Johannesburg-based Peter Rich Architects have won the prestigious World Building of the Year award for the Mapungubwe Interpretation Centre in Limpopo. The award was given at the World Architecture Festival in Barcelona, Spain over the weekend.
Judges praised the project for its roughness and hand-crafted intelligence. They also admired the way in which it handled issues of sustainability and its relationship to the landscape.
Collecting the award, Peter Rich said: “I will continue my quest to be of service to the less privileged, because they deserve it.”
The Mapungubwe Interpretation Centre is situated at the confluence of the Limpopo and Shashe rivers, and is designed to house artefacts from the region’s prehistory. The project used the skills and labour of local people by involving them in the design and construction of the Centre.
This is the 2nd year the WAF Awards are presented to celebrate and showcase the work of the international architectural community. 15 Finalists were selected from a shortlist of 272 projects by a jury which included Raphael Viñoly, Kengo Kuma, Farshid Moussavi and Matthias Sauerbruch.
Shortlisted architects presented their projects live to more than 1500 delegates, distinguished architects and renowned industry experts at the World Architecture Festival.
The WAF program director and editor of Architectural Review, Paul Finch, said the jury faced a tough challenge to choose a winner from a strong list of finalists from 67 countries.
“The wide geographical range and quality of this year’s designs were exceptionally high and offers a real insight into the current condition and diversity of global architecture. Our congratulations go to Peter Rich Architects who thoroughly deserve to receive world architecture’s highest accolade,” said Finch.
The World Building of the Year 2008 was the Luigi Bocconi University in Milan, designed by Irish practice Grafton Architects.
