11/07/2006

THE INTERNATIONAL DEDALO MINOSSE PRIZE FOR COMMISSIONING A BUILDING

On Friday June 30th, the Olympic Theatre in Vicenza hosted the prize-giving ceremony for the sixth edition of the International Dedalo Minosse Prize for commissioning a building, promoted by Ala - Assoarchitetti and by the international magazine l'ARCA, together with the company Caoduro Lucernari. The prize is one of the most important accolades for architecture in the world, and the ceremony took place in front of an audience of over 600 spectators, some of whom from as far as Australia, New Zealand and Japan. There was also a live broadcast of the event, presented by Alessandro Cecchi Paone from a temporary studio set up in the Palladian Basilica. The prize highlights the decisive role played by the client in sustaining the development and progress in architecture. The selection criteria for the winning projects focused on specific aspects of the project itself, such as an efficient use of energy resources, environmental merit and contribution to research. Four institutional prizes, eight special prizes and sixteen special mentions were presented by the Mayor of Vicenza, Enrico Hüllweck, and by a panel consisting of clients and architects from all over the world, including Cesare Maria Casati, Bruno Gabbiani, Frederick and Laurie Samitaur Smith. GranitiFiandre sponsored the event, proving that the leading producer of prestige porcelain stoneware is and always has been particularly aware of the importance of cultural initiatives such as this. Among the clients represented at this event to acknowledge the courage with which they have supported their architects were the city councils of Amsterdam, Berlin and Innsbruck, public bodies such as Vienna Airport, the Spanish Administrator of Rail Infrastructure and the Universities of Baltimore and Tsinghua, as well as other institutes, cultural foundations and businesses. The architect's profession, on the other hand, was represented by great names such as Mario Botta and Francine Houben, architect director of Mecanoo. The International Dedalo Minosse Prize for commissioning a building 2005/2006 was awarded to Joji Aonuma for the Gallery in Kiyosato designed by the studio Satoshi Okada Architects. The GranitiFiandre Special Prize was awarded to the City Council of Innsbruck and to Rathauspassage GmbH for the Innsbruck Town Hall, designed by the world famous architect Dominique Perrault. The Exhibition All the winning projects are displayed with drawings, photographs and plastic models in an exhibition held at the Palladian Basilica from June 30th to September 3rd 2006 (opening times 10 am-1 pm / 2 pm-7 pm, closed Mondays). A synopsis of the exhibition will then be presented in a number of cities in Italy and abroad, and will also be shown at the tenth edition of the Venice Biennale of Architecture 2006.