Two “exceptional” Australian projects – both located in New South Wales – have been honoured in the Royal Institute of British Architects (RIBA) International Awards for Excellence 2024, and will now go in the running for the prestigious RIBA International Prize.
In total, 22 projects received an award. Located across 14 countries, they were selected from the entries submitted for the RIBA International Prize 2024. Bundanon Art Museum and Bridge by Kerstin Thompson Architects and Punchbowl Mosque by Angelo Candalepas and Associates were the only Australian projects awarded.
Bundanon Art Museum and Bridge, in Illaroo, southern New South Wales, comprises an underground art gallery and collection store, a 165-metre bridge that accommodates bedrooms, and other indoor and outdoor spaces. The Budanon site and an adjoining property were once home to artists Arthur and Yvonne Boyd. The pair donated both sites and their art collection to the Australian government in 1993, with the vision to create an artistic hub for public enjoyment. Bundanon Art Museum and Bridge is a component of this vision, with the realised project the result of an invited competition.
The jury praised the concept for both preserving and transforming the landscape setting. “The masterplan offers a paradigm shift in the way we think about landscape, from the purely picturesque to an ecological one. Ultimately Bundanon is extraordinary for the manner in which it attunes the visitor to the landscape, and in so doing to nature and climate, place and time.”
Punchbowl Mosque by Angelo Candalepas and Associates.
Image:
Rory Gardiner
Punchbowl Mosque was lauded by the jury as a “profoundly moving sacred space, magically conjured up in the everyday setting of a Sydney residential suburb.” Taking more than 20 years to deliver, the project demonstrates a meticulously planned use of space. Visual features and interior textures that reflect religious iconography have been carefully integrated.
In its citation, the judging panel wrote: “Entirely modern in its use of material and in its formal and spatial manipulation, the Punchbowl Mosque nevertheless seems to take its place confidently within the tradition of Muslim architecture. And although principally, and manifestly, designed to celebrate and intensify the experience of worship, the mosque also serves the wider community as a venue for meetings, festivals and events, and is already enormously valued locally for its openness and inclusivity.”
Simon Henley, chair of the RIBA Awards Group, said that each of the awarded projects makes a significant contribution to its local context and community, as well as demonstrating “a stimulating architectural response to RIBA’s stringent social, environmental and design values.”
RIBA president Muyiwa Oki said that supporting and working with architects and practices around the globe to promote excellence in architecture is central to RIBA’s purpose. “Now in its fourth iteration as an established part of the RIBA Awards calendar, the International Awards recognise and celebrate ambitious and impactful buildings across the world that create meaningful change.”
The awarded projects will now vie for the RIBA International Prize, with the shortlist and winner to be announced in November 2024. To find out more, visit the RIBA website.
Source: Architecture - architectureau
