The 20 winners of the 2018 AZ Awards are among the leading voices in international architecture and design. Their diverse projects – ranging from an ambitious landscape restoration to a stunning silo-to-residential-tower transformation to an induction light that repurposes spent fluorescent tubes – are a snapshot of the zeitgeist, projects that embody the transformative impact of design. To celebrate their achievement, each winner was awarded a sculptural trophy conceived by acclaimed London-based designer Michael Anastassiades, created in Carrara from a 10cm-tall piece of Salvatori stone.
In 2018, we received an unprecedented 997 entries from 46 countries – the greatest amount of submissions in AZ Awards history. Naming the best of the best was no small feat for our jury of esteemed experts, who, after extensive debate and discussion, selected 64 finalists in April. This year, the panel consisted of Claire Weisz, founding partner at New York architecture, urban design and planning firm WXY; Megan Torza, partner at Toronto architecture, landscape architecture and urban design firm DTAH; the aforementioned Michael Anastassiades; Michel Rojkind, founder of Mexico City architecture firm Rojkind Arquitectos; and Allen Chan, co-founder of Toronto multidisciplinary studio DesignAgency.
Tonight, the 20 illustrious winners of the 2018 AZ Awards were honoured at the Evergreen Brick Works in Toronto. Discover the winning and shortlisted projects below, along with the People’s Choice winners. Félicitations!
The 2018 AZ Awards is presented by Cosentino, Keilhauer, Stone Tile and Laminam, and was sponsored by Flos, Landscape Forms, Urban Capital, and George Brown College School of Design. Gala sponsors were Alpi, DXV, Farrow&Ball, Scavolini, and Tas. The hotel sponsor is The Drake Hotel.
All winners and finalists are featured in the Annual Awards Issue, on newsstands July 2 and available to order online here on June 25.
ARCHITECTURE
Winner (tie):
Taller Héctor Barroso: Entrepinos, Valle de Bravo, Mexico
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Winner (tie):
Davidson Rafailidis: Big Space, Little Space, Buffalo, New York, USA (People’s Choice)
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Finalists:
• la SHED architecture: Maison Wilson, Montreal, Quebec, Canada
• Mork Ulnes Architects: Mylla Hytte, near Oslo, Norway
• nodo17 group: House City Wall, Seville, Spain
• 35-51 Architecture Office: Vanoosh Villa, Vanoosh, Iran
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Winner:
COBE: The Silo, Copenhagen, Denmark
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Finalists:
• Studio MK27: Somosaguas, Madrid, Spain
• gad·Line+ Studio: Contemporary Rural Cluster: Dongziguan Affordable Housing, Hangzhou, China
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Winner:
C.F. Møller Architects: Copenhagen International School, Copenhagen, Denmark
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Finalists:
• NADAAA: Daniels Building, Toronto, Ontario, Canada (People’s Choice)
• Neri&Hu Design and Research Office: The Walled – Tsingpu Yangzhou Retreat, Yangzhou, China
• ORIGEN 19º 41′ 53″ N: RMV – Refugio para Mujeres Victimas de Violencia, Uruapan, Mexico
• Skidmore, Owings & Merrill: Poly International Plaza, Beijing, China
• Antonini Darmon & RMDM Architectes: Extension of the CTLES, Bussy-Saint-Georges, France
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Winner:
Studio MK27: Micasa Volume C, São Paulo, Brazil (People’s Choice)
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Finalists:
• Key Operation Architects: Kanda Terrace, Tokyo, Japan
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Winner:
DevolutioN: DevolutioN PARK, Xiamen, China
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Finalists:
• Claude Cormier + Associés: 18 Shades of Gay, Montreal, Quebec, Canada (People’s Choice)
• RAW: Fine Line, Toronto, Ontario, Canada
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Winner:
Nelson Byrd Woltz Landscape Architects: Orongo Station Stewardship Master Plan, New Zealand
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Finalists:
• John Wardle Architects & NADAAA in collaboration with Oculus: Tanderrum Pedestrian Bridge, Melbourne, Australia
• Claude Cormier + Associés: Berczy Park, Toronto, Ontario, Canada (People’s Choice)
• Turenscape: Building a Greenway – Puyangjiang River Eco-Corridor, Zhejiang Province, China
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CONCEPTS
Winner:
Lemay: Saint Joseph’s Oratory of Mount Royal, Montreal, Quebec, Canada (People’s Choice)
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Finalists:
• Modern Office of Design + Architecture (MoDA): GROW, Calgary, Alberta, Canada
• Trahan Architects: Magazine Street Residence, New Orleans, Louisiana, USA
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Winner:
Public Work with Greenberg Consultants: The Bentway, Toronto, Ontario, Canada (People’s Choice)
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Finalists:
• FXCollaborative: Public Square, New York, New York, USA
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INTERIORS
Winner:
Smartvoll: Loft Panzerhalle, Salzburg, Austria
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Finalists:
• RIGI Design: A White House, Shanghai, China (People’s Choice)
• Jean Verville architecte: IN 3, Montreal, Quebec, Canada
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Winner:
Esrawe Studio: El Califa, Mexico City, Mexico
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Finalists:
• Freelon Adjaye Bond/SmithGroupJJR: Contemplative Court at Smithsonian National Museum of African American History & Culture, Washington, DC, USA (People’s Choice)
• Linehouse: WeWork Weihai Lu China Flagship, Shanghai, China
• Squire and Partners: The Department Store, London, UK
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DESIGN
Winner:
Allermuir: Axyl, by Benjamin Hubert of Layer
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Finalists:
• Two Degrees North: Mantis Table, by Brigitte Shim and Howard Sutcliffe (People’s Choice)
• Arper: Cila, by Lievore Altherr
• Springboard Working Surfaces: Q!
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Winner:
Molteni&C: Gliss Master-Glass, by Vincent Van Duysen (People’s Choice)
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Finalists:
• Teknion: Expansion Cityline, by Martin Chenette and Teknion’s Internal Design Team
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Winner:
Castor Design: Induction Wall Light, by Brian Richer and Kei Ng
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Finalists:
• ANONY: Highwire, by Christian Lo & David Ryan (People’s Choice)
• Innermost: Kepler, by Cohda
• Luceplan: Amisol, by Daniel Rybakken
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Winner:
Moment Factory: Jacques Cartier Bridge Interactive Illumination, Montreal, Quebec, Canada (People’s Choice)
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Finalists:
• Licht Kunst Licht AG with Ingenieurbüro Heiming and ttsp hwp seidel Planungsgesellschaft mbH, HSBC Cafeteria, Dusseldorf, Germany
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Winner:
OberSurfaces: Pure Paper Color, by Patrick Norguet
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Finalists:
• Casali: Cocoon Lounge, by Daniele Merini and Maurizio Casali (People’s Choice)
• Agape: Immersion Bathtub, by Lyndon Neri and Rossana Hu
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EXPERIENTIAL GRAPHIC DESIGN
Rios Clementi Hale Studios: Row DTLA, Los Angeles, California, USA
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Finalists:
• ZGF Architects LLP: University of California, Los Angeles, Wasserman Football Center, Los Angeles, California, USA (People’s Choice)
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ENVIRONMENTAL LEADERSHIP
Nelson Byrd Woltz Landscape Architects and Duke University: Duke University Water Reclamation Pond, Durham, North Carolina, USA (People’s Choice)
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Finalists:
• Ruhl Walker Architects: Gap Cove House, Rockport, Massachusettes, USA
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SOCIAL GOOD
Hariri Pontarini Architects: Casey House, Toronto, Ontario, Canada (People’s Choice)
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Finalists:
• Carleton University/Ben Kaufmann: BIO Water Distilling Device, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada
• Insitu Project: Miaoxia Community Guesthouse, Miaoxia, Sichuan Province, China
• Iredale Pedersen Hook: Fitzroy Crossing Renal Hostel, Fitzroy Crossing, Australia
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A+ Student Award
Shir Katz and Kyriaki Goti, University of Stuttgart: Tangible Formations
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Finalists:
• Anna Morrison, Katie Kelly and YinYu Fong, University of Virginia: Thermal Threshold: Education and Play in the Arctic, Minto, Alaska, USA
• Chen Chu, Massachusetts Institute of Technology: Theatre in Round and Theater in the Ground
• Adam Hopfner, Alan Organschi, Kyle Bradley and Alison Cunningham, Yale School of Architecture: The 2017 Jim Vlock Building Project at Yale, New Haven, Connecticut, USA
• Alykhan Neky, Ryerson University: Netii Apa: Maasai Mara Cultural Center, Maasai Mara, Kenya (People’s Choice)
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