The Amanyangyun resort on the outskirts of Shanghai in China, designed by Australian architecture firm Kerry Hill Architects was a major winner at the Australian Institute of Architects’ 2019 International Chapter Architecture Awards announced recently in Dubai.

Nine awards and two commendations were granted for worldwide projects of Institute members at the event attended by International Chapter councillor and awards chair, Annelise Tiller, alongside Institute national president Helen Lochhead, International Chapter chair Samantha Cotterell, and special guest, commissioner general to Expo 2020 Justin McGowan.

Speaking on the high quality and diversity of projects competing for global recognition, Cotterell says, “These projects from our international members of the Institute range from large scale commercial developments to small and poetic public works.

“They demonstrate the vision and the talent of our members of the Australian architecture profession, who courageously and ambitiously set out to lend their voice to a global architectural conversation.

“These projects are a proud representation of the growing international presence of our design professionals,” she says.

Kerry Hill Architects won the Commercial Architecture Award and the Heritage Commendation for the Amanyangyun resort, which incorporated 10,000 salvaged 2000-year-old camphor trees into its grounds and preserved 26 historic Ming and Qing dynasty buildings slated for destruction to make way for a new dam.

The heritage award jury said the project balanced historical and contemporary architecture.

The NTU Learning Hub in Singapore, which facilitates protected open-air passive climate control in its tropical setting, won the Educational Architecture Award for its designers, Richard Kirk Architect and DCA Architects.

The jury called the complex ‘a substantial contribution to the genre’ of sustainable buildings.

studioMilou took out the Heritage Award, the Award for Public Architecture and the Residential Architecture (Alterations and Additions) Award for projects in France and Singapore.

The Le Nouveau Carreau du Temple in Paris was transformed by studioMilou from its last vestiges of 19th century metal framing into a modern, practical market hall that interweaves contemporary materials with its heritage style.

studioMilou’s Place de la Brecht project in Niort, western France created a new central park, cinema, gallery space and 1200-car underground car park in the heart of the historic precinct from an under-utilised car park.

The Small Project Architecture Awards were granted to Sean Godsell Architects for their Chapel in Venice and John Wardle Architects for Somewhere Other in Italy and Australia.

New Zealand’s B:Hive, Smales Farm designed by BVN in association with Jasmax won the Interior Architecture Award for its progressive office space that fosters a sense of community.

Cox Architecture, Warren and Mahoney and Opus Architecture were awarded a Commendation for Public Architecture for the Christchurch Justice and Emergency Services Precinct in New Zealand for overcoming the challenges of designing the public realm to earthquake planning guidelines.

Full list of winners:

Commercial Architecture Award: Amanyangyun (China) Kerry Hill Architects

Educational Architecture Award: NTU Learning Hub 'The Arc' (Singapore) Richard Kirk Architect with DCA Architects

Heritage Award: Le Nouveau Carreau du Temple, Paris (France) studioMilou

Heritage Commendation: Amanyangyun (China) Kerry Hill Architects

Public Architecture Award: Place de la Brèche, Niort (France) studioMilou

Public Architecture Commendation: Christchurch Justice and Emergency Services Precinct (New Zealand) Cox Architecture, Warren and Mahoney, Opus Architecture

Interior Architecture Award: B:Hive, Smales Farm (New Zealand) BVN in association with Jasmax

Residential Architecture - Houses (Alterations and Additions) Award: GOH House (Singapore) studioMilou

Small Project Architecture Award: Chapel in Venice (Italy) Sean Godsell Architects and Somewhere Other (Italy and Australia) John Wardle Architects

Urban Design Award: Kunshan Hyper Complex (China) BAU Brearley Architects and Urbanists

Architecture News & Editorial Desk

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