Making a difference
The winners of the Archiprix International / Hunter Douglas Awards 2019 are.... 
Architecture is political. The question is whether or not you acknowledge that fact.
What the winning projects have in common, apart from being excellent presentations, is an ability to combine social, political and contextual elements with innovative programmes, a critical engagement with the discourse, and restraint in the design process.
(source: the jury report)
321 graduation projects designed by 407 young architects, landscape architects and urban designers were submitted for the Archiprix International Chile 2019. An international jury selected 7 projects for the 2019 Archiprix International / Hunter Douglas Awards.
The winners of the Archiprix International / Hunter Douglas Awards 2019 are: (in alphabetical order):
Mohamad Nahleh, 185 En-Counters in Karm El-Zeitoun
Maroun Semaan Faculty of Engineering and Architecture - Beirut, Lebanon
The project reveals a method of materializing the power of dwellers and their spaces in the form of architectural interventions by devising a series of public installations.
The jury: It is socially minded, without goody-goody intentions. The project suggests a new form of political activism through the appropriation of urban residual spaces.
Maarten de Haas, Following up the Foregoing
Academy of Architecture and Urban Design - Rotterdam, the Netherlands
A data centre, living conditions and daily routine of the caretaker confront us with the human condition of our time: an existence caught between the virtual and the sensorial, the all-inclusive and the personal, the managed and the accidental.
The jury: In this 'narrative' project, architecture is deployed to tell the story of a social phenomenon and discuss the condition of daily life.
Video.
Guelba Paiva, Infrastructural Landscape and Ecosystem Regeneration
Pontifícia Universidade Católica do Rio de Janeiro, PUC-Rio - Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
The project reflects upon concepts of identity, territory and resistance, and investigates the design of a versatile nature-based infrastructure capable of meeting both landscape and socio-economic demands.
The jury: The project is thorough and totally feasible, and it is not made to convince clients but for the benefit of local inhabitants.
Gary Polk, Synthetic Cultures. Scenes from the Post-Anthropocene
University of Pennsylvania, Faculty of Architecture - Pennsylvania, USA
Set in the period after the Anthropocene, the project examines non-human culture's role within architecture.
The jury: The narrative is a wonderful 'sci-fi' project. Not every project has to be plausible, and this one takes you out of your comfort zone.
Liran Messer, Stav Dror, Tryouts on Living in the City: Four Possible Homes
Bezalel Academy of Art and Design, Architecture - Jerusalem, Israel
The project seeks to deepen our knowledge of housing in today's city.
The jury: The project is an investigation into the use of drawing as a representational tactic to tell a little story about life. Thinking about the concept of home is a compelling and urgent issue.
Lesia Topolnyk, Un-United Nations Headquarters. Neutral Ground for Discussing the Morality of Opposing Political Systems
Academy of Architecture Amsterdam - Amsterdam, The Netherlands
Located on the Crimean Peninsula claimed by both Russia and the Ukraine, the project explores the role of architecture in absorbing the conflict situation.
The jury: It is a strong project that intelligently tackles the agency of architecture on politics. The project is placed in a historical perspective and goes beyond actuality.
Video.
Sara Pellegrini, Domenico Spagnolo, Waliców, Fortress of Memory. Museum of the Present Between Warsaw's Ghetto Ruins
Politecnico di Milano, School of Architecture Urban Planning Construction Engineering - Milan, Italy
The design programme is based on a physical and conceptual excavation of the foundations of Warsaw, activating a form of 'critical archaeology' that strengthens the identity of places of memory and their deep meanings.
The jury: The designers adopt a very clear position on ethics and urban form in the past and in the future.
Video.
The winners receive an award object and prize money.
The jury members for Archiprix International 2019 were:
Francisco Díaz (Chile), architect, assistant professor at Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile in Santiago de Chile, and general editor of ARQ Libros.
Rosetta Elkin (USA), landscape architect, associate professor of landscape architecture at Harvard University's Graduate School of Design, and faculty associate at Harvard Arnold Arboretum, USA.
Marta Moreira (Brazil), architect, partner at MMBB and professor at Escola da Cidade, São Paulo, Brazil.
Martino Tattara (Italy), architect, partner at Dogma, and assistant professor at KU Leuven, Faculty of Architecture, Belgium.
Sam Jacoby (United Kingdom), Research Leader of the School of Architecture at the Royal College of Art and Director of the Projective Cities programme at the Architectural Association School of Architecture in London.
Download the jury rapport (pdf) English, Español.
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