How often do you check out nominees or winners of the Oscar for a good movie recommendation? Before purchasing something new, we frequently find ourselves looking for a third-party approval. Gaining recognition for one’s services is crucial for any organization whether it’s business or the arts. Similarly, winning an award allows your architectural firm to distinguish your company from an increasingly difficult and changing market. People are drawn to the prize because they are more inclined to choose a firm over another if it has won an award. Likewise, winning an award also serves to strengthen the loyalty of existing customers. Being nominated or shortlisted can put your firm at the forefront of your industry.
By recognizing excellence, we value human accomplishments and encourage more of them. Winning an award not only puts your firm at the top of your industry but equally has an impact on the performance of the company. It boosts your self-confidence helping you develop and create new skills, and creativity and maintain the commitment to one’s work. Winning an award can impress potential clients, bring integrity, and open doors to new opportunities. Architecture Awards have long existed in history and have helped architecture firms gain recognition. Getting engaged with this new community of other finalists, judges, and award program managers surely boosts exposure in the field. Making use of the recent recognition, architecture firms look for opportunities to offer knowledge and ideas from their field, to make their designs more relevant. We’re familiar with a few known architects who has had gained recognition through awards and honors.
Bjarke Ingels
Danish architect, founder, and creative partner of Bjarke Ingels Group (BIG), Bjarke Ingels set up his first practice after winning his first competition as a third-year student from Barcelona. Bjarke has won several awards and honors, including the Danish Crown Prince’s Culture Prize in 2011, the Aga Khan Award for Architecture in 2016, the American Institute of Architects Honor Award for 8 House in 2012, along with other numerous awards. Through a series of award-winning design projects and buildings, Bjarke has built a reputation for designing buildings that are cost-effective and technically innovative. The office has worked on projects throughout Europe, North America, Asia, and the Middle East. Some of their notable works include VIΛ 57 West – New York, United States, Denmark Pavilion – Shanghai Expo, China, VM Houses – Copenhagen, Denmark, Mountain Housing – Copenhagen, Denmark, and so forth. The firm was recently named the best architecture firm in New York City as a consequence of its impact on contemporary architecture and design around the world.
Zaha Hadid
Iraqi-British Architect, artist, and designer Zaha Hadid is recognized as a major figure in architecture of the late-20th and early-21st centuries. She began her career teaching architecture. Although many of her early designs and projects were published in architectural journals, they were never completed. When she was chosen as one of seven architects to take part in the exhibition “Deconstructivism in Architecture” at New York’s Museum of Modern Art, in 1988, her international profile was significantly improved. In addition to establishing Hadid’s reputation in the field of architecture, press coverage of her work helped people link her with a certain architectural style. Hadid has won numerous prestigious awards including the Pritzker Architecture Prize, in 2004, and UK’s esteemed architectural award, the Stirling Prize, in 2010 and 2011, and many other reputed awards. Some of her early works, Vitra Fire Station in Weil am Rhein, Germany (1991–93), and Bergisel Ski Jump, Innsbruck, Austria (1999–2002) became a platform for her architectural career. Similarly, her notable projects include the Guangzhou Opera House, Guangzhou, China, Galaxy SOHO, Beijing, China, Heydar Aliyev Center, Baku, Azerbaijan, and many more.
Brooks + Scarpa
Since the medal’s establishment in 1907, AIA awards the Gold Medal to an esteemed architect in recognition of their work. Angela Brooks and Lawrence Scarpa won AIA 2022 Gold Medal as a duo for their influence on the theory and practice of architecture. Brooks is the first woman to receive The Maybeck Award from the American Institute of Architects California (2020). Scarpa received the Gold Medal in Architecture in 2018 from the AIA Los Angeles. Apart from these, their works have been exhibited at the National Building Museum in Washington and several other places around the world. Some of their notable include the Southern Utah Museum of Art, Animo South La Charter High School, Los Angeles, Ca., Metalsa Center for Manufacturing Innovation, Monterrey, Mexico, and so on. They won the 2014 Smithsonian Cooper Hewitt National Award in Architecture for their socially conscious approach to design excellence. The recognition praised their capacity to integrate design and participation to provide affordable housing and environmentally friendly architecture that advances equity for the good of society.
Architecture awards celebrate the tireless work of architects who create exemplary areas for a variety of users. Some notable architects have started their careers after winning a competition. Awards can bring positive attention to the project ranging from large-scale to smaller-scale projects. It can contribute to the company as well as the community’s identity and pride.
References
ARCHITECTS, T. A. (2021, 12 9). 2022 AIA Gold Medal Awarded to Angela Brooks and Lawrence Scarpa. Retrieved from Residential design: https://residentialdesignmagazine.com/2022-aia-gold-medal-awarded-to-angela-brooks-and-lawrence-scarpa/
Hanly, J. (n.d.). In Memoriam: 9 Remarkable Projects to Remember Zaha Hadid. Retrieved from Architizer: https://architizer.com/blog/inspiration/collections/zaha-hadid-tribute/
