Winning season: the Aga Khan Award for Architecture releases 2016 shortlist
![New Power Station, Baku, Azerbaijan](https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/utCJhDNoQPYedNtymroUQ4-415-80.jpg)
We are definitely entering the awards season for architecture. Following hot on the heels of the Pritzker Prize announcement, RIBA’s Regional Awards and the recent shortlist announcement of the RIBA International Prize, the Aga Khan international gong for architecture is also joining the race to find the world's best new offering in the field.
The prestigious Aga Khan Foundation and its coveted Award for Architecture (since 1977) has been supporting and rewarding architecture and building concepts for ‘communities in which Muslims have a significant presence’.
This year, 19 projects have been selected from a pool of some 350 applicants to make up the honour’s thirteenth cycle. In the end, there is $1 million US Dollars prize money to be handed to the worthy winners.
The nominees are varied, in both geographical location and typology. From urban planning in Copenhagen and infrastructure in Baku, to a floating school in Lagos and a contemporary tower in Qatar, the selection is rich.
This award is after all known for its wide range, examining from humble community projects made with modest budgets, to state-of-the-art high rises. The common thread is that they all need to ‘not only exhibit architectural excellence but also improve the overall quality of life’ for their communities, explain the organisers.
As we speak, reports are being drawn up by local and international experts, evaluating each of the 19 buildings. These will be examined by the Grand Jury, who will announce the overall winner in autumn this year.
Judges this year include Riwaq Centre for Architectural Conservation founder Suad Amiry, architect Emre Arolat, Columbia University’s Akeel Bilgrami, Arquitectura Viva editor Luis Fernàndez-Galiano, Herald Publications’ Hameed Haroon, University of Johannesburg’s Lesley Lokko, Harvard University’s Mohsen Mostafavi, architect Dominique Perrault and Web Structures director Hossein Rezai.
Bait Ur Rouf Mosque, Dhaka, Bangladesh, by Sufia Khatun (2012).
Friendship Centre, Gaibandha, Bangladesh, by URBANA / Kashef Mahboob Chowdhury (2011).
Superkilen, Copenhagen, Denmark, by Bjarke Ingels Group (2011).
Knots House, Tehran, Iran, by Alireza Zahed (2014).
Manouchehri House, Kashan, Iran, by Akbar Helli and Shahnaz Nader (2010)
Tabiat Pedestrian Bridge, Tehran, Iran, by Diba Tensile Architecture / Leila Araghian, (2014).
Royal Academy for Nature Conservation, Ajloun, Jordan, by Khammash Architects (2014).
Bunateka Libraries, various locations, Kosovo, by Bujar Nrecaj Architects (2012)
Issam Fares Institute for Public Policy and International Affairs, Beirut, Lebanon, by Zaha Hadid Architects (2014)
Casa-Port New Railway Station, Casablanca, Morocco, by AREP and Groupe 3 Architectes (2014).
Guelmim School of Technology, Guelmim, Morocco, by Saad El Kabbaj, Driss Kettani, Mohamed Amine Siana (2011).
Makoko Floating School, Lagos, Nigeria, by NLÉ (2013).
Doha Tower, Doha, Qatar, by Ateliers Jean Nouvel (2012).
King Fahad National Library, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, by Gerber Architekten International (2013).
Thread Artist Residency & Cultural Centre, Sinthian, Senegal, by Toshiko Mori Architects (2014).
Ceuta Public Library, Ceuta, Spain, by Paredes Pedrosa Arquitectos (2013).
INFORMATION
For more information on the Aga Khan Award for Architecture visit the foundation’s website
Wallpaper* Newsletter + Free Download
For a free digital copy of August Wallpaper*, celebrating Creative America, sign up today to receive our daily digest of inspiration, escapism and design stories
Ellie Stathaki is the Architecture & Environment Director at Wallpaper*. She trained as an architect at the Aristotle University of Thessaloniki in Greece and studied architectural history at the Bartlett in London. Now an established journalist, she has been a member of the Wallpaper* team since 2006, visiting buildings across the globe and interviewing leading architects such as Tadao Ando and Rem Koolhaas. Ellie has also taken part in judging panels, moderated events, curated shows and contributed in books, such as The Contemporary House (Thames & Hudson, 2018), Glenn Sestig Architecture Diary (2020) and House London (2022).
-
Phaidon’s new Graphic Classics is a lavish greatest hits of graphic design
Graphic Classics is a compendium of seven centuries of visual culture, from the everyday and ephemeral to visionary works that reshaped our world
By Jonathan Bell Published
-
Birley Chocolate hits the sweet ’n’ chic spot in London’s Chelsea
The new Birley Chocolate shop, a sibling to Birley Bakery, is a confection of colour as delicious as its finely crafted goods
By Melina Keays Published
-
Feel at home at Auberge, Château La Coste's new inn for culture lovers
Auberge La Coste sits at the heart of the art-filled estate, minutes away from the joyful town of Aix-en-Provence
By Harriet Thorpe Published
-
2024 RIBA National Awards: browse the list of worthy winners
The 2024 RIBA National Awards have been announced, comprising 26 projects across the UK
By Ellie Stathaki Published
-
RIBA International Awards for Excellence 2024 honour 22 extraordinary buildings
The RIBA International Awards for Excellence 2024 winners span from an art museum defying fire and flood in Australia to a school full of holes and sustainable strategies in Iran
By Bridget Downing Published
-
The Activism Award 2024 goes to Studio Bark, architecture’s passionate champions
Architecture’s Activism Award 2024 has been announced, crowning Studio Bark as the winner from a shortlist of six nominees
By Ellie Stathaki Published
-
2024 RIBA Gold Medal recipient Lesley Lokko: ‘To be valued, understood and seen by your peers is rare’
Lesley Lokko receives the 2024 RIBA Gold Medal in a dedicated celebration in London, and talks to us about taking stock after a busy few years, and planning for the future
By Ellie Stathaki Last updated
-
The visual feast of the Sony World Photography Awards 2024 is revealed
The Sony World Photography Awards 2024 winners have been revealed – we celebrate the Architecture & Design category’s visual artists
By Ellie Stathaki Published
-
Riken Yamamoto wins 2024 Pritzker Architecture Prize
Riken Yamamoto has been announced as the winner of the 2024 Pritzker Architecture Prize
By Ellie Stathaki Published
-
Prix Claude Parent launches as an award promoting architectural experimentation
The late architect’s imagination and innovation inspired Prix Claude Parent, the new design award launching this year to promote ‘transgressive’ architecture
By Ellie Stathaki Published
-
The World Monuments Fund/Knoll Modernism Prize 2024 goes to Argentina’s Casa sobre el Arroyo
The World Monuments Fund/Knoll Modernism Prize 2024 is scooped by the Ministerios de Cultura y de Obras Públicas y Municipalidad de Mar del Plata, for its restoration of Argentina’s Casa sobre el Arroyo
By Ellie Stathaki Published