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Town Hall of St-Jacques-de-la-Lande, by LAN Architecture

The building by the French office, winners of the ’13 BigMat French National Award, questions and challenges the contemporaryness of the town-hall typology through the introduction of the square as a spatial organizer.

Town Hall of Saint-Jacques-de-la-Lande, LAN architectes 2016 © Julien Lanoo, 2016

LAN architects have recently completed the construction of the Town Hall of Saint-Jacques-de-la-Lande, a small town in the French Bretagne. Inspired by the typical elements that comprise the historical Town Halls in France, the building strongly relates to the urban context by including in the design two outdoor squares that organize the program of the whole building.

In this way, the French office, who were awarded with the 2013 National BigMat International Award for France, intend to redefine the typology of the Town Hall from a contemporary point of view: “minimizing impacts, developing potential, and predicting the unforeseeable”. (more…)

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XDGA wins Flemish Culture Award for Architecture 2014 with Square Rogier

Xaveer De Geyter —last edition’s winner of the BigMat Architecture Award— was awarded with the biennial Flemish Culture Award for Architecture 2014 for his renewal of Place Rogier and the Boulevard Botanique in Brussels, curently under construction.

Square Rogier, view from Boulevard Adolphe Max. Brussels, Belgium. XDGA © Matthias Van Rossen

The jury praises Xaveer De Geyter for his work, which seeks alternative solutions, engages in confrontation and dares to claim a role for architects as thinkers, critics and innovators. “Architect Xaveer De Geyter has produced critical and progressive work that challenges and questions clichés about architecture and urbanism. He is not afraid to contradict what our society automatically considers to be true and desirable. In this way his architecture keeps an often non-existing debate going and he shows that a culture of architecture is only possible when not everyone agrees with everything. Some projects of Xaveer De Geyter Architects (XDGA) do not start from what is desirable or plausible, but from what should be feasible.”

Xaveer De Geyter is “proud to receive the Award and grateful for the profound way in which the jury sketches the specifics of the architectural practice of XDGA.”

(more…)

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BigMat Architecture Award 2015: last call for submissions!

Architects who want to follow the footsteps of Xaveer De Geyter —last edition’s winner— have until next May 15 to submit their works. The BigMat Architecture Award rewards European architecture with over 70.000€, distributed in 1 Grand Prize, 5 National Prizes and 12 runner-up awards.

BigMat International Award National Prize Trophy

BigMat International Award Trophies

The biennial Prize aims to call attention to the built works that have made a major contribution to contemporary architectural culture in Spain, France, Italy, Portugal, the Czech Republic and Belgium (Walloon and Brussels City), particularly aware of these works’ dialogue with timeless themes in the history of architecture, as well as their relationship with energy efficiency parameters, sustainable construction and the quest for greater comfort and habitability, accepting any building typology (residential works, commercial works, industrial works, institutional works, etc.).

Remarkably, the origins of this Award date back to 2011, coinciding in time with possibly the worst part of the finantial and economic crisis in Europe. Since then, BigMat Group have been pushing architecture forward through this Award.

Any architects whose professional address is in any of the six participating countries and whose works have also been built in these territories can submit their works until the 15th of May. Works will only be considered for this prize if they were built between January 1st, 2011, and January 1st, 2015, and, in the case of Portugal, built between January 1st, 2007, and January 1st, 2015.

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BigMat Architecture Award 2015: less than one week to submit your entry!

Architects who want to follow the footsteps of Xaveer De Geyter —last edition’s winner— have until next May 15 to submit their works. The BigMat Architecture Award rewards European architecture with over 70.000€, distributed in 1 Grand Prize, 5 National Prizes and 12 runner-up awards.

BigMat International Award Trophies

The biennial Prize aims to call attention to the built works that have made a major contribution to contemporary architectural culture in Spain, France, Italy, Portugal, the Czech Republic and Belgium (Walloon and Brussels City), particularly aware of these works’ dialogue with timeless themes in the history of architecture, as well as their relationship with energy efficiency parameters, sustainable construction and the quest for greater comfort and habitability, accepting any building typology (residential works, commercial works, industrial works, institutional works, etc.).

Remarkably, the origins of this Award date back to 2011, coinciding in time with possibly the worst part of the finantial and economic crisis in Europe. Since then, BigMat Group have been pushing architecture forward through this Award.

Any architects whose professional address is in any of the six participating countries and whose works have also been built in these territories can submit their works until the 15th of May. Works will only be considered for this prize if they were built between January 1st, 2011, and January 1st, 2015, and, in the case of Portugal, built between January 1st, 2007, and January 1st, 2015.

(more…)

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Deadline extended for the BigMat ’15 International Architecture Award

The deadline for entries to the BigMat Architecture Award has been extended to the 15th of May. Applicants to compete among the best architecture built in Europe can still register for free online.

BigMat International Award National Prize Trophy

The BigMat Architecture Award rewards European architecture with over 70.000€, distributed in 1 Grand Prize, 5 National Prizes and 12 runner-up awards. Last year’s winner was Xaveer De Geyter, XDGA, with Elishout Kitchen Tower Campus (COOVI), Brussels.

The biennial Prize aims to call attention to the built works that have made a major contribution to contemporary architectural culture in Spain, France, Italy, Portugal, the Czech Republic and Belgium (Walloon and Brussels City), particularly aware of these works’ dialogue with timeless themes in the history of architecture, as well as their relationship with energy efficiency parameters, sustainable construction and the quest for greater comfort and habitability, accepting any building typology (residential works, commercial works, industrial works, institutional works, etc.).

Any architects whose professional address is in any of the six participating countries and whose works have also been built in these territories can submit their works until the 15th of May. Works will only be considered for this prize if they were built between January 1st, 2011, and January 1st, 2015, and, in the case of Portugal, built between January 1st, 2007, and January 1st, 2015.

(more…)

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BigMat Architecture Award 2015: less than one week to submit your entry!

Architects who want to follow the footsteps of Xaveer De Geyter —last edition’s winner— have until next May 1 to submit their works. The BigMat Architecture Award rewards European architecture with over 70.000€, distributed in 1 Grand Prize, 5 National Prizes and 12 runner-up awards.

BigMat International Award Grand Prize Trophy

The biennial Prize aims to call attention to the built works that have made a major contribution to contemporary architectural culture in Spain, France, Italy, Portugal, the Czech Republic and Belgium (Walloon and Brussels City), particularly aware of these works’ dialogue with timeless themes in the history of architecture, as well as their relationship with energy efficiency parameters, sustainable construction and the quest for greater comfort and habitability, accepting any building typology (residential works, commercial works, industrial works, institutional works, etc.).

Remarkably, the origins of this Award date back to 2011, coinciding in time with possibly the worst part of the finantial and economic crisis in Europe. Since then, BigMat Group have been pushing architecture forward through this Award.

Any architects whose professional address is in any of the six participating countries and whose works have also been built in these territories can submit their works until the 1^st of May 2015. Works will only be considered for this prize if they were built between January 1st, 2011, and January 1st, 2015, and, in the case of Portugal, built between January 1st, 2007, and January 1st, 2015.

(more…)

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The façade, an evolving concept: seminar in the Spanish Academy in Rome

The Spanish Academy in Rome is hosting a day-long symposium on Friday 17th of April. Named Facciata, concetto in evoluzione, this series of conferences will bring together fifteen architects in ten interventions on the subject of the façade and its evolving meaning in the architectural design processes from the early twentieth century to today. This event has been sponsored by the AECID -Spanish Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Fundación Rafael del Pino and the BigMat Company.

Poster excerpt © Academia di Spagna in Roma

The Spanish Academy in Rome is hosting a day-long symposium on Friday 17th of April. Named Facciata, concetto in evoluzione (Façade, an evolving concept), this series of conferences will bring together fifteen architects in ten interventions, from 10:00 to 19:00h.

The aim of the seminar is to look back on the history of the façade as an architectural element, examining its presence as part of the design process during the twentieth century to today. To this end, the curator of the symposium, Jesús Donaire -Secretary of the BigMat Award- has brought together renowned architects from the Spanish and Italian scene in order to discuss the subject both from a theoretical, academic point of view, as in a more practical approach.

Divided into morning and afternoon session, the Academia di Spagna will be host to actual proffesionals of architecture such as Alberto Morell, Héctor Fernández Elorza, Maria Claudia Clemente and Francesco Isidori, Carlos García and Begoña de Abajo, and Jesús Aparicio; as well as academic figures such as Claudia Conforti, Maria Margarita Segarra, Roberto Cherubini and Fernando Villalonga -head of the Spanish Academy in Rome.

This event has been sponsored by the AECID -Spanish Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Fundación Rafael del Pino and the BigMat Company.

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Call for entries for the 2nd edition of the BigMat International Architecture Award is now open

After Xaveer De Geyter —last edition’s winner— who will be the next Grand Prize? The BigMat Architecture Award rewards European architecture with more than 70.000€, distributed in 1 Grand Prize, 5 National Prizes and 12 runner-up awards.

Elishout Kitchen Tower Campus COOVI, Brussels, by Xaveer De Geyter Architects (XDGA) © Frans Parthesius

The registration period for the 2nd edition of the BigMat International Architecture Award 2015 is now open. The biennial Prize aims to call attention to the built works that have made a major contribution to contemporary architectural culture in Spain, France, Italy, Portugal, the Czech Republic and Belgium (Walloon and Brussels City), particularly aware of these works’ dialogue with timeless themes in the history of architecture, as well as their relationship with energy efficiency parameters, sustainable construction and the quest for greater comfort and habitability, accepting any building typology (residential works, commercial works, industrial works, institutional works, etc.). (more…)

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Atrio Relais-Châteaux by Mansilla+Tuñon, organic symbiosis with the ancient city

The new functional organism attaches to the irregularities of the perimeter of existing buildings, accepting them, and reflecting on how the city has grown.

The Atrio Relais & Châteaux Hotel and Restaurant in Cáceres, by Mansilla + Tuñón, was shortlisted among the 40 project for the Mies van der Rohe Award 2015, and it won the BigMat ’13 Award Spain National Prize and Special Mention for Restoration of a Heritage Place. It is not the first time for the Madrid based firm, founded in Madrid in 1992 by Luis Moreno Mansilla (Madrid, 1959–2012) and Emilio Tuñón (Madrid, 1958), who in 2007 won the Mies van der Rohe Award with the MUSAC of León, perhaps their most famous work to date.

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