ARCHITECTURAL FOCUS
This year’ s programme drew entries from 68 countries and received almost 900 projects, illustrating the event’ s global reach and the diversity of its participants.
surface to create green plazas, vertical gardens, and rainwater systems. Solar panels now supply more than half of the complex’ s energy needs, and the use of recycled materials reinforces its focus on resilience, while open public spaces strengthen the connection between the government and its citizens.
Floodgate. Rhode Partners Photo: Chase Daniel
The Construction Product Design of the Year title was awarded to VINE, a collaboration between the University of Ulsan and Studio Kwan. This innovative façade system draws inspiration from climbing plants: curved, multi-angled photovoltaic modules, produced using large-scale robotic 3D printing, form a skin that both generates energy and visually expresses organic growth. The modules nearly double the summer efficiency of conventional panels and can be replaced individually.
While the top trophies recognise global practices, the BLT Awards also celebrate the next generation. Unfold Form, a lightweight, curved-crease formwork system developed at ETH Zurich, with a lead designer Lotte Scheder-Bieschin, earned the Emerging Architect of the Year title for dramatically reducing the use of concrete and steel. In the Emerging Interior Design category, Symphony – Museum of South African Languages, by Lisa
V8 apartment. DA BUREAU Photo: Dmitry Suvorov
Niwa cafe x KingLong. Yilanfanghua & KingLong landscape
Photo: Yilanfanghua & KingLong landscape
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