Press release

Press release April 2011

14 nations represented at the ECOLA Conference

Architects focus on plaster

Plaster and its role in energy-efficient construction and renovation

March 2011 saw the third European Conference of Leading Architects (ECOLA) take place. 30 leading European architects discussed the current applications of plaster and its future scope for design in the region of Vorarlberg, the jewel in Austria’s architectural crown. The highlight of the conference was the presentation of the ECOLA Awards for the most exceptional plastered buildings seen in recent years. 

The culmination of the ECOLA Awards 2010/2011 was marked by the European Conference of Leading Architects. This is already the third occasion on which Sto AG, the Dachverband der deutschen Stuckateure (German Plasterers’ Union) and the Bundesverband Ausbau und Fassade (German Association for Interior Finishing and Facades) of the German Construction Confederation have held the Europe-wide competition. Those invited to the conference were all of the award winners, members of the nomination committee and judges as well as other architects from all over Europe.

The economical and ecological imperative to construct increasingly energy-efficient buildings has had a decisive impact on facade technology in recent years. A special merit for carbon-optimised building was therefore presented once again at the ECOLA Awards 2010/2011 and this year it went to Mierta & Kurt Lazzarini Architekten from Samedan (CH) for their new building “Personalhaus Areal Koch in Samedan“ which complies with the Swiss Minergie energy standard. The judging committee paid special recognition to this building’s “combination of sustainable construction and high architectural quality”, while committee member Wolfgang Lohbeck, architect and representative of Greenpeace Germany, emphasised the role of the Personalhaus as “a particularly good representative of the issue of sustainable construction as a whole.”

The judges, headed by Prof. Michael Szyszkowitz, Graz, also awarded two first prizes and two special commendations to some of the 144 participants selected by 18 nomination committee members from twelve European countries (www.ecola-award.eu). The first prize in the Refurbishment/Renovation/Conversion category went to Nieto Sobejano Arquitectos, Madrid, for the extension of the Moritzburg Museum in Halle (Saale). A first prize was also awarded in the New Building category; this went to Benthem Crouwel Architects, Aachen, for the extension of the Deutsches Bergbau-Museum (German Mining Museum) in Bochum. Special commendations were awarded to Miller & Maranta, Basel, for the project “Altes Hospiz St. Gotthard“ and to Delugan Meissl Associated Architects, Vienna, for the “Wohnbau Brauerei Liesing“.

Set against a backdrop of numerous examples of contemporary Vorarlberg architecture, conference topics included the presentation of an ongoing research project examining wall insulation systems, the presentation of and discussions regarding the award-winning projects and practical approaches to plaster, where design ideas were both tested and addressed.

Winners of the ECOLA Awards 2010/2011

Special merit for carbon-optimised building
Personalhaus Areal Koch, Samedan, CH
Mierta & Kurt Lazzarini Architekten, Samedan, CH

 

1st prize (Refurbishment/Renovation/Conversion category)
Extension of the Moritzburg Museum, Halle, DE
Nieto Sobejano Arquitectos, Madrid, ES

 

1st prize (New Building category)
Extension of the Deutsches Bergbau-Museum (German Mining Museum), Bochum, DE
Benthem Crouwel Architects, Amsterdam, NL

 

Special commendation
Altes Hospiz St. Gotthard, St. Gotthard, CH
Miller & Maranta, Basel, CH

 

Special commendation
Wohnbau Brauerei Liesing, Vienna, AT
Delugan Meissl Associated Architects, Vienna, AT
 

Judging committee

  • Prof. Enrique Alvarez-Sala Walther (Rubio Y Alvarez-Sala, Madrid, ES)
  • Prof. Louis Becker (Henning Larsen Architects, Copenhagen, DK)
  • Wolfgang Lohbeck (Greenpeace e.V., Hamburg, DE)
  • Prof. Michael Szyszkowitz (Szyszkowitz Kowalski Architekten, Graz, AT)
  • Meike Weber (DETAIL, Munich, DE)

 

Nomination committee

  • Mateusz Adamczyk (Budcud, Krakow, PL)
  • Rafael Aranda (RCR Arquitectes, Girona, ES)
  • Rossana Atena (Atena Studio, Milan, IT)
  • Sean Clifton (Jestico & Whiles, London, GB)
  • Mels Crouwel (Benthem Crouwel Architekten BV bna, Amsterdam, NL)
  • Stefan Forster (Stefan Forster Architekten, Frankfurt, DE)
  • Anna Hallgren (Dissing +Weitling architecture a/s, Copenhagen, DK)
  • Anne Jumeau (Peripheriques, Paris, FR)
  • Prof. Uwe Kiessler (Kiessler und Partner, Munich, DE)
  • David Kohn (David Kohn Architects, London, GB)
  • Richard Manahl (Artec Architekten, Vienna, AT)
  • Andreas Marth (Alles wird gut Architektur ZT GmbH, Vienna, AT)
  • Milan Rak (archteam, Brno, CZ)
  • Markus Schaefer (Hosoya Schaefer Architects, Zurich, CH)
  • Yves Schihin (Burkhalter Sumi Architekten, Zurich, CH)
  • Mark Schüler (Schweger Associated Architects, Hamburg, DE)
  • Francois Valentiny (Hermann & Valentiny, Luxembourg, LU)
  • Francesco Veenstra (Mecanoo architecten b.v., Delft, NL)
  • Julian Weyer (CF Møller, Copenhagen, DK)