The selection of the finalist and winning works of the fifth edition of the Living Places – Simon Architecture Prize 2024 reflect the capacity of contemporary architecture to address global challenges, such as the climate emergency, social equity, health and well-being.
The international jury of the Living Places – Simon Architecture Prize has highlighted the works capable of addressing global challenges with a socio-environmental impact, while promoting the development of communities and reactivating the most vulnerable inhabited areas.
Since its first edition in 2016, the vocation of this recognition is to distinguish architectural projects whose excellence enhances the capacity of spaces to provide comfort to their inhabitants and for the use of video as a tool to bring architecture closer to the general public.
Coconut Harvester Center by Estudio Flume. Photograph by Maíra Acayaba.
The winning work in the Collective Places category is “Coconut Harvester Center”, located in Sumaúma Village, in northern Brazil. The architectural project is by Estudio Flume, based in São Paulo, Brazil, and the video was made by Luara Oliveira.
The jury declares that “Coconut Harvester Center” embodies the meaning of collectivity from the inclusivity built through a small community of women and their productive work, caring for and preserving the natural environment in which they are rooted. This is a subtle and sensitive project, with a very careful and intelligent design of details, based on the reuse of local materials. The audiovisual piece expresses the interrelation between the community of women, the architecture and the natural ecosystem to which they belong, celebrating the sense of beauty and authenticity that it exudes.
The winning work in the Personal Places category is "Kontigo", located in Acapulco, Mexico. The architectural project is by Manuel Cervantes Estudio, based in Mexico City, and the video was made by the studio itself.
Kontigo by Manuel Cervantes Estudio. Photograph by Cesar Bejar.
The jury values "Kontigo" as a project that addresses the climate emergency from direct action, responding to a specific place and context. It is a contribution that puts broader issues on the table from a specific project. It shows the importance of the process and speaks of unfinished construction. It addresses the urgency of how to build new humble homes with worthy spatial qualities by deploying a sequence rich in intermediate spaces. The video shows both the context of destruction and this architecture that has become the support for domestic life in a direct and raw way.
«Just as architecture is in the process of redefining how it functions socially and ecologically, cinema, as a political space, is also evolving. I think this is a unique moment in which we see both disciplines transforming in the way they relate to each other.»
Andrés Jaque, jury member.
«Quinze decibels» and its director Matilda Vidal de Llobatera were awarded the Best Narrative award for their use of sound as a narrative motif to describe space and the impact of the urban transformation it embodies. The piece presents the Consell de Cent Green Hub urban regeneration project in Barcelona, the work of Cierto Estudio and B67 Arquitectes, both based in Barcelona.
Consell de Cent Green Hub by Cierto Estudio + B67 Arquitectes. Photograph by Marta Vidal.
The jury understands “Quinze decibels” as a poetic and beautiful piece that uses sound as a narrative motif to describe the space and the impact of the urban transformation it embodies. The high quality of the immersive atmosphere created is conveyed by focusing on its acoustics, that of a new ecosystem in the middle of the European city.
The finalist projects selected by the jury in the Collective Places category: “Altar 2024” by Taller Popular de Diseño, Taller Uno a Uno and Manuel Alejandro, “Communal Barbeque” by h3o architects, “Consell de Cent Green Hub” by Cierto Estudio and B67 Arquitectes and “Riells Square” by Comas Pont Arquitectes.
The finalist projects selected by the jury in the Personal Places category: “10k House” by TAKK, “Chikenk’s Atelier” by Messina Rivas, “Ventura 7” by Sarquella Torres and “Villain House” by Architecture Office Clàudia Raurell.
The awards ceremony will take place on February 12, 2025, at the Phenomena movie theater in Barcelona. The event will feature the presence of the winning studios and some members of the jury, as well as the screening of videos of both the finalist and winning works.
