The Judges Awards

06.1 Rolex Learning Center, Switzerland, by SANAA

A rolling concrete landscape that's a triumph of structure and form, SANAA's new Rolex Learning Center is the centrepiece of the École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne. Kazuyo Sejima and Ryue Nishizawa, 2010 Pritzker Prize-winners, created a 170m-long building formed from two thin layers of concrete sandwiching a great expanse of glazing. The undulating form is punctured by 14 'holes', serving as courtyards and lightwells. Engineers Bollinger + Grohmann oversaw the technically audacious forms; the largest single pour lasted 50 hours and involved 4,300 cubic metres of concrete. The structure houses new public spaces, a library, a shop, a café and a restaurant.

Key features: A new 20,000 sq m cultural hub in a space age expanse of glass and concrete form

Architects' previous work: 2009 Serpentine Pavilion, London; Zollverein School of Management, Essen, Germany; Toledo Museum of Art Glass Pavilion, Toledo, US

Based: Tokyo

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