Download “Brick Award 08” - Wienerberger awards exceptional brick architecture

Wienerberger AG (Vienna Stock Exchange: WIE, Reuters: WBSV.VI, Bloomberg: WIE AV)
Press Release
“Brick Award 08” - Wienerberger awards
exceptional brick architecture
– Presentation of the “Brick Award 08” in Vienna on April 3rd, 2008
– Wienerberger hands out prizes for best international brick architecture for the
third time
Vienna, April 4, 2008 – Wienerberger AG, the largest producer of bricks in the world
and the second largest producer of clay roof tiles in Europe, presented the “Brick Award”,
offering 21,000 euros in prize money, on April 3, 2008, for the third time. Since 2004,
Wienerberger has awarded the most creative brick structures in the world, as well as their
architects, with the “Brick Award” every second year. In this way, the world’s largest
producer of bricks acknowledges the undisputed role of bricks as a sustainable and
ecological building material.
“Brick Award 2008”
Altogether 255 projects from 19 countries were submitted for the “Brick Award 08”
by architecture critics. The number of entries has therefore more than doubled since 2004
(120). An international jury consisting of highly esteemed experts, presided over by the
British architect George Ferguson, selected three winners from Germany and Switzerland
from this vast number of projects. In addition, two special prizes were awarded to Finland
and the Netherlands. Apart from the innovative external architectural design and the usage
of the building material, the most important criteria for the selection of the winners also
included the functionality of the buildings. In addition to the British architect George
Ferguson, the independent jury of experts was composed of Ferenc Cságoly, one of the two
winners of the Brick Award 06, the architect Lipa Goldstein from France, Mart Kalm from
Estonia, and Ryszard Jurkowski from Poland.
Five out of a total of
The awards ceremony “Brick Award 08” was held during a great gala event on April 3
in the architecturally and historically fascinating Old Hall of the Academy of Sciences in
Vienna. 300 guests from across Europe as well as the board of management of
Wienerberger AG attended the awards ceremony. This year, the illustrated architecture
book “brick08” was presented along with the handing-over of prizes. The work features 35
exceptional brick buildings from all over the world in addition to the winning projects. The
subject matter includes residential and non-residential structures erected according to both
the facing-brick and backing-brick building methods. The publication not only impressively
documents that brick is one of the oldest and most sustainable building materials available,
but also demonstrates the incredible modernity and diversity of the building material. Like
its prequels “brick04” and “brick06”, which attained surprisingly high sales figures in
bookshops, the illustrated publication “brick08”, brought out by the architectural
publishing house Callway, is expected to arouse great interest.
Awards ceremony in
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offers 21,000 euros in
prize money
255 submitted
projects receive
awards
Vienna on April 3rd,
2008
Press Release
The next Brick Award will be held in 2010. As was the case with the previous Brick
Awards, architects of note will be asked to submit interesting brick architecture projects.
“Brick Award 2010”
Brick Award 2008 – The winning projects in 2008
Kolumba Museum, Cologne - Architect: Peter Zumthor
Thank goodness for slowness! In no other German city is the might of Western
religious culture so clearly illustrated by the architecture as it is in Cologne. The houses of
God stand out brazenly in a city centre devastated by traffic and commerce. On top of and
next to the ruins of the Church of St. Kolumba, destroyed in 1943, architect Peter
Zumthor built what is perhaps his loveliest building to date: the museum that houses the
collection of the archbishopric of Cologne. It has been open to the public since September
2007.
Winning project:
Kolumba Museum,
Cologne, Germany
A very special brick and “pullover brickwork” – transcending spectacular, this proves
to be straightforward and sensual. Like a knitted pullover, this particular type of brick
harmonises with the surrounding greyish-yellow facades. The knitwear-like transparency of
the filter brickwork, referred to as “pullover brickwork” by Zumthor’s office, creates
lighting and temperature conditions which benefit the art collection.
In times marked by frantic construction deadlines, Peter Zumthor did not let himself
get rushed. Without haste and taking utmost care, he allowed a house to develop which –
much like the art collection – is both traditional and sacred. (Ursula Baus)
Extension of a winery in Fläsch, Switzerland - Architects: Bearth &
Deplazes Architekten AG
Airiness through stones - In Fläsch, the winegrowers Martha and Daniel Gantenbein
took advantage of the success of their Pinot Noir to replace their steel containers with oak
barrels. They commissioned the architects Bearth & Deplazes with the design and
construction of a new fermentation hall for twelve new containers. A wine-tasting lounge
was to be located one floor above the hall.
Robo bricks and terroir principle - The wine estate in Fläsch follows the terroir
principle. This principle states that the local colour – soil, microclimate, local traditions and
the winegrower’s trademark – is directly reflected by the wine. A sensitive handling of
space, temperature and light is therefore necessary. This was taken into account by the
utilisation of special wall elements. Students at the Faculty of Architecture and Digital
Production of the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology Zurich designed these on
computer. They were built by a robot.
The architects Bearth & Deplazes made use of the precision and speed of a robot and
the digital wall construction method begun by Fabio Gramazio and Matthias Kohler for
their eccentric architecture which is, however, stylistically adapted to the wine estate: a
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Second place:
Extension of a
winery in Fläsch,
Switzerland
Press Release
wall which appears to have been penetrated by larger-than-life grapes. A new part of Fläsch
has taken shape. It fulfils the requirements of the wine-estate owners: a temple of light
with exhilarating airiness. (Martin Grether)
IT building, Finland - Architects: Tuomo Siitonen, Esko Valkama
Technological beauty - The information technology building of the VTT (State
Centre for Technology), also called the “Digihouse”, is an architectural gem. It is located in
Otaniemi, close to the Finnish capital, Helsinki, on a campus for technological
development and tertiary education. Façades constructed of red, baked bricks are typical of
the place for the technical elite which developed in the 1950s.
Third place:
IT building, Finland
Red bricks and seeming contradictions - An IT building managed by the state
company Senaatti-kiinteistöt was selected as “Building of the year 2005”. The awardwinning developer decided to use the traditional red bricks common to the surroundings
for the “Digihouse”.
What are fascinating about the building are its seeming contradictions. Its aesthetic
atrium is an attention grabber. The building was constructed according to the principles of
sustainability, which become most visible in the pragmatic interior design of the work
areas. The architects succeeded in combining seeming contradictions by employing a wide
range of functionalities. They created a modern, user-friendly and eco-friendly working
environment which is also lively and artistic. (Juhani Maunula)
Residential building in Morcote, Switzerland - Architect: Markus Wespi,
Jérôme de Meuron Architekten BSA
Earthy simplicity - Ticino is the touristy sun parlour of Switzerland; the place is
absolutely teeming with characterless second homes. Precisely in this canton, Markus
Wespi and Jérôme de Meuron achieved something which defines a good architect: building
in keeping with the times and in harmony with the environment.
Brick cubes with panoramic views of the lake - Above Morcote, a former fishing
village which lies directly on Lake Lugano, the architects erected a holiday home,
furnishings included. The new building is surrounded by villas of average architecture. The
simple brick cube stands out from the surrounding built-up area. It is constructed of baked
clay, a material commonly used in traditional Ticinese architecture. This emphasises the
ideal closeness of the village centre. Traces of the landscape and the local traditions are also
reflected in the interior of the house. From the entrance hall to the enclosed loggia on the
top floor, impressive lake panoramas unfold thanks to the completely open front façade.
The architects Wespi and De Meuron have let themselves be inspired by the southern
idyll of Ticino, without forgetting that Ticino is a Swiss canton. (Martin Grether)
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Special prize:
Residential building in
Morcote, Switzerland
Press Release
Special prize: Headquarters of the Dutch WWF in the Netherlands –
Architect: T.M. RAU
Unity with nature - On the edge of a conservation area in the woodlands around Zeist
stands the new office building of the Dutch branch of the World Wildlife Fund nature
conservation organisation (WWF). The architect’s office RAU in Amsterdam has let a
phoenix rise from the ashes: In line with the principle of conservation of energy and natural
resources, a laboratory building constructed in the nineteen fifties and fit for demolition
has been transformed into the first building free of CO2 emissions in the Netherlands.
Wings of buildings constructed in brick: nesting places for birds - nothing has
abandoned the area. Whatever needed to be torn down was reutilised: concrete was used as
granular material for the new building; not a shovel of soil was wasted. By making use of
“planet-friendly” materials, RAU did justice to the unity of man, technology and nature in
every area of the building: Carpet tiles made from recycled jeans, gables of Oregon pine
and bamboo balustrades. Waterproof yet permeable - at least for the plays of light
emanating from the thickly wooded surroundings: the south façade. To enter the building,
one passes through small ceramic tiles made from Dutch clay. Birds, too, are not denied
the possibility to enter: they can build nests in small round openings in the gable of the east
wing, constructed of dark-red bricks. With its “phoenix”, RAU has implemented the
WWF’s philosophy architecturally: a building which is fair to animals and nature, a unity
between aesthetics and ethics. (Caroline C. Kruit)
For additional information contact:
Karin Hofmann, Public Relations
T +43(1)60192-463 | [email protected]
Martina Klauser, Corporate Marketing - Communications
T +43(1)60192-391 | [email protected]
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Special prize:
Headquarters of the
WWF in the Netherlands