Zagreb Airport, Slavonia Wine Chateau and a country estate in Herzegovina won the prestigious award.
The American Architecture Prize, showcasing and bringing international recognition to works by some of the most talented individuals and studios in the areas of architecture, interior architecture and landscape architecture, was awarded to three projects by Croatian architects – two by Dva Arhitekta Studio, a Wine Chateau in Slavonia in the category of Agricultural Buildings and a country estate in Herzegovina, in the category of Residential Architecture. The third prize, in the category of Transportation, went to the new passenger terminal at Franjo Tuđman International Airport Zagreb.
The new terminal was a co-project designed by Kincl D.O.O., Neidhardt arhitekti d.o.o., and IGH Projektiranje d.o.o.
Built over the course of four years, the new terminal opened in March, 2017, and it serves up to 5 million passengers a year, while the plan is to increase it to 8 million at the end of the concession programme.
“A dynamic roof envelope, which unwraps itself to levitate above the terminal hall generates the free dynamics of the structural net- an iconic expression of the landscape and its relief features as original attributions to the generated architectural form. The envelope structure is a spatial truss curved in two directions deploying tens of thousands prefabricated steel tubes and nodes based on a triangular off-grid module borne by closed-umbrella-like pillars. Flexibility of conceptual scheme allows for adaptability with open spaces formed by a modular column grid at the concrete base. The pier design allows for flexibility that is necessary to sustain the expected increase of air traffic in the future.”
Read more about the project here
When it comes to the other projects, they were designed by Dva arhitekta (“Two architects”), a studio founded by Tomislav Ćurković and Zoran Zidarić in 1992.
Their majestic winery has already won an award in Italy, and now it got more international recognition.
“Faced with perfectly intact nature, we rejected the idea of a building dominating over the environment, opting instead to treat it with respect and use mimicry as a design tool. We placed the winery into the existing hill, carving it only where necessary. This decision was also beneficial in terms of energy consumption allowing for inner climate control and lighting to be solved naturally, which suits the main inhabitant of the house – wine.”
Read more about the project here.
Their second project is a family estate in Bijača, in Herzegovina, a house and estate, built using stone to honour it as a traditional building material of the area.
“Located in a remote, poorly inhabited part of West Herzegovina canton, the site stretches over 35 000 square meters of wild landscape, bound by strong stone walls. The ensemble of houses in Bijača is joyous in its self-evident character found only in the countryside. Their placement sets the stage for a place of gathering, not only as a memory of local tradition, but also as a hierarchy of relationships necessary for the community to function. The interrelation between the houses creates fine outside spaces, protected from the wind, suitable for enjoying time spent on fresh air.”
Read more about the project here.
All photos from architectureprize.com.
