BIG, Zaha Hadid Architects Among 2016 Aga Khan Award Recipients
The honor, bestowed every three years, recognizes architectural projects that benefit Muslim communities.
The Bait Ur Rouf Mosque was designed by Marina Tabassum in a densifying area of Dhaka, Bangladesh.
Photo © Aga Khan Trust for Culture/Rajesh Vora
Completed in 2012, the mosque relies on a simple material vocabulary to elegant effect. Porous brick walls allow for natural ventilation and brings in light.
Photo © Aga Khan Trust for Culture/Rajesh Vora
In plan, the square-shaped building is more complex: In order to be in accord with the quibla—the direction of the holy Kaaba mosque in Mecca—the building was constructed on a plinth and rotated 13 degrees.
Photo © Aga Khan Trust for Culture/Rajesh Vora
The architect oriented the prayer hall within an inner circular volume. Light filters in through small circular perforations in the ceiling.
Photo © Aga Khan Trust for Culture/Rajesh Vora
The Friendship Centre in rural Bangladesh was designed by Kashef Chowdhury of the firm Urbana as a training center for an NGO. The architects drew inspiration from the ancient Mahasthangarh ruins and built the complex from local brick.
Photo © Aga Khan Trust for Culture/Rajesh Vora
The complex is conceived as a series of pavilions, with water features and courtyards throughout.
Photo © Aga Khan Trust for Culture/Rajesh Vora
The Friendship Centre includes offices, classrooms, prayer rooms, and residences.
Photo © Aga Khan Trust for Culture/Rajesh Vora
The Centre also features green roofs.
Photo © Aga Khan Trust for Culture/Rajesh Vora
In Beijing, the combined architecture team of ZAO, standardarchitecture, and Zhang Ke designed a children’s library and art centre for the Cha’er Hutong, near a major mosque and just one kilometer from Tiananmen Square.
Photo © Aga Khan Trust for Culture / Su Shengliang, ZAO, standardarchitecture
An outdoor staircase allows children to climb to the roof and play beneath the courtyard’s central scholar tree.
Photo © Aga Khan Trust for Culture / Zhang MingMing, ZAO, standardarchitecture
The architects inserted the new brick volumes inside existing structures within a 300-year-old courtyard.
Photo © Aga Khan Trust for Culture / Wang Ziling, ZAO, standardarchitecture
A pint-sized reading room sits beneath the central tree. The bricks were created with a mix of concrete and Chinese ink.
Photo © Aga Khan Trust for Culture / Wang Ziling, ZAO, standardarchitecture
In addition to a library and art center, the building also acts as a daycare space for the community.
Photo © Aga Khan Trust for Culture / Zhang MingMing, ZAO, standardarchitecture
BIG designed the park Superkilen for one of Copenhagen’s most diverse urban neighborhoods. The park celebrates the richness of the area’s various ethnic groups.
Photo © Aga Khan Trust for Culture / Kristian Skeie
Completed in 2011, BIG wanted to make the park as diverse and as participatory as possible and included elements such as a bike paths, sports areas, and playgrounds, as well as objects imported from other countries. Shown here is a bus stop from Kazakhstan.
Photo © Aga Khan Trust for Culture / Kristian Skeie
One square features a fountain from Morocco.
Photo © Aga Khan Trust for Culture / Kristian Skeie
BIG installed a black octopus sculpture from Japan in a square.
Photo © Aga Khan Trust for Culture / Kristian Skeie
A sunken basketball court allows for spontaneous games of pick-up.
Photo © Aga Khan Trust for Culture / Kristian Skeie
Superkilen’s “red square” provides much needed public gathering space for the neighborhood.
Photo © Aga Khan Trust for Culture / Kristian Skeie
The Tabiat Pedestrian Bridge links two parks in Tehran, Iran.
Photo © Aga Khan Trust for Culture / Barzin Baharlouie
The design, by Diba Tensile Architecture, Leila Araghian, and Alireza Behzadi was the result of an architectural competition.
Photo © Aga Khan Trust for Culture / Barzin Baharlouie
The undulating bridge has up to three different levels, connected by ramps, and features seating and green spaces.
Photo © Aga Khan Trust for Culture / Barzin Baharlouie
The undulating bridge has up to three different levels, connected by ramps, and features seating and green spaces.
Photo © Aga Khan Trust for Culture / Barzin Baharlouie
Zaha Hadid Architects completed the dramatically cantilevered Issam Fares Institute for Public Policy and International Affairs for the American University of Beirut in 2014.
Photo © Aga Khan Trust for Culture / Cemal Emden
The concrete building facilitates new links to the surrounding campus through a series of ramps and new civic and outdoor spaces.
Photo © Aga Khan Trust for Culture / Cemal Emden
The concrete building facilitates new links to the surrounding campus through a series of ramps and new civic and outdoor spaces.
Photo © Aga Khan Trust for Culture / Cemal Emden
A double-height covered entrance courtyard is a major feature of the Institute.
Photo © Aga Khan Trust for Culture / Cemal Emden
A roof terrace offers views to the sea.
Photo © Aga Khan Trust for Culture / Cemal Emden
A light-filled lounge space and outdoor roof terrace provide spaces to study and relax.
Photo © Aga Khan Trust for Culture / Cemal Emden
Today the recipients of the Agha Khan Award for Architecture were announced in Abu Dhabi. The shared $1 million prize, established by His Highness the Aga Khan in 1977, honors buildings which serve Muslim communities through excellence in design and program. The award, considered one of architecture’s most prestigious honors, is bestowed every three years. This year’s winning projects were chosen from a pool of 348 nominated buildings in 69 countries and selected by a jury that included Mohsen Mostafavi, dean of Harvard’s GSD, as well as architects Emre Arolat and Dominique Perrault.
The six 2016 recipients are:
- Bait Ur Rouf Mosque in Dhaka, Bangladesh by Marina Tabassum
- Friendship Centre in Gaibandha, Bangladesh by Kashef Chowdhury / URBANA
- Hutong Children’s Library and Art Centre in Beijing China, by ZAO, standardarchitecture, and Zhang Ke
- Superkilen in Copenhagen, Denmark by Bjarke Ingels Group, Topotek 1, and Superflex
- Tabiat Pedestrian Bridge Tehran, Iran by Diba Tensile Architecture / Leila Araghian, and Alireza Behzadi
- Issam Fares Institute in Beirut, Lebanon by Zaha Hadid Architects
To learn more about each winning project, click through the slideshow.
