The Aga Khan Award for Architecture established in 1977 is given every three years to projects that set new standards of excellence in architecture, planning practices, historic preservation and landscape architecture.
Through its efforts, the Award seeks to identify and encourage building concepts that successfully address the needs and aspirations of societies across the world, in which Muslims have a significant presence.
In this year’s edition of the Award, Iranian architects Leila Araghian and Alireza Behzadi won Aga Khan for Tabiat (Nature) Pedestrian Bridge, a multi-level bridge spanning a busy motorway that has created a dynamic new urban space.
The bridge has also won the 2015 Architizer A+Awards in +Engineering category.
Over the course of the last 39 years, most of the great architects of our time have either won the Award or served on its Master Jury or Steering Committee, from Zaha Hadid to Norman Foster, Charles Correa to Frank Gehry, Jean Nouvel to Hassan Fathy.
Other winners of this year’s award include:
LEBANON
Issam Fares Institute, Beirut (Architect: Zaha Hadid Architects)
A new building for the American University of Beirut’s campus, radical in composition but respectful of its traditional context.
BANGLADESH
Bait Ur Rouf Mosque, Dhaka (Architect: Marina Tabassum)
A refuge for spirituality in urban Dhaka, selected for its beautiful use of natural light.
Friendship Centre, Gaibandha (Architect: Kashef Chowdhury / URBANA)
A community centre which makes a virtue of an area susceptible to flooding in rural Bangladesh.
CHINA
Hutong Children’s Library and Art Centre, Beijing (Architect: ZAO / standardarchitecture / Zhang Ke)
A children’s library selected for its embodiment of contemporary life in the traditional courtyard residences of Beijing’s Hutongs.
DENMARK
Superkilen, Copenhagen (Architects: BIG – Bjarke Ingels Group, Topotek 1 and Superflex) A public space promoting integration across lines of ethnicity, religion and culture.
MS/PR