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Company description:

Their projects may primarily cover Mexico, and also extend throughout the rest of North and South America. But their appeal has long since reached as far as Europe. Architect Tatiana Bilbao, who founded her office in Mexico City in 2004, is known for her extremely contextualised projects, in which the environment and users are always respected and integrated in the best possible way. Outstanding designs in Mexico include the “Estoa” institute building for the University of Monterrey (2019), the Botanical Garden in Culiacan, for which pavilion buildings and park designs are being realised on an ongoing basis, and the Sea of Cortez Research Centre in Mazatlán (2023). Other projects currently in the pipeline include the “Porte de Montreuil” redensification project in Paris and the Maria Friedenshort abbey in eastern Brandenburg, her first project with a religious connection. Numerous international exhibitions, such as at the Louisiana Museum of Modern Art near Copenhagen (2019), the Architekturzentrum Wien (2021) and the Aedes Architekturforum Berlin (2022), testify to the recognition she has rightly received.     

Jury statement

Time and again, architect Tatiana Bilbao and her team succeed in responding to local conditions through an in-depth and analytical approach. Their strength lies in translating this into striking architectural gestures. Their work ranges from visionary master plans to residential, cultural and educational buildings. Particularly noteworthy are their universal and cost-effective housing prototypes, which can be expanded modularly according to requirements and budget and can be realised quickly. Their collaged concept visualisations remain an unmistakable means of representation, regardless of scale. When the boundaries between interior and exterior space are masterfully blurred, this is an unmistakable sign of Tatiana Bilbao Estudio – both in the collage and in the finished building. Seemingly simple, often raw and almost brutalist elements only reveal their fragility and complexity on closer inspection and also reveal Tatiana Bilbao’s deep understanding of materials and construction techniques. We would like to honour Tatiana Bilbao for her inspiring character as a role model and for her outstanding architectural work.  

Company description:

Founded in 2008, Copenhagen-based Norm Architects has developed a special passion for the functional – paired with an unmistakable sensitivity for materiality, space and atmosphere. Its interdisciplinary architecture and design team repeatedly draws on basic archetypal forms only to then present a surprisingly sophisticated spatial structure behind the façade, in the centre of which a meditative calm and exciting interior-exterior relationships unfold. If you had to put the team’s basic motivation into words, it would probably be the unconditional goal of always creating sensually charged spatial experiences. Proof of this is provided by the glass wine restaurant Äng in the Swedish town of Halland (2022) and the recently completed Heatherhill Beach House in Vejby, Denmark (2024). The interdisciplinary team at Norm Architects also carries out interior design projects, creating furniture, lighting and objects for international brands such as &tradition, Karimoku Case, Audo and Expormim.     

Statement of the jury

Norm Architects are increasingly being recognised beyond Denmark’s borders for their work, which is characterised by an extraordinary sensitivity to place. The interdisciplinary architecture and interior design team’s ability to create outstanding atmospheric spaces and spatial structures, including their own furniture designs, in addition to clear architectural designs, is particularly appreciated. Last but not least, Norm Architects are known for their subtle approach to materials. Wood, earthen building materials and natural stone create an atmosphere of security and grounding in their architectural and interior design projects. At the same time, they bear witness to artisanship and create lively, tactile, hard or soft, warm or cool surfaces. Walls, ceilings and floors clad all around with floorboards are the office’s most recognisable of many trademarks. You should never trust their walls: some of them hide storage spaces and doors. They are proof of the care and precision with which every detail is planned and designed.       

For a long time, it was easy to overlook when passing it on the motorway. For decades, the small town of Neuenburg am Rhein, located in the far southwest of Germany on the border with France, lacked a striking finale at the western entrance to the town. Now it has one. The impetus for change was provided by the Regional Garden Show, which was held there in 2022 and focussed on the city’s relative proximity to the Rhine floodplains as a local recreation area. This was due to various river regulations, the creation of the Grand Canal of Alsace and the construction of road infrastructure increasingly further away from the municipality, which is located at a higher elevation. Berlin-based MONO Architekten revisited historical points of reference: where once there were fortification walls with a pond above the riverbank, a multi-storey car park with a public plaza on the roof now redefines the embankment. Next to it, a bridge leads over the main road to an observation tower and from there, a wheelchair-accessible lift leads both up and down to the level of the neighbouring landscape park. This created a new, clever link between the city centre and the green space with a striking entrance to the city. The tower is not only visible from many corners of the city: from its top, you can see far into the distance to the Black Forest and, on good days, as far as the Alps.          

Statement of the jury

You have to have courage. Courage is the only way to create contemporary landmarks that shape a region’s identity. This has been achieved at the Kronenrain site in Neuenburg am Rhein. Praise is due in particular to the government client for its motivation in undertaking a project of this scale that is more than simply a functional, purpose-built structure. Instead, a true landmark and new interface between the landscape and the town has been created. The architecture’s added social value, commitment to people and the environment and its distinctive identity-shaping character – for residents and visitors alike – should be emphasised. The smooth and rough surfaces of the red-coloured tamped concrete, of which large parts of the ensemble are made, emphasise the timeless and robust character of the architecture and give the town a striking urban entrance. Together with the architects, the town of Neuenburg am Rhein has made an impressive gesture that is absolutely worthy of imitation.    

Statement Mayor Jens Fondy-Langela:

“The city of Neuenburg am Rhein is delighted to receive the honourary award "Architects' Client of the Year" for the Areal am Kronenrain. We are pleased that our construction project has been recognized despite strong competition, and we gratefully accept this award. The innovative design of the Areal am Kronenrain and its diverse functionality through the integration of various urban sectors demonstrate successful urban development and provide added value for the citizens of Neuenburg am Rhein. The next step is to complete the project with the construction of residential buildings and to seize the opportunities that the Areal am Kronenrain offers the city.”

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