The 19 finalists for the Aga Khan Award for Architecture are to be announced this afternoon during an event at the Museum of Modern Art in New York City. Chosen by a nine-member master jury, the projects on the shortlist range from textile factory in Turkey to a women’s health center in Burkina Faso.
 
Established in 1977 and given every three years, the prestigious Aga Khan Award recognizes notable projects in communities where Muslims have a significant presence. The program was created by His Highness the Aga Khan, Imam of the Shia Imami Ismaili Muslims. The prize fund totals $500,000.
 
Various types of projects are eligible, including contemporary architecture, social housing, historic preservation, adaptive reuse, and landscape design. The award is intended to honor all of the entities involved in a project, such as architects, municipalities, builders, clients, craftsmen, and engineers.
 
Following site visits and further discussion by the master jury, the 2010 winners will be revealed in October at a ceremony in Doha, Qatar.
 
2010 Finalists
  • Conservation of Gjirokastra, Gjirokastra, Albania
  • Chandgaon Mosque, Chittagong, Bangladesh
  • Nishorgo Visitor Interpretation Centre, Teknaf, Bangladesh
  • CBF Women's Health Centre, Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso     
  • Bridge School, Xiashi, China
  • Tulou Collective Housing, Guangzhou, China
  • Palmyra House, Alibagh, India
  • Green School, Bali, Indonesia
  • Reconstruction of Ngibikan Village, Yogyakarta, Indonesia
  • Dowlat II Residential Building, Tehran, Iran
  • American University of Beirut Campus Master Plan, Beirut, Lebanon
  • Restoration of the Rubber Smokehouse, Lunas, Kedah, Malaysia
  • Rehabilitation of Al Qaraouiyine Mosque, Fez, Morocco          
  • Souk Waqif, Doha, Qatar
  • Wadi Hanifa Wetlands, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia
  • Madinat Al-Zahra Museum, Cordoba, Spain
  • Yodakandyia Community Centre, Hambantota District, Sri Lanka
  • Revitalization of the recent Heritage of Tunis, Tunis, Tunisia
  • Ipekyol Textile Factory, Edirne, Turkey

The Aga Khan Award Steering Committee

  • (Chairman) His Highness the Aga Khan
  • Mohammad al-Asad, founder and chairman of the Center for the Study of the Built Environment, Jordan
  • Homi K. Bhabha, director of the Humanities Center, Harvard University
  • Norman Foster, founder and chairman of Foster + Partners, UK
  • Glenn Lowry, director, Museum of Modern Art, New York
  • Rahul Mehrotra, principal, RMA Architects, India
  • Mohsen Mostafavi, dean of the Graduate School of Design, Harvard University
  • Farshid Moussavi, partner, Foreign Office Architects, UK
  • Han Tümertekin, principal, Mimarlar Tasarim Danismanlik Ltd, Turkey
  • Farrokh Derakhshani, award director

Members of the 2010 Master Jury

  • Souleymane Bachir Diagne, professor at Columbia University, Department of Philosophy
  • Omar Abdulaziz Hallaj, architect, CEO of Syria Trust for Development
  • Salah Hassan, art historian and curator; director of Africana Studies and Research Center at Cornell University
  • Faryar Javaherian, architect and curator; co-founder of Gamma Consultants, Iran
  • Anish Kapoor, artist, UK
  • Kongjian Yu, landscape architect and urbanist; founder and dean of Graduate School of Landscape Architecture at Peking University, China
  • Jean Nouvel, architect; founding partner at Ateliers Jean Nouvel, France
  • Alice Rawsthorn, design critic, International Herald Tribune
  • Basem Al Shihabi, architect; managing partner at Omrania & Associates, Saudi Arabia