Aga Khan Award for Architecture
The Aga Khan Award for Architecture (AKAA) was established by His Highness the Aga Khan in 1977 to identify and encourage building concepts that successfully address the needs and aspirations of Islamic societies. The Award recognises examples of architectural excellence throughout the Islamic world in the fields of contemporary design, social housing, community improvement and development, restoration, reuse and area conservation, as well as landscape design and improvement of the environment. It is presented in three year cycles to multiple projects and is the largest architectural award in the world, with prizes totalling up to US$ 500,000. The Award is also unique in its approach, recognizing projects, teams and stakeholders rather than buildings and personalities.
Award Governance and Process
The Aga Khan Award for Architecture seeks to identify and encourage building concepts that successfully address the needs and aspirations of societies in which Muslims have a significant presence. It is organized on the basis of a three-year cycle and is governed by a Steering Committee chaired by the Aga Khan. A new Committee is constituted each cycle to establish the current eligibility criteria for the projects, to provide thematic direction in response to the priorities and issues that have emerged during the recent past, and to develop plans for the cyclical and long-term future of the Award. The Steering Committee is responsible for the selection of the Master Jury appointed for each Award cycle, and for the programmes of such activities as seminars and field visits, the Award Presentation Ceremony Events, publications and exhibitions.
Prizes totalling up to US$ 500,000 – constituting the largest architectural award in the world – are presented every three years to projects selected by an independent Master Jury. The Award has completed nine cycles of activity since 1977, and documentation has been compiled on over 7,500 building projects located throughout the world. To date, the Master Juries have selected ninety-two projects to receive Awards. The Tenth Award Cycle covers the period from 2005 to 2007.
Sample of Award Winners
- Hassan Fathy, 1980 Chairman's Award for Lifetime Achievements (AKTC)
- Zlatko Ugljen, 1983 for White Mosque, Visoko, Bosnia-Herzegovina (then SFR Yugoslavia) (AKTC) (ArchNet)
- Rifat Chadirji, 1986 Chairman's Award for Lifetime Achievements (AKTC)
- Jean Nouvel, 1989 for the Institut du Monde Arabe (the Arab World Institute), Paris (AKTC) (ArchNet)
- Buro Happold, 1998 for the Tuwaiq Palace, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia (AKTC) (ArchNet)
- Nayyar Ali Dada, 1998 for the Alhamra Arts Council complex, Lahore, Pakistan (AKTC) (ArchNet)
- Geoffrey Bawa, 2001 Chairman's Award for Lifetime Achievements (AKTC)
- Diébédo Francis Kéré, 2004 for Primary School, Gando, Burkina Faso (AKTC) (ArchNet)
Chairman's Award
The Chairman's Award honours accomplishments that fall outside the scope of the Master Jury's mandate, recognizing the lifetime achievements of distinguished architects. It has been presented on three occasions:
- 1980 - Egyptian architect and urban planner Hassan Fathy (AKTC)
- 1986 - Rifat Chadirji, an Iraqi architect and educator (AKTC)
- 2001 - Sri Lankan architect Geoffrey Bawa (AKTC)
Award Cycles
First Award Cycle 1978-1980
The Award Presentation Ceremony took place at the Shalimar Gardens in Lahore, Pakistan. During this cycle, the Chairman's Award was given to Hassan Fathy in recognition of his lifelong commitment to architecture in the Muslim world.
Award Recipients
- Kampung Improvement Programme, Jakarta, Indonesia
- Pondok Pesantren Pabelan, Central Java, Indonesia
- Ertegün House, Bodrum, Turkey
- Turkish Historical Society, Ankara, Turkey
- Mughal Sheraton Hotel, Agra, India
- Conservation of Sidi Bou Saïd, Tunis, Tunisia
- Rüstem Pasa Caravanserai, Edirne, Turkey
- National Museum, Doha, Qatar
- Ali Qapu, Chehel Sutun, and Hasht Behesht, Isfahan, Iran
- Halawa House, Agamy, Egypt
- Medical Centre, Mopti, Mali
- Courtyard Houses, Agadir, Morocco
- Water Towers, Kuwait City, Kuwait
- Intercontinental Hotel and Conference Centre, Mecca, Saudi Arabia
- Agricultural Training Centre, Nianing, Senegal
Second Award Cycle 1981-1983
The Award Presentation Ceremony took place at the Topkapi Palace in Istanbul, Turkey.
Award Recipients
- Great Mosque, Niono, Mali
- Sherefudin's White Mosque, Visoko, Bosnia-Herzegovina
- Ramses Wissa Wassef Arts Centre, Giza, Egypt
- Nail Çakirhan Residence, Akyaka Village, Turkey
- Hafsia Quarter I, Tunis, Tunisia
- Tanjong Jara Beach Hotel and Rantau Abang Visitors' Centre, Kuala Trengganu, Malaysia
- Résidence Andalous, Sousse, Tunisia
- Hajj Terminal, King Abdul Aziz International Airport, Jeddah, Saudi Arabia
- Tomb of Shah Rukn-i-'Alam, Multan, Pakistan
- Darb Qirmiz Quarter, Cairo, Egypt
- Azem Palace, Damascus, Syria
Third Award Cycle 1984-1986
The Award Presentation Ceremony took place at the Badi' Palace in Marrakesh, Morocco. During this cycle, the Chairman's Award was given to Rifat Chadirji for a lifetime dedicated to the search for an appropriate contemporary architectural expression that synthesises elements of the rich Islamic cultural heritage with key principles of the international architecture of the 20th century.
Award Recipients
- Social Security Complex, Istanbul, Turkey
- Dar Lamane Housing, Casablanca, Morocco
- Conservation of Mostar Old Town, Bosnia-Herzegovina (AKTC) (ArchNet)
- Restoration of Al-Aqsa Mosque, al-Haram al-Sharif, Jerusalem
- Yaama Mosque, Yaama, Tahoua, Niger
- Bhong Mosque, Bhong, Rahim-Yar Khan, Pakistan
Honourable Mentions
- Shushtar New Town, Shushtar, Iran
- Kampung Kebalen Improvement, Surabaya, Indonesia
- Ismaïliyya Development Projects, Ismaïliyya, Egypt
- Saïd Naum Mosque, Jakarta, Indonesia
- Historic Sites Development, Istanbul, Turkey
Fourth Award Cycle 1987-1989
The Award Presentation Ceremony took place at the Citadel of Saladin in Cairo, Egypt.
Award Recipients
- Great Omari Mosque, Sidon, Lebanon
- Rehabilitation of Asilah, Morocco
- Grameen Bank Housing Programme, various locations in Bangladesh
- Citra Niaga Urban Development, Samarinda, East Kalimantan, Indonesia
- Gürel Family Summer Residence, Çanakkale, Turkey
- Hayy Assafarat Landscaping and al-Kindi Plaza, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia
- Sidi el-Aloui Primary School, Tunis, Tunisia
- Corniche Mosque, Jeddah, Saudi Arabia
- Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia
- National Assembly Building, Sher-e-Bangla Nagar, Dhaka, Bangladesh
- Institut du Monde Arabe, Paris, France
Fifth Award Cycle 1990-1992
The Award Presentation Ceremony took place at the Registan Square in Samarkand, Uzbekistan.
Award Recipients
- Kairouan Conservation Programme, Tunisia
- Palace Parks Programme, Istanbul, Turkey
- Cultural Park for Children, Cairo, Egypt
- East Wahdat Upgrading Programme, Amman, Jordan
- Kampung Kali Cho-de, Yogyakarta, Indonesia
- Stone Building System, Dar'a Province, Syria
- Demir Holiday Village, Bodrum, Turkey
- Panafrican Institute for Development, Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso
- Entrepreneurship Development Institute of India, Ahmedabad, India
Sixth Award Cycle 1993-1995
The Award Presentation Ceremony took place at the Kraton Surakarta in Solo, Indonesia.
Award Recipients
- Restoration of Bukhara Old City, Uzbekistan
- Conservation of Old Sana'a, Yemen
- Hafsia Quarter II, Tunis, Tunisia
- Khuda-ki-Basti Incremental Development Scheme, Hyderabad, Pakistan
- Aranya Community Housing, Indore, India
- Great Mosque and Redevelopment of the Old City Centre, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia
- Menara Mesiniaga, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
- Kaedi Regional Hospital, Kaedi, Mauritania
- Mosque of the Grand National Assembly, Ankara, Turkey
- Alliance Franco-Sénégalaise, Kaolack, Senegal
- Re-Forestation Programme of the Middle East Technical University, Ankara, Turkey
- Landscaping Integration of the Soekarno-Hatta Airport, Cengkareng, Indonesia
Seventh Award Cycle 1996-1998
The Award Presentation Ceremony took place at the The Alhambra in Granada, Spain.
Award Recipients
- Rehabilitation of Hebron Old Town
- Slum Networking of Indore City, India
- Lepers Hospital, Chopda Taluka, India
- Salinger Residence, Selangor, Malaysia
- Tuwaiq Palace, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia
- Alhamra Arts Council, Lahore, Pakistan
- Vidhan Bhavan, Bhopal, India
Eighth Award Cycle 1999-2001
The Award Presentation Ceremony took place at the Citadel of Aleppo in Syria. During this cycle, the Chairman's Award was given to Geoffrey Bawa to honour and celebrate his lifetime achievements in and contribution to the field of architecture.
Award Recipients
- New Life for Old Structures, Various locations, Iran
- Aït Iktel, Abadou, Morocco
- Kahere Eila Poultry Farming School, Koliagbe, Guinea
- Nubian Museum, Aswan, Egypt
- SOS Children's Village, Aqaba, Jordan
- Olbia Social Centre, Antalya, Turkey
- Bagh-e-Ferdowsi, Tehran, Iran
- Datai Hotel, Pulau Langkawi, Malaysia
Ninth Award Cycle 2002-2004
The Award Presentation Ceremony took place at the Humayun’s Tomb in New Delhi, India.
Award Recipients
- Bibliotheca Alexandrina, Alexandria, Egypt
- Primary School, Gando, Burkina Faso
- Sandbag Shelter Prototypes, various locations
- Restoration of Al-Abbas Mosque, Asnaf, Yemen
- Old City of Jerusalem Revitalisation Programme, Jerusalem
- B2 House, Ayvacik, Turkey
- Petronas Towers, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
Tenth Award Cycle 2005-2007
The Tenth Cycle of the Aga Khan Award for Architecture is currently underway. Information about award procedures, including eligibility criteria and submition procedures, and the latest news, are available at the Award website: www.akdn.org/agency/aktc_akaa.html.
See also
External links
- Aga Khan Award for Architecture (website). Retrieved on 2006-11-15.
- ArchNet Digital Library of Aga Khan Award for Architecture Winners. Retrieved on 2006-11-16.
- Aga Khan Trust for Culture (website). Retrieved on 2006-11-15.
- The Aga Khan Development Network. Retrieved on 2006-11-14.
Categories
Islamic architecture | Architecture awards | Aga Khan Development Network | Aga Khan Award for Architecture winners