Zaha Hadid work among Aga Khan Award winners
al ain — An institute in Lebanon designed under the late world-renowned architect Zaha Hadid, was announced among the six winning projects of the Aga Khan Award for Architecture on Monday.
The Issam Fares Institute of the American University of Beirut’s campus, completed in 2014, is one of the global architectural projects selected from 19 shortlisted marvels to win the grand prize of $1 million.
Other winners included a mosque and a community centre in Bangladesh, children’s library in China and pedestrian’s bridge in Tehran.
The prize, which will be equally distributed among winners, will recognise builders, clients, master craftsmen, engineers and end-users – as well as architects.
“Architecture is the result of work of many people who get together to make it happen,” said Farrokh Derakhshani, director of the award.
Speaking of the late Iraqi-British designer who passed away in March, Derakhshani said: “It is no tribute, but the project in itself deserved an award because it is one of the best examples of contemporary architecture that fit the award’s criteria. It creates public space, while providing shade and rooftop seating that people can use without taking up a large area.”
The award ceremony will be presented by The Aga Khan in Al Ain’s Al Jahili Fort in November.
Issued every three years for the last four decades, the award looks for projects that bring Muslim communities together in different parts of the world, adapt to the community’s challenges and improve the quality of life.
Derakhshani said around 1,000 nominators, including university professors, journalists and decision makers, endorse projects, which are then reviewed by an independent jury.
After an extensive inspection and site-visit process, 19 projects were shortlisted from 348 architectural work in 69 countries, among which six winners were announced.
The jury recognises infrastructure, craftsmanship, landscape design and, most importantly, the intelligent use of resources, noted Derakhshani.
Since its launch in 1997, over 110 projects have received the award and more than 9,000 building projects have been documented.
Architecture is the result of work of many people who get together to make it happen.” Farrokh Derakhshani, director of Aga Khan Award for Architecture