An “interpretation center” vaguely resembling a hobbit house, built at the convergence of two rivers in South Africa, won the “Building of the Year” award Friday at the World Architecture Festival in Barcelona, touted as “the biggest architectural awards program in the world.”
Mapungubwe Interpretation Centre in South Africa was designed by Peter Rich Architects of Johannesburg. Judges praised the design for its “roughness and hand-crafted intelligence.” It also earned praise for addressing sustainability issues and its “relationship to the landscape.” The center was “clearly the most architecturally and psychologically powerful project in the final,” according to a press release. “It carries both weight and a message of complexity to the outside world,” said jury member Suha Ozkan.
 Mapungubwe Interpretation Centre |
Nevertheless, it still looks like a hobbit house.
The World Architecture Festival awards are in their second year and have already taken on a certain amount of prestige. This year 272 projects were shortlisted from 67 different countries, representing many of the top architects in the world. The final “super jury” included Raphael Viñoly, Kengo Kuma, Farshid Moussavi and Matthias Sauerbruch.
The award for the “World’s Best Home” went to the “origami bottle house,” an Australian entry designed by McBride Charles Ryan.
 Klein Bottle House |
The design, fashioned after a Klein bottle, features a living room open to the trees. (A full description of the architect’s plan can be found here.)
 Winner for Best House |
The award for Best Housing Development went to The Met, a tower project in Bangkok designed by WOHA of Singapore. The project, which won a futures award from MIPIM, was lauded for its ability to explore “how aspects of low-rise tropical housing can be applied to create outdoor-indoor spaces in the sky.”
 The Met |
The full list of winners can be found here.
