Architect and Builder Magazine South Africa September/October 2013 | Page 78

2013 Aga Khan AWA R D F OR A R C H I T EC T U R E The Aga Khan Award for Architecture was established by the Aga Khan in 1977 to identify and encourage building concepts that successfully address the needs and aspirations of communities in which Muslims have a significant presence. The Award recognises examples of architectural excellence in the fields of contemporary design, social housing, community improvement and development, historic preservation, reuse and area conservation, as well as landscape design and improvement of the environment. The Aga Khan Award for Architecture is part of the Geneva-based Aga Khan Trust for Culture (AKTC), which has a wide range of activities aimed at the preservation and promotion of the material and spiritual heritage of Muslim societies. Its programmes include the Aga Khan Historic Cities Programme (HCP), which works to revitalise historic cities in the T he Aga Khan Award for Architecture, which was established by His Highness the Aga Khan in 1977, is given every three years. It recognises all types of building projects that affect today’s built environment, from modest, small-scale projects to sizable complexes. As this cycle’s recipients illustrate, the Award’s mandate is different from that of many other architecture prizes: it selects projects – from innovative mud and bamboo schools to state of the art “green” buildings – that not only exhibit architectural excellence but also improve the overall quality of life. The US$ 1 million prize, which will be divided among the five recipients, does not necessarily go to the architect. The Award also identifies municipalities, builders, clients, master craftsmen and engineers who have played important roles in the realisation of a project. The Master Jury has the discretion to apportion the prize money however it sees fit. Since the Award was launched 36 years ago, 110 projects have received the award and nearly 8,000 building projects have been documented. THE 2013 AWARD MASTER JURY The Awards are selected by an independent Master Jury appointed by the Steering Committee for each three-year Award cycle. The nine members of the Master Jury for the 2010-2013 Award cycle are: • Mr. David Adjaye, Principal, Adjaye Associates, London, United Kingdom • Dr. Howayda al-Harithy, Professor, Department of Architecture and Design, American University of Beirut, Lebanon • Mr. Michel Desvigne, Landscape Architect and Founder, Agence Michel Desvigne, Paris, France • Professor Mahmood Mamdani, Professor and Executive Director, Makerere Institute for Social Research (MISR), Wandegeya, Uganda • Mr. Kamil Merican, Principal Designer and CEO, Group Design Partnership, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia • Professor Toshiko Mori, Principal, Toshiko Mori Architect, New York City, USA • Ms. Shahzia Sikander, Artist, New York City, USA • Mr. Murat Tabanlıoğlu, Architect and Founder, Tabanlıoğlu Architects, Istanbul, Turkey • Mr. Wang Shu, Architect and Founder, Amateur Architecture Studio, Hangzhou, China Muslim world, both culturally and socioeconomically. Over the last decade, it has been engaged in the rehabilitation of historic areas in Cairo, Kabul, Herat, Aleppo, Delhi, Zanzibar, Mostar, northern Pakistan, Timbuktu and Mopti. The Trust also supports the Aga Khan Program for Islamic Architecture (AKPIA) at Harvard University and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) as well as www.ArchNet.org, a major online resource on Islamic architecture. 78 STEERING COMMITTEE The Award is governed by a Steering Committee chaired by His Highness the Aga Khan. The current members of the Steering Committee are: • His Highness the Aga Khan, Chairman • Mohammad al-Asad, Founder & Chairman, Center for the Study of the Built Environment, Jordan • Homi K. Bhabha, Director of the Humanities Center, Harvard University, USA • Norman Foster, Founder and chairman, Foster + Partners, UK • Omar Abdulaziz Hallaj, Architect, Syria • Glenn Lowry, Director, Museum of Modern Art, New York, USA • Rahul Mehrotra, Principal, RMA Architects, India • Mohsen Mostafavi, Dean of the Graduate School of Design, Harvard University, USA • Farshid Moussavi, Principal, Farshid Moussavi Architecture, UK • Han Tümertekin, Principal, Mimarlar Tasarim Danismanlik Ltd, Turkey Farrokh Derakhshani is Director of the Award. Aga Khan Awards