Junya Ishigami to receive 2016 BSI Architectural Award in Switzerland

Architect Junya Ishigami was recently named as the recipient of the fifth BSI Swiss Architectural Award for 2016. Established by the BSI Architectural Foundation, the CHF100,000 prize is a prestigious honor in the global architecture field, considering that Ishigami won over 28 high-caliber candidates representing 17 countries, including Alejandro Aravena, Sou Fujimoto, Pezo von Ellrichshausen, Productora, Vo Trong Nghia, and Kashef Mahboob Chowdhury / Urbana, to name a few.

Known for his light-filled minimal structures, Ishigami won the jury's favor with three of his projects: the Kanagawa Institute of Technology Workshop (Kanagawa, Japan, 2004-2008); the Japanese Pavilion at the 11th Venice Architecture Biennale (2008); and for his “House with Plants” private residential project nestled in the suburbs of Tokyo (2010-2012).

“Junya Ishigami’s buildings create spaces of great beauty and serenity, which impose themselves with unusual iconic strength”, while providing substantial answers to specific functional needs,” stated the jury. “Junya Ishigami’s three works involve, in particular, ‘innovative structural research with no heroism, which results in delicately refined architecture’ and ‘a promising relationship with the vegetal world, interpreted and presented in ever changing ways’...”

Get a glimpse of Ishigami's winning projects below.

Kanagawa Institute of Technology’s Workshop:

House with Plants:

Japan Pavilion at the 11th International Architecture Exhibition, La Biennale di Venezia:

Ishigami will be formally presented with the award during a ceremony at the Accademia di architettura in Mendrisio, Switzerland on September 22. An exhibition showcasing all the candidates' work submissions will also open that day, and will be on display until October 23.

The 2016 jury included: jury chair Mario Botta (Switzerland); Jean-Louis Cohen (France); Marc Collomb (Switzerland – director of the Accademia di architettura in Mendrisio ); Bruno Reichlin (Switzerland); José María Sánchez García (Spain).