Brick Award 08 - The best brick buildings of the year

Wienerberger AG, the largest producer of bricks in the world and the second largest producer of clay roof tiles in Europe, presented the “Brick Award”, offering 21,000 euros in prize money, on April 3, 2008, for the third time. Since 2004, Wienerberger has awarded the most creative brick structures in the world, as well as their architects, with the “Brick Award” every second year. In this way, the world’s largest producer of bricks acknowledges the undisputed role of bricks as a sustainable and ecological building material. 

Altogether 255 projects from 19 countries were submitted for the “Brick Award 08” by architecture critics. The number of entries has therefore more than doubled since 2004 (120). An international jury consisting of highly esteemed experts, presided over by the British architect George Ferguson, selected three winners from Germany and Switzerland from this vast number of projects. In addition, two special prizes were awarded to Finland and the Netherlands. Apart from the innovative external architectural design and the usage of the building material, the most important criteria for the selection of the winners also included the functionality of the buildings. In addition to the British architect George Ferguson, the independent jury of experts was composed of Ferenc Cságoly, one of the two winners of the Brick Award 06, the architect Lipa Goldstein from France, Mart Kalm from Estonia, and Ryszard Jurkowski from Poland.

The awards ceremony “Brick Award 08” was held during a great gala event on April 3 in the architecturally and historically fascinating Old Hall of the Academy of Sciences in Vienna. 300 guests from across Europe as well as the board of management of Wienerberger AG attended the awards ceremony. This year, the illustrated architecture book “brick08” was presented along with the handing-over of prizes. The work features 35 exceptional brick buildings from all over the world in addition to the winning projects. The subject matter includes residential and non-residential structures erected according to both the facing-brick and backing-brick building methods. The publication not only impressively documents that brick is one of the oldest and most sustainable building materials available, but also demonstrates the incredible modernity and diversity of the building material. Like its prequels “brick04” and “brick06”, which attained surprisingly high sales figures in bookshops, the illustrated publication “brick08”, brought out by the architectural publishing house Callway, is expected to arouse great interest.

The next Brick Award will be held in 2010. As was the case with the previous Brick Awards, architects of note will be asked to submit interesting brick architecture projects.

Brick Award 2008 – The winning projects in 2008

Winning project: Kolumba Museum, Cologne, Germany

Thank goodness for slowness! In no other German city is the might of Western religious culture so clearly illustrated by the architecture as it is in Cologne. The houses of God stand out brazenly in a city centre devastated by traffic and commerce. On top of and next to the ruins of the Church of St. Kolumba, destroyed in 1943, architect Peter Zumthor built what is perhaps his loveliest building to date: the museum that houses the collection of the archbishopric of Cologne. It has been open to the public since September 2007.

A very special brick and “pullover brickwork” – transcending spectacular, this proves to be straightforward and sensual. Like a knitted pullover, this particular type of brick harmonises with the surrounding greyish-yellow facades. The knitwear-like transparency of the filter brickwork, referred to as “pullover brickwork” by Zumthor’s office, creates lighting and temperature conditions which benefit the art collection. In times marked by frantic construction deadlines, Peter Zumthor did not let himself get rushed. Without haste and taking utmost care, he allowed a house to develop which – much like the art collection – is both traditional and sacred. (Ursula Baus)

Second place: Extension of a winery in Fläsch, Switzerland

Airiness through stones - In Fläsch, the winegrowers Martha and Daniel Gantenbein took advantage of the success of their Pinot Noir to replace their steel containers with oak barrels. They commissioned the architects Bearth & Deplazes with the design and construction of a new fermentation hall for twelve new containers. A wine-tasting lounge was to be located one floor above the hall.

Robo bricks and terroir principle - The wine estate in Fläsch follows the terroir principle. This principle states that the local colour – soil, microclimate, local traditions and the winegrower’s trademark – is directly reflected by the wine. A sensitive handling of space, temperature and light is therefore necessary. This was taken into account by the utilisation of special wall elements. Students at the Faculty of Architecture and Digital Production of the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology Zurich designed these on computer. They were built by a robot.

The architects Bearth & Deplazes made use of the precision and speed of a robot and the digital wall construction method begun by Fabio Gramazio and Matthias Kohler for their eccentric architecture which is, however, stylistically adapted to the wine estate: a wall which appears to have been penetrated by larger-than-life grapes. A new part of Fläsch has taken shape. It fulfils the requirements of the wine-estate owners: a temple of light with exhilarating airiness. (Martin Grether)

Third place: IT building, Finland

Technological beauty - The information technology building of the VTT (State Centre for Technology), also called the “Digihouse”, is an architectural gem. It is located in Otaniemi, close to the Finnish capital, Helsinki, on a campus for technological development and tertiary education. Façades constructed of red, baked bricks are typical of the place for the technical elite which developed in the 1950s.  Red bricks and seeming contradictions - An IT building managed by the state company Senaatti-kiinteistöt was selected as “Building of the year 2005”. The award-winning developer decided to use the traditional red bricks common to the surroundings for the “Digihouse”.

What are fascinating about the building are its seeming contradictions. Its aesthetic atrium is an attention grabber. The building was constructed according to the principles of sustainability, which become most visible in the pragmatic interior design of the work areas. The architects succeeded in combining seeming contradictions by employing a wide range of functionalities. They created a modern, user-friendly and eco-friendly working environment which is also lively and artistic. (Juhani Maunula)

Special prize: Residential building in Morcote, Switzerland

Earthy simplicity - Ticino is the touristy sun parlour of Switzerland; the place is absolutely teeming with characterless second homes. Precisely in this canton, Markus Wespi and Jérôme de Meuron achieved something which defines a good architect: building in keeping with the times and in harmony with the environment.

Brick cubes with panoramic views of the lake - Above Morcote, a former fishing village which lies directly on Lake Lugano, the architects erected a holiday home, furnishings included. The new building is surrounded by villas of average architecture. The simple brick cube stands out from the surrounding built-up area. It is constructed of baked clay, a material commonly used in traditional Ticinese architecture. This emphasises the ideal closeness of the village centre. Traces of the landscape and the local traditions are also reflected in the interior of the house. From the entrance hall to the enclosed loggia on the top floor, impressive lake panoramas unfold thanks to the completely open front façade. The architects Wespi and De Meuron have let themselves be inspired by the southern idyll of Ticino, without forgetting that Ticino is a Swiss canton. (Martin Grether)

Special prize: Headquarters of the WWF in the Netherlands

Unity with nature - On the edge of a conservation area in the woodlands around Zeist stands the new office building of the Dutch branch of the World Wildlife Fund nature conservation organisation (WWF). The architect’s office RAU in Amsterdam has let a phoenix rise from the ashes: In line with the principle of conservation of energy and natural resources, a laboratory building constructed in the nineteen fifties and fit for demolition has been transformed into the first building free of CO2 emissions in the Netherlands. Wings of buildings constructed in brick: nesting places for birds - nothing has abandoned the area. Whatever needed to be torn down was reutilised: concrete was used as granular material for the new building; not a shovel of soil was wasted. By making use of “planet-friendly” materials, RAU did justice to the unity of man, technology and nature in every area of the building: Carpet tiles made from recycled jeans, gables of Oregon pine and bamboo balustrades. Waterproof yet permeable - at least for the plays of light emanating from the thickly wooded surroundings: the south façade. To enter the building, one passes through small ceramic tiles made from Dutch clay. Birds, too, are not denied the possibility to enter: they can build nests in small round openings in the gable of the east wing, constructed of dark-red bricks. With its “phoenix”, RAU has implemented the WWF’s philosophy architecturally: a building which is fair to animals and nature, a unity between aesthetics and ethics. (Caroline C. Kruit)