On Sunday, June 16, an independent jury consisting of Sereh Mandias, Jeroen van Mechelen, Aura Luz Melis, Wouter Pocornie, and Paul Roncken announced the winners of Archiprix 2024. The ceremony took place at the Nieuwe Instituut in Rotterdam.
Out of the 27 presented projects, four were chosen as winners, and three plans received honourable mentions. The shared first prize was awarded to two graduates of the Amsterdam Academy of Architecture:
Burnt: A Tale of Three Fires by Jacob Heydorn Gorski
Landscape Architecture
The project aims to confine wildfires to specific pockets that protect larger areas, based on indigenous fire prevention methods from the Front Range mountains in Colorado. The plan focuses on restoring local ecology by integrating fire-resistant flora and fauna and enhancing the resilience of fire-affected communities. The plan addresses multiple dimensions of the field and showcases an interesting mix of evidence-based design.
The Eyes Are the Windows to the Soul by Gavin Fraser
Architecture
This project explores the psychological and societal effects of visual impairments, viewing blindness not merely as a physiological issue. In a former warehouse in Greenock, Scotland, an eye clinic with a social program is proposed, where sensory architecture and carefully designed navigation systems ensure the psychological safety of visitors.
The complete jury report can be found here.
Pilot ‘Open Work’
This year, Archiprix takes a step further in strengthening its position as a link between culture, education, and professional practice with the pilot 'Open Work’. The title 'Open Work' refers to Umberto Eco's book 'Opera Aperta’, in which he views concepts such as openness, indeterminacy, and ambiguity as a continuous revision of meanings and certainties. According to Eco, the (art)work is never finished and continuously allows successive interpretations.
For this edition, Archiprix invited several public organisations and other parties to share their commitment to the design questions raised in the winning plans and to endorse their social significance. Present at the award ceremony were:
- Séverine Kas, Accessibility expert | inclusive design advice at Stichting Accessibility
- Iris Meerts, Mayor of Wijk bij Duurstede
- Caroline Porsius, Program Director Green Metropolis at Staatsbosbeheer
- Miguel Loos, Senior Advisor at Bureau Spoorbouwmeester
- Eric Dil, Mooi Nederland: Heritage Coordinator / OCW
- Erik Jutten, Stad in de Maak
- Jan Willem van de Groep, Gideon, founder program Building Balance