The interest in the Award was overwhelming, and more than 2000 students from 92 countries registered to participate. The number of submissions more than doubled compared to 2004 reaching 557 projects from 225 schools in 53 countries.
The jury had been put to hard work at the jury meeting in Madrid where they reviewed all 557 entries to find the winners, who represented 12 different countries.
Jury member Kengo Kuma (Japan) said after the jury meeting:
“I am very surprised to see that more than 500 students applied. The biggest reason is that the theme of light is a very contemporary theme for young architects, whereas the shape and the form were the main themes of architecture in the middle of the 20th century, but now the main theme has moved from the form to the phenomena. Light can be the main theme of today.”
At the Award event at the Guggenheim Bilbao 1st prize winner Louise Grønlund said about her entry “A museum of photography”:
“The IVA theme ‘Light of Tomorrow’ translates directly to my own research in the phenomenology and perception of light and sight. To design a museum for photography is to create the optimum conditions for seeing. To see not only the photography, but also to make the spectator aware of what he sees and the conditions in which he is seeing.”
Apart from the three prize winners, the 17 honourable mentions were announced and celebrated at the Award event, where they met the jury members and other representatives from the international architectural and building community. You can view films from the award event here.
View 2006 entries
Projects displayed at the jury meeting 2006