The presentation of the 2009 LEAF Awards recently took place at a gala night in Berlin. The awards, sponsored by Emirates Glass, have rapidly become one of the most prestigious global architectural prizes acknowledging excellence in the international architectural, design and build professions. The awards are open to all companies, technologies and individuals that have made an outstanding contribution to the world of architecture and strive to set higher benchmarks for the design buildings of tomorrow.
The biggest names in architecture from around the world gathered at Berlin’s prestigious Ritz-Carlton Hotel. The event was hosted by actor, writer and comedian Neil Mullarkey and also featured entertainment throughout the night from Kit and the Widow.
This year’s event highlighted the keen international competition with many leading names in the architectural and design fields, and several new and less-well-known organizations vying for the coveted awards across the many categories. The 11 award categories, including the new Master Planning & Landscaping Award as well as the Residential Building of the Year Award (Single and Multiple Occupancy), attracted entries from 26 countries worldwide.
The winners of each category, designed to celebrate architectural excellence in the fields of innovation, structural and interior design across both private and public sectors, are listed below:
Commercial Building of the Year and overall LEAF Award Winner:
Woods Bagot for the Qatar Science and Technology Park in Qatar
International Interior Design Award:
ATELIER BRÜCKNER GmbH for BMW Museum in Germany
Young Architect:
John Pardey Architects for Hind House in the UK
Mixed-Use Building of the Year:
EAA-Emre Arolat Architects for 7800 Çesme Residences & Hotel in Turkey
Residential Building of the Year (multiple occupancy):
David Chipperfield Architects for Ninetree Village in China
Residential Building of the Year (single occupancy):
Studio mk27 for Paraty House in Brazil
Best Sustainable Development:
Chetwoods Architects for Blue Planet, Chatterley Valley in Ireland
Master Planning & Landscaping:
Strootman Landscape Architects & Palmbout Urban Landscapes for Wieringen Passage in the Netherlands
Public Building of the Year:
gpy arquitectos for La Cisnera Community Centre in Spain
Best Structural Design of the Year:
Amanda Levete Architects for Spencer Dock Bridge in the UK
In addition a Special Commendation Award was given to registered charity Article 25 for The Seismic-Resistant Housing in Pakistan.
The ceremony concluded with the presentation of The LEAF Award to Woods Bagot who scooped this top prize at the Awards with their project, Qatar Science and Technology Park. The award was picked by the judges as the best overall project to be entered into this year’s LEAF Awards.
This year’s panel of judges comprised leading figures from the construction industry; Irving Brauer, Principal of Brauer Associates; Nicola Leonardi, Editor of The Plan Magazine; and Armand Terruli, an architect at Vector Foiltec and video artist.
Plans for next year’s LEAF Awards, which are to take place in London, are now well underway.
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