The Royal Institute of British Architects (RIBA) has announced the buildings which will be visited in consideration for the inaugural RIBA International Prize.
The buildings include one Australian contender, Invisible House by Peter Stutchbury Architecture. The Invisible House has taken out a number of accolades locally, including an award for Residential Architecture – Houses (New) in the 2014 NSW Architecture Awards and Australian House of the Year in the 2014 Houses Awards.
In September 2015, Peter Stutchbury was awarded the RIBA International Fellowship, which was presented to the NSW-based architect in February this year.
Hundreds of entries were submitted for the RIBA International Prize from 50 countries. RIBA has selected 30 buildings in over 20 countries to be visited. Following the visits, 20 buildings will be awarded the RIBA Awards for International Excellence, and from these, six buildings will be chosen as finalists for the prize.
The projects submitted range in scale from urban infrastructure schemes to private homes, and include cultural institutions, civic spaces, academic buildings and religious buildings.
Other notable buildings to be visited include Parkroyal on Pickering in Singapore by WOHA Architects, Heydar Aliyev Centre in Azerbaijan by Zaha Hadid Architects and DiA Holding, Farming Kindergarten in Vietnam by Vo Trong Nghia Architects and VIA at West 57th in New York by BIG Bjarke Ingels Group and SLCE Architects.
The RIBA International Prize will be awarded to the most significant and inspirational building of the year. The winning building to be announced in December 2016, will demonstrate visionary, innovative thinking and excellence in execution. In addition, it will make a distinct contribution to its users and its physical context.
The grand jury for the prize will include Richard Rogers, winner of the 2007 Pritzker Architecture Prize, Kunlé Adeyemi, a Nigerian architect who founded architecture and design practice NLÉ, Marilyn Jordan Taylor, dean of architecture at the University of Pennsylvania’s School of Fine Arts, Billie Tsien, founder of New York-based Tod Williams Billie Tsien Architects, and Philip Gumuchdjian, founder of London practice Gumuchdjian Architects and chair of the RIBA Awards.
