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From 356 submissions for the fourth ZumtobelGroup Award an international expert jury has nominated a total of 15 projects.
For the first time, the public call for submissions for this award for innovations for sustainability and humanity in the built environment, issued in the second half of 2013, offered three categories instead of the previous two. The existing categories, BUILDINGS and URBAN DEVELOPMENTS & INITIATIVES, were joined by a new category: APPLIED INNOVATIONS. The prizes in each of the three categories are presented by one of the international lighting group’s three brands – Tridonic, Thorn and Zumtobel.
The new APPLIED INNOVATIONS category, sponsored by the Tridonic brand, rewards innovations and technological solutions that make a trailblazing contribution to the realisation of a more sustainable built environment. The award in this category addresses technical universities, research institutions, individual engineers and firms of consulting engineers, as well as technology start-ups. Submissions could include innovations that have been proven in a prototype, a test series or an application in an actual project. From among 50 submissions in this category, the jury has nominated the following offices and projects (in alphabetical order):
1) Arup Deutschland GmbH for “Solarleaf” in Hamburg (DE) – photo-bioreactor façade system
2) Future Cities Laboratory, Singapore / ETH Zurich (CH), for “Bamboo Reinforced Concrete” – innovative renewable building material
3) James Ramsey, New York (USA), for “The Lowline” N.Y. – fibre-optic technology to capture sunlight underground
4) KONE, Espoo (FN), for “Kone UltraRope” – elevator technology
5) Lehm Ton Erde Baukunst GmbH, Schlins (A), for “Re-Innovation of Rammed Earth by Prefabrication” – use of rammed earth as a building material.
In the BUILDINGS category, sponsored by the Zumtobel brand, submissions could include outstanding building projects that have been completed within the last two years (30 November 2011 – 30 November 2013).
The winning project should meet the highest aesthetic standards and also feature innovative solutions that permit the more efficient use of resources, enhanced environmental protection and the creation of better living conditions. From among 146 submissions in this category, the jury has nominated the following offices and projects:
1) Lacaton & Vassal architectes, Paris (FR), for “House Transformation”, Saint-Nazaire, La Chesnaie (FR) – social housing block transformation
2) RMA Architects, Mumbai (IN), for “Corporate Office for Infrastructure Company” – office building employing the idea of a double skin
3) Rural Urban Framework, Hong Kong (CN), for “House for all Seasons”, Shija Village (CN) – Housing prototype for rural regions in China
4) Studio Tamassociati Architects, Venice (IT), for “Port Sudan Paediatric Centre” – children’s hospital
5) Urban-Think Tank, Zurich (CH), for “Vertical Gymnasium Santa Cruz Del Este”, Caracas (VE) – sports and recreation facility for urban upgrade.
The focus in the URBAN DEVELOPMENTS & INITIATIVES category – sponsored by the Thorn brand – is on projects and initiatives in an urban context: city development/planning strategies, master plans, public space projects and ongoing research projects and social initiatives designed to enhance urban and social settings. Entries could concern projects concluded within the last two years as well as ongoing projects and initiatives.
The winning project from among 160 submissions will make a pioneering contribution to greater sustainability and quality of life, as well as presenting innovative potential solutions to the core issues facing urban development. In this category the jury has nominated the following offices and projects:
1) ArchiAid, Sendai (JP), for “Architect Network to Support Reconstruction” – (following the tsunami in Japan)
2) Burgos & Garrido Arquitectos / Porras La Casta / Rubio & Á._Sala / West 8, for “Madrid Río”, Madrid (ES) – locating the ring road underground and redesigning the urban landscape
3) Elemental, Santiago (CL), for “Pres Constitution” – sustainable reconstruction master plan
4) UNITYDESIGN / Chiba University / Research Institute for Humanity and Nature (JP) / Universitas Indonesia (RI), for “Megacity Skeleton” – housing prototype project aiming to improve the living environment of high density residential areas
5) Turenscape, Beijing (CN), for “Qunli Stormwater Park”, Qunli New Town (CN) – a green sponge for a water-resilient city.
The selection process comprised several stages. Early this year, from among all 356 submissions a pre-jury selected 15 projects from each category which were then presented to the main jury in May. The jury then nominated five projects per category.
One winner was selected from the five nominated projects in each category. The names of the winners of the Zumtobel Group Award 2014 – and a ranking of the nominated projects – will be published at a press conference in London on 22 September 2014.
At the jury session it was decided that all three categories merit equal treatment, which means that each first prize carries a purse of €50,000.
