Meet the 2018 RIBA International Excellence Awards winners

A photo of the street home to the Buendner Kunstmuseum in Chur, Switzerland. This is a cube style building with its main colour being white.

The 2018 RIBA Internatonal Excellence Awards have just been announced. The winners include the Buendner Kunstmuseum in Chur, Switzerland by Barozzi Veiga Architects, pictured here.

(Image credit: Simon Menges)

By Ellie Stathaki

last updated 7 August 2022

in Features

Innovation and architectural excellence know no geographical bounds, as proven by the worthy winners of the 2018 RIBA Awards for International Excellence, which have been unveiled today. Spanning 16 countries, the 20 selected projects vary wildly in scale and typology, covering four continents and anything from private houses to large education and commercial complexes, underlining that good architecture can come in any shape and size.

Chosen from the longlist of RIBA’s annual international prize, the winners of this category this year include, among others: a metro station in Budapest by a consortium including Budapesti Építőművészet Műhely, Gelesz és Lenzsér, Puhl és Dajka, sporaarchitects, and VPI Studio; a private art museum in the Netherlands by Kraaijvanger Architects; a residential tower featuring lush vertical gardens in Milan by Boeri Studio; a cultural centre in Greece by Renzo Piano; and a mosque in Turkey by Emre Arolat.

Together with this award, the RIBA also announced today the gong for the RIBA International Emerging Architect 2018. The honour went to Gustavo Utrabo and Pedro Duschenes of Brazilian architecture firm Aleph Zero, the firm behind the Children’s Village in Formoso do Araguaia, Brazil (designed with Rosenbaum). Also part of the RIBA Awards for International Excellence winning list, this project stands out for its design flair, in a scheme that provides boarding accommodation for 540 senior school children, aiming to improve their quality of education.

While celebrating the winning architects’ achievements, the publication of these two prestigious awards also means one more thing; we are one step closer to the big reveal of the RIBA International Prize 2018, which will be announced in November.

A photo of the path leading to the Audain Art Museum. — The Audain Art Museum by Patkau Architects in Canada.

A photo overlooking the library inside the Central European University in Budapest, which won the RIBA International Excellence Award — Central European University in Budapest by O'Donnell + Tuomey.

A photo of the Kalvin Ter metro platform of the M4 line in Budapest — M4 Metro Line in Budapest by a consortium including Budapesti Építőművészet Műhely, Gelesz és Lenzsér, Puhl és Dajka, sporaarchitects, and VPI Studio.

A photo of the Mount Herzl Memorial Hall — Mount Herzl Memorial Hall in Israel by Kimmel Eshkolot Architects in collaboration with Kalush Chechick architects.

A photo of the Sncaklar Mosque — Sancaklar Mosque in Turkey by Emre Arolat Architecture.

A photo of the Stavros Niarchos Foundation building surrounded by greenery. — Stavros Niarchos Foundation in Athens by Renzo Piano Building Workshop & Betaplan.

A photo of a street featuring the Tatsumi Apartment House. — Tatsumi Apartment House in Tokyo by Hiroyuki Ito Architects.

A photo of the Ancient Church of Vilanova de la Barca — The Ancient Church of Vilanova de la Barca in Spain by AleaOlea architecture & landscape.

A photo of the Toho Gakuen School of Music — Toho Gakuen School of Music in Tokyo by Nikken Sekkie.

A photo of the Vertical Forest apartment building in Milan. — Vertical Forest apartment building in Milan by Boeri Studio.

A photo overlooking the estate of Xiao Jing Wan University surrounded by green hills. — Xiao Jing Wan University in Shenzhen by Foster + Partners.

INFORMATION

For more information visit the RIBA website

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).