Projects by DRDH Architects, RSHP, and Zaha Hadid Architects, have been named as finalists in the International category for the 2024 Architecture Today Awards.
Education Above All, Modular Tent Structures for refugee and displaced communities by Zaha Hadid Architects, 2016. Photo by Luke Hayes.
Supported by AccuRoof, the Brick Development Association, Leviat, The Concrete Centre, Total Synergy, and VMZINC, the over-arching aim of the awards is to engender a focus on building performance evaluation and shared learning that is essential if we are to bring about the step change in performance the industry so desperately needs.
AT’s Awards Committee has shortlisted 31 buildings across ten categories: Education; Healthcare; Hospitality, Sport & Leisure; Individual house; Infrastructure & Public Realm; Mixed use & Retail; Religion & Culture; Residential; Workplace and International.
This year also saw the second iteration of the AT Awards Student Prize, sponsored by VMZINC, for projects that tackle the retrofit or reuse of an existing building and/or explicitly address issues relating to long term performance, adaptability, demountability and reuse. Three projects from students across three different universities have been chosen as finalists, all of which you can see here.
Each project team will be presented to our expert jury at a day of live crits on 18 September 2024 at The Building Society in London.
The winners of the Architecture Today Awards will be announced at a party at Battersea Power Station on 21 November 2024.
Photos by Luke Hayes.
Education Above All, Modular tent structures for refugee and displaced communities by Zaha Hadid Architects, 2016
Pakistan, Syria, Turkey, Yemen
Designed for schools, clinics, and emergency shelters, these tents are a joint venture between Zaha Hadid Architects and the Education Above All Foundation (EAA). Founded in 2012, EAA focuses on human, social, and economic development through quality education, particularly in areas affected by poverty, conflict, and disaster.
With over 70 million displaced people globally, EAA and Zaha Hadid Architects created a modular structure for classrooms, housing, and medical centres. These weather-proof, multi-use tents allow natural daylight and can be easily moved and reassembled. Using an extruded aluminium arch structure, the tents offer flexibility and stability, with a standard module size of 11×4.5 metres for adaptable floor plans.
Photo by Vincent Mosch
Potsdamer Platz by Renzo Piano Building Workshop with Christoph Kohlbecker, RSHP and Hans Kollhoff, 1998
Berlin
Potsdamer Platz is a unique district in Berlin, rebuilt after World War II and the reunification of Germany. Once the site of the Berlin Wall, it has become a new urban centre. Daimler Mercedes Benz commissioned three distinct building sets: Potsdamer Platz 11, Debis Tower, and Kollhoff Tower, designed by Renzo Piano, Richard Rogers, and Hans Kollhoff. These designs set international standards for sustainability.
In the 1990s, it was Europe’s largest urban building site, integrating retail, dining, leisure, offices, and homes. Brookfield Properties acquired it in 2016, enhancing sustainability, pedestrianising areas, and engaging the local community through art and events.
Photos by David Grandorge.
Stormen Concert Hall and Library by DRDH Architects, 2014
Bodø, Norway
Two buildings, a library and a concert hall/theatre, form a new cultural quarter for Bodø, Arctic Norway. DRDH won the 2008 international competition for their design. The architecture balances material continuity with varied forms to complement neighbouring structures and connect the city to its landscape. From the harbour, the buildings appear as a single entity, their white stone facades capturing Arctic light.
The library features a public stair and interior street linking the city and harbour, with a diverse ground floor and a sea-facing reading room. The concert hall and theatre includes three flexible performance spaces, adaptable for various events, and public foyers along two edges.
