22/05/2015

School of Architecture Staff and Alumni among FAD Awards Finalists

The panel of judges has chosen the 16 finalists for the 57th edition of the FAD Awards for Architecture and Interior Design from among a total of 458 entries. Of those 16, six are for the category of Architecture, five for Interior Design, two for City and Landscape and three for Temporary Interventions. Several lecturers and alumni from the School of Architecture are among the finalists.

The panel of judges for this edition of the awards is presided over by the architect Víctor López Cotelo, who is joined by Ignasi Bonet, Agustí Costa, Mònica Rivera, Mariana Pestana and Gabriel Valeri. The judges for the International FAD Awards, now in their second year, are Oliver Thill (foreman), Ethel Baraona and Andrés Jaque. 

School of Architecture alumnus Victor Bergnes is a finalist in the Interior Design category for his project, Casa Mariano. The judges particularly admired its design strategies, which go the extra mile to generate a formal language that infuses the entire house: from the individual elements that make up the space to the small, utilitarian objects and items of furniture that have been specially designed for the project. 

Meanwhile, the MAIO studio (which taught at this year’s Vertical Workshop and School of Architecture Forum cycle) was selected as a finalist in the Temporary Interventions category for its project, A Display System for the Maritime Museum. The judges underlined the functionality of the unit and the expressive vitality that gives it character. 

Last but not least, the finalists for the International awards include Miquel Lacasta, who supervises final projects at the School of Architecture, for his project, 253 Homes for Ivry-sur-Seine. The judges were impressed by how long-term planning and the participatory process turned this project into a meaningful demonstration of how architecture can respond to the current social, cultural, economic and technological context. 

The finalists also include individuals and teams who have taught at the School of Architecture in the past. Some examples include House 1014 by the HArquitectura team, whose members taught at the 2011 edition of the Vertical Workshop; ICTA-ICP Research Centre by the HArquitectura team and Claudi Aguiló, who taught at the 2012 edition of the Vertical Workshop; and the MX_SI architectural studio, a double finalist in this year’s FAD Awards for Serlachius Museum Gösta Pavilion and Gösta Bridge. The members of MX_SI architectural studio taught at the Vertical Workshop in 2014.

The FAD Awards for Architecture and Interior Design are organized by the ArquinFAD Association for the Promotion of Art and Design (FAD). They were first awarded in 1958 by the architect Oriol Bohigas as a means of promoting cutting-edge design. Today, they are still committed to promoting the core values of architecture and interior design in accordance with the demands of the current socio-cultural context.