Bustler's Top Prize-Winning Projects of 2018

The last 12 months saw a fun variety of award-winning projects and design ideas from around the world, from humble rustic abodes and a giant wire-mesh basilica sculpture, to elegantly engineered bridges and a quirky garden theater. As 2018 wraps up, Bustler rounded up a list of our top award-winning projects and competition results of the year, in no particular order. Check 'em out below.

The coveted 2018 World Building of the Year award is presented to WOHA's Kampung Admiralty

On the final day of the 2018 World Architecture Festival, the jury awarded the World Building of the Year award to the Kampung Admiralty in Singapore for its intelligent design, “from the way it connects to transport to its natural ventilation strategy, all benefitting from a decision to layer a series of buildings rather than separating them into separate tall blocks. The jury felt this was a project with potential lessons for cities and countries around the world.”

Yumin Art Nouveau Collection crowned 2018 World Interior of the Year

Located within the Tadao Ando-designed Genius Loci Building in South Korea, the Yumin Art Nouveau Collection by JAC Studios ultimately won the jury's favor for the INSIDE World of Interiors top prize for “its crafted sensitivity, to both the building and the Gallé glass to which the museum [is] dedicated”.

Results of the Structural Awards 2018 unveiled: Tamina Canyon Crossing wins Supreme Excellence title

This year's Supreme Award for Structural Excellence went to a new vehicle bridge elegantly crossing the Tamina Canyon in the rugged terrain of the Swiss Alps. With Volkhard Angelmaier as architect and Leonhardt, Andrä und Partner as structural engineer, the “elegance, clarity and economy” of the bridge's design greatly impressed the judges.

Forensic Architecture's Counter Investigations is crowned Beazley Design of the Year 2018

Forensic Architecture, an independent research agency based at Goldsmiths University London, deserved the 2018 Beazley Design of the Year award for their “Counter Investigations” exhibition, which uncovers miscarriages of justice and international war crimes through meticulous architectural analysis of imagery.

Lochside House named RIBA House of the Year 2018

Emerging at the edge of a picturesque lake in the Scottish West Highlands, the humble Lochside House by Cambridge-based HaysomWardMiller Architects won the RIBA House of the Year award, which distinguishes the most innovative house designed by a UK-based architect.

2018 Stirling Prize awarded to Bloomberg London office by Foster + Partners

Foster + Partners' design for the Bloomberg London HQ won the honorable RIBA Stirling Prize. RIBA President Ben Derbyshire praised Foster + Partners for their “creativity and tenacity”. “The patronage of Bloomberg have not just raised the bar for office design and city planning, but smashed the ceiling,” Derbyshire said during the award ceremony.

Redrock Stockport by BDP wins the 2018 Carbuncle Cup as Britain's “worst new building”

This year, judges awarded a leisure complex and car park called Redrock Stockport as the 2018 Carbuncle Cup winner. The complex was designed by BDP as part of a larger revitalization project for the community, however judges say this building “ridiculed” its surroundings rather than revamped them.

Barclay & Crousse's Peruvian educational facility awarded the 2018 Mies Crown Hall Americas Prize

Awarded biennially by the IIT School of Architecture, the MCHAP recognizes distinguished architectural projects built in North and South America. Set in the dry deserts of northern Peru, the winning project was specifically designed to accommodate students from disadvantaged backgrounds. The design team hopes the building can stand as a new educational typology.

CTBUH announces 2018 Best Tall Buildings, Oasia Hotel Downtown wins top accolade

The world's sky-high buildings get a shot at being named as one of the CTBUH's Best Tall Buildings in their annual awards competition. This year, Singapore's Oasia Hotel Downtown — which was the Asia & Australasia regional winner — was also crowned the Best Tall Building Worldwide.

Diamond Schmitt Architects' Toronto Central YMCA wins 2018 Prix du XXe siècle

Regarded as a seminal work of Diamond Schmitt Architects, the Toronto Central YMCA was distinguished with the 2018 Prix du XXe siècle “not only for its remarkable design qualities but also for its generous stance as a welcoming urban neighbor and humanist intervention” in the city. The prize distinguishes outstanding 20th-century Canadian architectural landmarks for their enduring excellence and national significance through the years.

London's Design Museum wins 2018 European Museum of the Year Award

Over a five-year construction process, the structure was transformed into one of the world’s leading institutions dedicated to contemporary design and architecture. In 2016, the museum moved to its new west London location, a 1960s modernist building renovated by John Pawson with work from top studios including OMA, Allies and Morrison, and Arup Architecture.

“RRRolling Stones” by HANNAH wins Folly/Function 2018

Organized by Socrates Sculpture Park and The Architectural League of New York, the yearly competition invites entrants to submit their most creative proposals for movable outdoor seating to be used at the Park. This year's winning commission went to HANNAH's “RRRolling Stones”, which highlights the practice's emphasis on advancing 3D-printing and manufacturing techniques.

Edoardo Tresoldi's ghostly wire mesh basilica earns a Gold Medal for Italian Architecture

Artist Edoardo Tresoldi, whose ghostly wire mesh cathedrals at Coachella 2018 garnered worldwide attention, won the Gold Medal for Italian Architecture – Special prize to Commission for his 2016 sculpture, the Basilica di Siponto. Established by the Triennale di Milano in collaboration with the Italian Ministry of Culture, the award is regarded as Italy's highest architecture accolade.

Steven Chilton Architects design an ethereally serene bamboo-themed theatre

A worthy finalist in this year's World Architecture Festival, this 2,000-seat theater's design was inspired by the Sea of Bamboo Park in Yixing, China. Functioning both as a public building and a structural illusion, it evokes a stunning, dreamlike appearance.

NOODLE SOUP, the winning 2018 Ragdale Ring design

The emerging, Columbus, Ohio-based design team of Galo Cañzares and Stephanie Sang Delgado won this year's prestigious Ragdale Ring competition with their quirky concept “NOODLE SOUP”. Hosted by the esteemed Ragdale artists' residency in Lake Forest, Illinois, the yearly competition seeks proposals for a temporary outdoor garden theater that reinterprets the original 1912 Ragdale Ring by architect Howard Van Doren Shaw.

Palassis Architects' cathedral-like Cadogan Song School in Perth

Showing off sculptural vaulted arches and a tuning fork-like spire, the Song School by Palassis Architects was one of the many stunning projects that won big in the 2018 National Australian Architecture Awards. The Song School received a National Award in the Heritage category.

The eVolo 2018 Skyscraper Competition winners

Thinking of submitting a design to the 2019 call for proposals? Have another look at the 2018 winning entries of eVolo Magazine's popular Skyscraper Competition. Every year, architects worldwide are invited to submit their most creative skyscraper concepts that rethink vertical architecture.

Frida Escobedo's 2018 Serpentine Pavilion

In her interpretation of the Serpentine Pavilion, Frida Escobedo created a courtyard-based design that fused elements of Mexican domestic architecture and British materials and history, creating an atmospheric space that playfully integrated light, water, and geometry. Back in October, the pavilion was sold to spa company Therme.

The 2018 Fairy Tales Architecture Competition winners

Selected from a massive competition pool of over 1,000 entries from 65 countries, the 2018 winners explored current events and the creative process through beautifully written short stories and artwork.

The winning women-led teams of the 2018 Global LafargeHolcim Awards + inaugural Ideas Prize winners

The global awards jury awarded the gold, silver, and bronze cash prizes to projects in Mexico, Niger, and the U.S., respectively. Plus, as diverse as the winning projects are, they were all designed by teams led by women. And for the first time, the jury picked three LafargeHolcim Awards Ideas cash prizes out of the 40 Acknowledgement- and Next Generation-winning projects.

Smartvoll architects' sculptural loft inside Salzburg's historic Panzerhalle

Back in 2013, Vienna-based Smartvoll architects won the competition to design a captivating 2-story loft inside a former tank station of the historic Panzerhalle. In their design, Smartvoll aimed to preserve the original charm of the 350-square-meter space, while enriching it with contemporary elements and dynamic forms.

The AIA awarding their 2018 Twenty-Five Year Award to no one

2018 is the year that no project received the AIA's Twenty-Five Year Award, the first time this ever happened since the AIA  established the award competition in 1971. Ouch. Will there be a winner for 2019? We'll have to wait and see.