The Jury also awarded three Special Mentions, to Izaskun Chinchilla from Spain for her
non-conventional approach, Anupama Kundoo from India for her skill in researching
materials, and Siiri Vallner from Estonia for her sensitive interpretation of spaces.
The Prize winner was announced on 7th March evening in Bergamo at i.lab, the
Italcementi research and innovation centre recently completed from a project by Richard
Meier and one of the first buildings in Europe with LEED Platinum certification, the top
international recognition for sustainable construction.
Carla Juaçaba, 37-year-old Brazilian architect, trained at Santa Ursula University in
Rio de Janeiro (1999) is the first winner of the arcVision Prize - Women and Architecture
by unanimous decision of the Jury.
Born in 1976, since 2000, Carla Juaçaba developed her independent practice of
architecture and research based in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. Her most exciting project in
this research area, the Umanidade 2012 pavilion for Rio Mas 20 (the UN conference on
sustainable development), was designed and built together with an artist, Bia Lessa, who
also developed the design concept. The symbolic value of the pavilion, an impermanent
structure, is heightened by the fact that Rio Mas 20 was an important opportunity for a
global assessment of what is being done or not being done to save the Earth from
environmental disaster. The best is achieved with low-cost, easily dismantled and
continually recyclable constructions.
Carla Juaçaba embodies those qualities necessary in an architect of courage in
approaching her profession, creativity in seeking unconventional solutions and enormous
sensitivity to the context in which her works will reside. The Jury praised the
functionality and appropriateness in her proposals to make sure that they fully serve
their purpose, and do so contributing to the beauty and quality of life of those who will
use and inhabit her buildings. The Jury felt she embodies a "complete" architect,
embracing all aspects of each commission:- context, environment, nature, parameters,
materials.
When we telephoned the winner, she said, "I am extremely pleased, I wasn't expecting
it, I didn't know which approach the Jury would choose and what they would have given
importance to. I think it is really special to have thought of a Prize only for women. I
was never 'invited' to all the work I've done so far. I have always had to struggle to
prove that I was capable. I'm not saying this just because I am a woman, but I think that
for us it is a little more complicated. So it is really great to have such a Prize to
highlight this effort, because all work requires hard work. I am really very excited."
The arcVision Prize is intended as a contribution to the development of a
sustainability culture sensitive to women and to women's specific approach to
architecture, with special attention to people, the town and the environment. Contemporary
architecture has fostered the development of an increasingly important role for female
designers. The emergence of new female architects is one of the most interesting social
and cultural trends in project design in the construction sector.
"With this award we want to highlight the growing importance that female designers
have been assuming in architecture in recent years and pay tribute to a "positive
discrimination" in favor of women," said Italcementi CEO Carlo Pesenti. "Hopefully, in
sectors traditionally governed by men, women will come to assume a central role and
overcome every form of discrimination or exclusion from decision making and production.
Men and business need the energy and sensitivity of women to grow and achieve ever greater
results."
The aim of the arcVision Prize is to recognize every year a female architect whose
research and design work displays significant qualitative excellence and attention to the
core issues of construction - technology, sustainability, social and cultural implications
- with preference for women working in conditions of particular complexity in terms of
type of project and local conditions. The nominees were selected by a group of
professionals indicated by advisors and then assessed by a technical-cultural commission,
who made the final selection of nominees and presented them to the international Jury.
The 2013 short-list of finalists consisted of 19 designers from 15 countries: Brazil,
Egypt, Estonia, Germany, India, Italy, Japan, Mexico, Poland, Singapore, Spain, Sweden,
Switzerland, Thailand, and USA.
The nominees for the Prize were required:
- To have designed at least one significant work that has been constructed (or is
under construction) in the area of social infrastructures (education, healthcare, culture,
information, general services), presenting substantially innovative solutions and values
from a functional and technical viewpoint, with particular attention to sustainability.
- Ideally to have performed research - in the field or at academic level - on the
development of innovative solutions in construction systems.
The Prize is a two-week research workshop at i.lab, the Italcementi Group R&D Center
in Bergamo, and an amount of EUR 50,000, part of which may be devolved to social projects,
at the discretion of the winner.
On the completion of the workshop, the winner will recount her experience in a lecture
delivered at i.lab, during Milan Design Week, as part of the new series of Italcementi
Group "Millennium" meetings with the world of Architecture.
Details of the winner:
1. MsCarla Juaçaba - RIO DE JANEIRO, BRAZIL- http://www.italcementigroup.com/NR/rdonlyres/B8F6A75B-FA45-42AE-8908-71EB42B44EF5/0/2_Scheda_NOMINATION_jucabaUK.pdf
Honourable mentions:
1. Ms Anupama Kundoo - INDIA http://www.italcementigroup.com/NR/rdonlyres/E59F8324-09FC-45F9-A8E3-6225F93AD8BF/0/4_Scheda_NOMINATION_kundoo_UK.pdf
2. Ms Izaskun Chinchilla - http://www.italcementigroup.com/NR/rdonlyres/468A00AC-9DEA-4487-87ED-82DAFB044A0E/0/3_Scheda_NOMINATION_chinchilla_UK.pdf
3. Ms Siiri Vallne - http://www.italcementigroup.com/NR/rdonlyres/56F0D504-64C9-46F6-AE74-E7C7CCFD3D5B/0/5_Scheda_NOMINATION_Vallner_UK.pdf
4. Details of Jury Members - http://www.italcementigroup.com/NR/rdonlyres/0FB875B4-F48C-4A67-8DBD-3CE7C1138C97/0/7_JuryENG.pdf
About Zuari Cement:
Zuari Cement is part of the Italcementi Group, the fifth largest cement producer in the world and the biggest in the Mediterranean region. Zuari Cement's steady growth has seen the company emerge as a Brand leader in the cement industry with a capacity of 6.2 million tons. In line with the Group's global focus on quality and environment, Zuari Cement's manufacturing units are ISO: 9001 certified and ISO: 14000 certified. We have been rated as an energy efficient company in the country and 'Zuari Cement' with its innovative communication efforts have been recognized as Master Brand - 2011, Power brand - 2012.
About Italcementi:
Italcementi Group is the fifth largest cement producer in the world. The Group companies combine the expertise, knowhow and cultures of 21 countries in 4 continents, boasting an industrial network of 51 cement plants, 10 grinding centres, 7 terminals, 449 concrete batching units and with an overall staff of about 20,000 people. In 2012 Italcementi Group had sales amounting to about 4.5 billion euro.
Zuari Cement on the Internet: www.zuaricements.com [http://www.zuaricements.com ]
Italcementi Group on the Internet: www.italcementigroup.com [http://www.italcementigroup.com ]
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