International Architecture Awards Honor Nearly One Hundred Projects from Around the Globe

The Chicago Athenaeum: Museum of Architecture and Design and Metropolitan Arts Press Ltd. and co-presented by The European Centre for Architecture Art Design and Urban Studies, announced ninety-seven (97) new distinguished projects and urban schemes selected in this year’s prestigious International Architecture Awards program for 2009.

Given the record numbers of entries this year and the widest geographic distribution of buildings worldwide, The International Architecture Awards have become a global event of an unprecedented scale—an important barometer for the future direction of new architectural design and thinking today—celebrating, recognizing, and highlighting the world’s foremost architectural solutions for the designs of new skyscrapers, corporate buildings, institutions, arts facilities, airports, private homes, industrial structures, and urban planning projects from London to Singapore.

The selected projects challenge new approaches to design that are beyond the envelope of the everyday, while providing cities with key civic building that celebrate and harmonize architecture as a high art while finding answers to the complicated problems of environment, social context, improving quality of life, and sustainability.

For the 2009 International Architecture Awards, the museum received hundreds of submissions from design firms in Europe, Asia, Africa, Australia, and the Americas. The submissions ranged from the latest new corporate high-tech headquarters to smaller planning projects, bridges, memorials, sacred spaces, and private residences. All submitted projects were designed by architects in their respective countries of origin or abroad for both built and unbuilt projects alike, as of January 1, 2006.

This year’s jury for awards took place in Helsinki, Finland under the auspices of the Finnish Association of Architects (SAFA) and included some of the most influential design minds in Finland:

• Rainer Mahlamäki, President, Finnish Association of Architects (SAFA), Helsinski, Finland and Principal, Architects Lahdelma & Mahlamäki, Helsinki, Finland
• Kaj Forsblom, Galerie Forsblom, Heksinki, Finland
• Kivi Sotamaa, Principal of SOTAMMA DESIGN, Ltd. and Visiting Professor, Department of Architecture, UCLA, Los Angles, California, USA
• Anne Stenros, Vice President/Design Director, KONE Ojy., Espoo, Finland
• Ilkka Suppanen, Architect/Designer, Studio Suppanen, Helsinki, Finland and Professor, University of Art and Design Helsinki, Finland
• Markku Valkonen, Director, EMMA Espoo Museum of Modern Art, Espoo, Finland

The International Architecture Awards are curated and organized by Christian K. Narkiewicz-Laine, the Finnish Architecture Critic and President, The Chicago Athenaeum and assisted by Lary L. Sommers, Director of Administration/Marketing and Ioannis Karalias, Museum Vice President, The Chicago Athenaeum, and Kieran Conlon, Director/COO from the European Centre for Architecture, Art, Design, and Urban Studies.

Out of the ninety-seven (97) projects selected for awards, the United States received the highest number of thirteen (13) awards, followed by China with eight (8), Japan and Great Britain with each seven (7) and Germany having six (6) awards. The Netherlands, Brazil, Italy, Canada won four (4) awards each.

Here’s a small selection of this year’s award winners (see here for the complete list):