The Zumtobel Group Award
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The Zumtobel Group Award

The Zumtobel Group Award
By Editorial Staff -

For the fifth time the Zumtobel Group is inviting submissions for its international architecture award – the Zumtobel Group Award – Innovations for Sustainability and Humanity in the Built Environment – to take place in 2017. Through its architecture award the Austrian lighting group aims to promote pioneering concepts and developments leading to greater humanity and sustainability in the built environment and the way it is designed. The Zumtobel Group Award addresses core issues of our age, such as how best to deal with our finite resources, opportunities for repurposing existing buildings, sustainable development concepts for urban and rural space, utilisation of new materials and innovative processes, and the central question of humane living conditions.
From 30 September 2016 to 15 January 2017, architecture practices, engineering bureaus, urban and landscape planners, universities and technology start-ups, NGOs and other public or private initiatives can submit their current projects via the online registration tool: http://www.submission.zumtobel-group-award.com.
Submissions for the Zumtobel Group Award – Innovations for Sustainability and Humanity in the Built Environment are again invited in three categories, each category being presented by one of the lighting group’s brands
• Applied Innovations (Tridonic)
• Buildings (Zumtobel)
• Urban Developments & Initiatives (Thorn)
 

New Special Award for Young Professionals
For the first time, the 2017 Award will also include a special award for Young Professionals. Projects from all three categories can qualify for this special award if the persons submitting the project are under 40 years of age on 15 January 2017. If projects are submitted by teams, this rule shall apply to all team members. Through this new addition to the award, the Zumtobel Group is sending out a special invitation to the younger generation to enter the competition.
The total purse for the Zumtobel Group Award 2017 is EUR 150,000. This sum will be divided among the winning projects from the three categories and the special award for Young Professionals. Like its predecessors, the Zumtobel Group Award 2017 will be held under the curatorship of Dr. h.c. Kristin Feireiss and Hans-Jürgen Commerell of Aedes Architecture Forum in Berlin. In the first few months of 2017, a first-line jury will select 15 projects in each category from among the submissions. Then, in mid-2017, the main jury of prominent international experts from a variety of disciplines will nominate five projects per category and select a winner from among these five. The presentation ceremony is scheduled for the last quarter of 2017.
The Zumtobel Group Award was first presented in 2007. Since then, a total of nine projects have been awarded first place, while 36 projects have earned nominations. The winners of the previous 2014 award were the Chilean architecture practice Elemental, led by current Pritzker laureate Alejandro Aravena, who is also Director of this year’s Architecture Biennale in Venice, with a master plan for the sustainable reconstruction of the city of Constitución in Chile, which won the category Urban Developments & Initiatives. In the category Applied Innovations, Arup Deutschland GmbH impressed with their SolarLeaf project in Hamburg, Germany, a facade system using photo bioreactor technology. And in the Buildings category, the winners were the architects from Studio Tamassociati in Venice, Italy, for the Port Sudan Pediatric Centre.

The categories
Applied Innovations – presented by the Tridonic brand:

This category rewards outstanding innovations and technological solutions that make a trailblazing contribution to the realisation of a more sustainable built environment. One key focus here is on the topics of the Internet of Things and connectivity. The award in this category addresses technical universities, research institutes, individual engineers and firms of consulting engineers, as well as technology start-ups. Their innovations, for application in or around buildings and urban infrastructure, should, for example, present new approaches to saving energy, using new materials or recycling, closed material and resource cycles, intelligent controls and software applications. Submissions may include innovations that have been proven in a prototype, a test series or an application in an actual project.
Buildings – presented by the Zumtobel brand:
In this category submissions can include outstanding building projects that have been completed within the last three years (30 November 2013 – 15 January 2017). These can relate to new buildings or designs that utilise existing structures. The winning project will meet the highest aesthetic standards and will also feature innovative solutions that permit the more efficient use of resources, enhanced environmental protection and the creation of better living conditions. The jury will pay particular attention to the use of state-of-the-art technology.
Urban Developments & Initiatives – presented by the Thorn brand:
This category targets architects and architectural practices, urban and landscape planners, university groups and NGOs, as well as private and public initiatives. The focus is on projects and initiatives in an urban context: city development/planning strategies, master plans, public space projects and ongoing research projects and social initiatives designed to enhance urban and social settings. Entries may concern projects concluded within the last three years (30 November 2013 – 15 January 2017) as well as ongoing projects and initiatives. The winning project will make a pioneering contribution to greater sustainability and humanity, as well as presenting innovative potential solutions to the core issues facing urban development.
www.submission.zumtobel-group-award.com

Photo: The masterplan for the sustainable reconstruction of the city of Constitución in Chile by Elemental (2014 winner in the category Urban Developments & Initiatives), © Studio Elemental, courtesy Zumtobel Group.

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