Toshiko Mori, Hariri Pontarini, and Barclay & Crousse shortlisted for RAIC 2019 International Prize

Launched in 2013, the Royal Architectural Institute of Canada's International Prize honors socially transformative architecture and is open to architects based anywhere in the world. After evaluating submissions from 12 countries in six continents for its third edition, the six-member jury whittled down the competition pool to just three high-caliber projects designed by Toshiko Mori Architect, Hariri Pontarini Architects, and Barclay & Crousse.

“The jury was struck by the diversity of these designs, from the inverted traditional Senegalese roof that serves as a water collector, to the unique glass-and-marble winged roof that fills the temple with light,” said Jury Chair Diarmuid Nash in a statement. “These architects have come up with unique and innovative strategies by listening to the needs of their communities.”

The winning project will be announced during a gala in Toronto on October 25. The winning designer will receive a cash prize of CAD$100,000 and a sculpture by Canadian designer Wei Yew. 

Scroll down to see the shortlist.

Baha’i Temple of South America | Santiago, Chile
Hariri Pontarini Architects (Toronto, Canada)
Completion: October 2016

Project statement: “At the heart of the Temple there is a belief that even now, in the fractured 21st-century, we can respond to a human yearning to come together and connect to one another, and to something that moves the spirit. The Temple sits on the edge of Santiago and nestles against the Andes. A human place, universally appealing in form and at one with its landscape. Inside, the building soars along with the spirt of those who enter. The interior is alive with soft light filtering through the cast- glass exterior and translucent marble interior of the wings, bathing visitors in warmth.”

Thread: Artists’ Residence and Cultural Center | Sinthian, Senegal
Toshiko Mori Architect (New York, USA)
Completion: March 2015

Project statement: “Situated in the remote community of Sinthian, Senegal, Thread offers multiple programs for the community, serving as gathering and performance space, agricultural base, and artists’ residency. A collaboration with the Josef and Anni Albers Foundation and operated by Le Korsa, the center ensures stability in the community and increases social cohesion. In the design, an inversion of the traditional pitched roof creates an effective strategy for rainwater collection, providing a viable water source in the eight-month dry season. Innovating upon local materials and construction techniques, the new building also encourages ventilation and airflow, providing a flexible, open-air space for the community.”

Edificio E, Lecture Building, University of Piura | Piura, Peru
Barclay & Crousse (Lima, Peru)
Completion: March 2016 

Project statement: “The apparent simplicity of “Edificio E” hides an unexpected complexity, intensity and richness that nurtures the sense of community of a heterogeneous student population ranging from urban wealthy to rural poor origins. Responding to the harshness of the equatorial desert of northern Peru, a learning landscape provides shade to generous open-air spaces and offer unattended possibilities for gathering, studying, resting and strolling in an inner world of unexpected softness. This learning citadel at the crossroad of the campus creates a sense of be - longing with a building type flexible enough to go beyond the local conditions that shaped it.”

2019 Jury:

Anne Carrier, FRAIC – Founder of Anne Carrier Architecture (Lévis, Quebec), a firm that received the Governor General’s Medal in Architecture in 2016 and the Architecture MasterPrize in 2018. Carrier is the president of the Association of Architects in Private Practice of Quebec (AAPPQ). 

Stephen Hodder, MBE – Hodder Associates (Manchester, UK) received the most important award in British architecture for a single building, the inaugural RIBA Stirling Prize, and has won over 40 major awards. Hodder is past president of the Royal Institute of British Architects.

Barry Johns, FRAIC – Principal of Barry Johns Architects (Edmonton, Alberta), he was the first international recipient of the Leslie N. Boney Spirit of Fellowship Award from the American Institute of Architects’ College of Fellows in 2018. Johns is Past Chancellor of the RAIC College of Fellows. 

Eva Matsuzaki, PP/FRAIC – Founder of Women in Architecture (Vancouver, BC), Matsuzaki (Matsuzaki Architects, Vancouver, British Columbia) was the first female president of the Royal Architectural Institute of Canada in 1998-99 and has served as the Chair of the Canadian Architectural Certification Board.

Diarmuid Nash, PP/FRAIC, Jury Chair – Nash is a partner at Moriyama & Teshima Architects (Toronto, Ontario), and his designs have won two Governor-General’s Medals for Architecture. He is past president of the RAIC and Chancellor of the RAIC College of Fellows. 

Gilles Saucier, FIRAC – Founding partner of Saucier+Perrotte Architectes (Montréal, Quebec), recipients of the RAIC Gold Medal 2018 and the first recipients of the Prix du Québec for design and architecture. His firm represented Canada at the Venice Architecture Biennale in 2004.