European Copper in Architecture Awards, Buildings, Projects News, Design, Shortlist

European Copper in Architecture Awards News

International Architecture Awards 2013

European Copper Architecture Awards 2013 – updated 7 Nov 2013

4 Feb 2013

European Copper in Architecture Awards 2013

Launch of the European Copper in Architecture Awards

ARCHITECTURAL AWARDS LAUNCH

Entries are now invited for the 2013 European Copper in Architecture Awards 16 – a showcase for architects designing with copper and its alloys to promote their work to an international audience. The final deadline for receipt of entries is 31st May 2013.

Chapel of St. Lawrence, Vantaa, Finland – past winner:

photo © Tuomas Uusheimo

This biennial awards programme continues to grow in stature, not only demonstrating exemplary and innovative uses of copper in contemporary design, but also exposing to a wide international audience the very best in European architectural projects, some of which might otherwise go unrecognised.

Entries must incorporate cladding, roofing, or other architectural elements of copper or copper alloys, but judging criteria will essentially be based around the overall architectural design of the project. Any scale or type of project can be entered, from major landmark buildings to modest installations.

Freya’s Cabin – past winner:

photo © David Williams

Architects and critics – drawn from a panel including some of the most influential designers in Europe – will judge all the entries on their architectural qualities from graphic submissions. The Awards will be presented at a dedicated event later in the year, and shortlisted and winning projects will be widely promoted to an international audience.

The last Awards 15 judging panel included four architects, all recipients of previous Copper in Architecture Awards: Einar Jarmund, partner in Oslo-based Jarmund/Vigsnæs; Patrick Genard, who runs a practice in Barcelona; Pia Salin of Basel-based Zwimpfer Partner Architekten and Keith Williams, principal of Keith Williams Architects.

The Awards 16 Entry Form can be downloaded from copperconcept.org.

29 Sep 2011

European Copper in Architecture Awards Winner

Winner of the European Copper in Architecture Awards

EUROPEAN ARCHITECTURAL AWARD WINNERS

Winners of the European Copper in Architecture Awards 15 were announced at a presentation ceremony in Brussels on 27th September. With 66 entries – the highest so far – and generally exhibiting a high standard of design, the Awards are a celebration of the very best in contemporary European architecture and recognition of the influence of copper in modern design. All the 2011 entries can be seen on the recently re-launched Copper in Architecture website – www.copperconcept.org/awards.

Chapel of St. Lawrence, Vantaa, Finland:

photos © Tuomas Uusheimo

Selected from seven shortlisted projects, the outright Winner was the Chapel of St. Lawrence, Vantaa, Finland, designed by Avanto Arkkitehdit. This dedicated cemetery chapel aims to reconcile the emotional needs of mourners with the pragmatic demands of funerals. The building uses similar materials to the old structures in the area and the roof is patinated copper, like the roof of the old church. Many of the ceilings are finished with removable, perforated copper trays.

The glazed walls toward the graveyard in the chapels are covered with a patinated copper mesh, which functions as a screen between the outside and the internal spaces of the chapel. The jury found this project a highly compelling and atmospheric study in the handling of space, light and materials. In particular, copper is used to evoke a tranquil sense of the numinous, creating an appropriately solemn, yet nonetheless uplifting, setting for the rituals of death and parting.

Philippe Schmit architects’ thoroughly contemporary intervention at Villa Vauban, the Musée d’Art de la Ville de Luxembourg, was Highly Commended. The jury was extremely impressed by this new addition to an existing art museum. Although the new parts are conspicuously of their time, they form a sensitively judged counterpoint both to the original historic building and the surrounding parkland landscape. The new extension is wrapped in delicately perforated panels of brass, and the jury especially admired how this metal skin appears to dissolve when viewed at night, changing from an opaque surface to a sensuously glowing, translucent veil.

Two Commendations followed. Fritsch und Schlüter Architekten’s House in Seeheim, Germany, abstracts the traditional archetype of the gabled, suburban villa. There was evident skill in the way that pre-oxidised panels of copper were used to clad the exterior, creating an elegantly smooth carapace.

The jury was also impressed with the imaginative approach to materials with brass cladding on Make’s project in Weymouth Street, London. The perforated brass balcony frames, which filter light and cast a pattern of rippling shadows around the interiors of the flats, are particularly seductive.

Finally, Studio Weave’s design for Freya’s Cabin lake-side visitor shelter in Northumberland, UK, received the Judge’s Special Prize. The award recognised this unusual submission’s folk tale narratives woven around a compact, jewel-like cabin cloaked in a golden copper alloy.

Chapel of St.Lawrence, Vantaa
Design: Avanto Arkkitehdit Ltd

photo : Kuvio.com
Chapel of St Lawrence

22 Jul 2011

European Copper in Architecture Awards Shortlist

Winners of the European Copper in Architecture Awards

ARCHITECTURAL AWARDS SHORTLIST ANNOUNCED

Projects from Spain, Finland, Italy, the United Kingdom, Germany and Luxembourg have been shortlisted by an international team of architect and editor judges for the 2011 European Copper in Architecture Awards. With an increase of 40% to 66 entries, the Awards are an impressive celebration of the very best in contemporary European architecture and recognition of the growing influence of copper in modern design. All the 2011 entries can be seen on the re-launched Copper in Architecture website – www.copperconcept.org/awards.

Entries for the 2011 Copper in Architecture Awards revealed an exceptional diversity of high-quality buildings – many not yet well known or published. The seven shortlisted projects discussed here clearly demonstrate the increasingly influential role of copper and its alloys as inspirational, as well as environmentally sustainable, materials in contemporary architecture.

Navarra Town Hall

images from contest organisers

In Navarra, Spain, the Town Hall, Police and Cultural Centre establishes a new heart for the social, cultural and political life of Berriozar.

images from contest organisers

Garcia Rodriguez Alcoba’s design is conceived as a single, forthright form – a building that folds back onto itself, defining voids and volumes, both inside and outside.

Chapel of St. Lawrence

photos © kuvio.com

A very different approach is taken by Avanto Arkkitehdit with their Chapel of St. Lawrence, Vantaa, Finland, based on the concept of ‘the Path’ – a Christian’s journey from here to eternity.

This project also aims to reconcile the emotional needs of mourners with the pragmatic demands of funerals.

ZIV South Tyrol

photos © Hertha Hurnaus

A new Fire Brigade, Ambulance and Alpine Recovery Centre building in Italy’s South Tyrol unifies different functions in a challenging setting. Here, Austrian architects AllesWirdGut have developed a copper-clad aesthetic that reflects a mountainous context, without overpowering its village location.

Freya’s Cabin

photos © Peter Sharpe

In another dominant landscape setting – this time, Kielder Water in the north of England – Freya’s Cabin is a golden copper alloy clad lakeside shelter, informed by a romantic fairytale created by its designers Studio Weave.

photo © Millimetre

photo © Studio Weave

House in Seeheim

photos © C Kraneburg

On a prominent hillside location with views of the Rhine valley, Fritsch und Schlueter Architekten’s house in Seeheim, Germany, turns the archetypal traditional gabled house into a monolithic built form with openings carved out of it.

Villa Vauban

images from contest organisers

Also seeking a balance between building and landscape is the Villa Vauban – Musée d’Art de la Ville de Luxembourg. Here, Philippe Schmit architects’ comprehensive renovation and additions substantially expand museum exhibition spaces while enhancing the site’s historic elements.

images from contest organisers

10 Weymouth Street

images from contest organisers

Finally, architects Make have transformed a relatively undistinguished six storey 1960s block in the heart of London, giving it a striking new identity with extensive use of brass cladding and dramatic cantilevered balconies.

This year’s judging panel consisted of four architects – all recipients of previous Copper in Architecture Awards – Einar Jarmund, Patrick Genard, Pia Salin and Keith Williams. Architectural Review Editor Catherine Slessor chaired the panel. More information and images of the shortlisted projects, and all 66 entries, can be viewed at: www.copperconcept.org/awards. The architects of shortlisted entries will be presenting their designs and the winners will be announced at an Awards Event in Brussels on 27th September 2011.

European Copper in Architecture Awards Shortlist images / information received 220711

Previously:

30 Sep 2009

European Copper in Architecture Awards Winners 2009

Winners of the European Copper in Architecture Awards 14 were announced at a presentation ceremony in London on 29th September. With almost 50 entries from 16 countries, the Awards revealed an exceptional diversity of projects representing the very best in contemporary European architecture.

Archaeology Museum of Vitoria:

Selected from five shortlisted projects, the outright Winner was the Archaeology Museum of Vitoria, Spain, designed by Mangado y Asociados (above). Extensive use of cast bronze elements creates contrasting elevational treatments. From the street it seems tough and hermetic with a real air of mystery enticing the visitor in. Then, it reveals more of its nature and grows increasingly open with the changing architectural rhythm on entering the courtyard. The judges were particularly impressed with the building’s stunning effect of a timeless fortress in its urban setting.

Mediacomplex 22@:

photo : Alejo Bagué

Also from Spain, Mediacomplex 22@ in Barcelona (above) by Patrick Genard y Asociados and Ferrater & Asociados was Highly Commended by the judges for its superb response to a tight, complex urban setting, forming new public spaces of lasting value. Here, a solid, horizontal block clad with panels of perforated copper contrasts with a vertical tower shrouded in a strong vertical grid of deeply recessed, copper-faced screens.

Three other projects received Commendations. Davide Macullo Architects’ sensitive design for the Ticino House responds to its beautiful rural setting in Switzerland and incorporates an extensive arrangement of copper mesh panels. In complete contrast, the Clip House in Madrid, Spain, by Bernalte-León Asociados is a highly sculptural design defined by sinuous curving copper bands cantilevered from a vertical concrete spine. Finally, the judges considered Dissing+Weitling Architecture’s copper-clad Frederikskaj project in Copenhagen, Denmark to set the standard for high-density urban housing.

In addition, a discretionary award for Innovation was made for the inventive use of art applied to bronze panels on Stanton Williams’ Bristol Department Store. The essential role of craftsmen in realising designers’ aspirations for copper in architecture was also recognised with three Craftsmanship awards for projects in Belgium and the UK.

The well-established Copper in Architecture Awards recognise architectural excellence and celebrate the use of copper in all its forms. The last two decades have seen their transformation from a UK-based programme highlighting craftsmanship, into a major, design-led Awards event for projects across Europe. For the first time, the 2009 Awards considered all entries together – judged by a European panel of eight architects and editors, chaired by Paul Finch, the recently appointed chairman of CABE – the UK government’s advisors on architecture and urban design.

The European Copper in Architecture Awards programme is part of the European Copper in Architecture Campaign, promoted by Copper Development Association and participating copper fabricators.

European Copper in Architecture Awards Shortlist 2009

– Archaeology Museum of Vitoria, Spain
– Clip House, Spain
– House in Ticino, Switzerland
– Housing at Frederikskaj, Denmark
– Mediacomplex 22@, Spain

Entries: 47

European Copper in Architecture Awards Judges

Paul Finch – Editor of The Architectural Review (Chair of judges’ panel)
Laurence Bain – Bain and Bevington Architects
Shane de Blacam – de Blacam and Meagher Architects
Craig Casci – Hamiltons (previous winners)
Einar Jarmund – Jarmund Vigsnaes as Arkitekter (previous ‘Highly Commended’)
Simone Solinas – Solinas Verd Arquitectos (previous ‘Highly Commended’)
Keith Williams – Keith Williams Architects (previous winners)
Catherine Slessor – The Architectural Review

Awards Event : London, 29 Sep 2009

European Copper in Architecture Award Winners in Full

Archaeology Museum of Vitoria, Vitoria, Alava, Spain
2008
Mangado y Asociados S L

Archaeology Museum of Vitoria

Clip House, St Angel St/Sta Natalia St, Madrid, Spain
2008
F Javier Bernalte and Jose Luis Leon, Bernalte-Leon y Asociados

Clip House

House in Ticino, Switzerland
2008
Davide Macullo Architetto

photo : Enrico Cano
House in Ticino

Housing at Frederikskaj, Teglholm, Sydhavn, Denmark
2008
DISSING+WEITLING arkitektfirma a/s

Frederikskaj Housing

Mediacomplex 22@, Barcelona, Spain
2008
Patrick Genard and Carlos Ferrater

photo : Alejo Bagué
Mediacomplex 22@

2009 European Copper in Architecture Awards

With almost 50 entries from 16 countries, the 2009 Copper in Architecture Awards revealed an exceptional diversity of projects – many not yet published – representing the very best in contemporary European architecture. Five quite different buildings – a media centre, museum, urban housing complex and two individual homes – have now been shortlisted by the international team of architect and editor judges.

The well-established Copper in Architecture Awards recognise architectural excellence and celebrate the use of copper in all its forms. The last two decades have seen their transformation from a UK-based programme highlighting craftsmanship, into a major, design-led Awards event for projects across Europe. For the first time, the 2009 Awards consider all entries together to select the very best in contemporary European architecture.

The five shortlisted projects clearly demonstrate the growing popularity of copper and its alloys as inspirational, as well as environmentally sustainable, architectural materials. The Clip House in Madrid, Spain – designed by Bernalte-León y Asociados – is a highly sculptural design formed from copper planes cantilevered from a vertical concrete spine. Still in Spain, but in complete contrast, Mangado y Asociados’ Archaeology Museum of Vitoria makes extensive use of cast bronze elements to create contrasting elevational treatments to shape the surrounding urban spaces.

In Copenhagen, Denmark, Dissing+Weitling arkitektfirma has used copper and glass to define a cool, high-density housing project at Frederikskaj, suggesting nautical references in its harbour-side location. Another house – this time in Ticino, southern Switzerland – incorporates copper mesh screening for transparency as an integral part of Davide Macullo Architetto’s ecological and site-sensitive design. Finally, to Spain again where transparency is also achieved – this time with perforated copper screens, matching a strong copper façade grid on the Mediacomplex 22@ building in Barcelona designed by Patrick Genard y Asociados and Ferrater & Asociados.

Location: Europe