Habitat for Orphan Girls in Khansar, Iran by ZAV Architects. Image via The Architectural Review
The Architectural Review has chosen a Habitat for Orphan Girls in Iran by ZAV Architects as the 2018 House of the Year. A competition staged by the publication every year, the AR House Awards identify “originality and excellence in the design of dwellings,” recognizing private houses which go beyond the core function of shelter, and become “an object of fantasy, a source of delight, a talisman, and a testing ground.
The ninth edition of the awards saw six projects chosen from a shortlist of 16, which contained schemes from the UK, Ireland, Spain, Scandinavia, Canada, Latin America, Iran, Vietnam, India, Nepal, and Japan. Previous winners have included David Chipperfield’s Fayland House in 2015, UID Architects’ Cosmic House in 2016, and the anti-seismic prototype in 2017 by Edward Ng, Wan Li and Xinan Chi.
The six recognized projects, which consist of one overall winner, two high commendations, and three commendations, are listed below.
Winner
Habitat for Orphan Girls in Khansar, Iran / ZAV Architects
Habitat for Orphan Girls in Khansar, Iran by ZAV Architects. Image via The Architectural Review
The Habitat for Orphan Girls, situated in the foothills of Iran’s Zagros mountains, was chosen as the overall winner. The scheme seeks to give vulnerable children a safe, culturally sensitive environment through an experimentation with new and alternative forms of home life.
Jury member Marie-Jose Van Hee described the scheme as “an atypical project that has no ambitions in the architectural sense of monumentality [however] the expression of the “inner” quality is monumental – and also brave.”
High Commendations
House in Nobeoka / Schemata Architects
House in Nobeoka by Schemata Architects. Image © Takumi Ota
House in Nobeoka by Schemata Architects. Image © Jan Vranovsky
Binh House in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam / Vo Trong Nghia Architects
Binh House in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam by Vo Trong Nghia Architects. Image © Hiroyuki Oki
Binh House in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam by Vo Trong Nghia Architects. Image © Hiroyuki Oki
Commendations
Casa Bruma in Valle de Bravo, Mexico / Fernanda Canales & Claudia Rodríguez
Casa Bruma in Valle de Bravo, Mexico by Fernanda Canales & Claudia Rodríguez. Image © Rafael Gamo
Casa Bruma in Valle de Bravo, Mexico by Fernanda Canales & Claudia Rodríguez. Image © Rafael Gamo
Casa IV in Elche, Spain / Mesura
Casa IV in Elche, Spain by Mesura. Image © Pedro Pegenaute
Casa IV in Elche, Spain by Mesura. Image © Pedro Pegenaute
Kokoon / Helsinki’s Aalto University Wood Programme, Finland
Kokoon by Helsinki’s Aalto University Wood Programme, Finland. Image © Tuomas Uusheimo
Kokoon by Helsinki’s Aalto University Wood Programme, Finland. Image © Marc Goodwin
The remaining projects on the shortlist were as follows:
- Kaleka House, India / Matra Architects
- Mylla, Norway / Mork Ulnes Architects
- Townships Farmhouse, Canada / LAMAS
- House at Lake Rupanco, Chile / Squella Architects
- Kew House, United Kingdom / McLaren Excell
- Planar House, Brazil / Studio MK27
- Långharen, Sweden / Kjellander Sjöberg
- La Diana, Spain / CRÜ Studio
- 81 Hollybrook Grove, Republic of Ireland / David Leech Architects
- Rebuilt Nepal / Hsieh Ying Chun and Atelier-3
The 2018 jury was comprised of Chilean architect Mathias Klotz, Belgium-based architect Marie-Jose Van Hee, and British architect Amin Taha.
News via: The Architectural Review