leaders of the world may come out from the schools! So you have to find out a school to work with first (or you may choose partner schools already enlisted in the OAN website). Start designing the classroom and make the energetic young students as your design partners. And it's definitely going to be a very amazing experience!
The winning design will be built, the school will get up to 50,000 USD and the designer will receive around 5000 USD. So everyone should jump in to help a school near you! Even if your design doesn't win however it will be an asset for the school for future developments.

Registration Fees: 25 USD, (Waived for participants from developing nations)
Registration Deadline: May 4, 2009
Submission Deadline: June 1, 2009
Eligibility: Anyone from any where in the world can participate, no age or qualification requirements needed to enter.
About the Schools: Any primary or secondary school (university or training academies are not eligible) And only an adaptable 'classroom' design will be eligible to win. No one needs to design the whole school at all!
The schools can also register as the partners in the website so that other designers from around the world can participate to design for them.
Competition Website: openarchitecturenetwork.org/challenge

ArchSociety will try to keep track and update the news of this competition periodically. Any queries, partnership, design team issues may be discussed in the forum or here as comments.