06/2003 | Glass Act: Japanese Project
Wins DuPont Benedictus Award |
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Koichi Yasuda, Ken Kannari, and Masao Nishioka of Nikken Sekki, Tokyo, received the 2003 DuPont Benedictus Award for innovation in architectural design using laminated glass for their Pola Museum of Art in Hakone-Machi, Japan. The glass, in the form of a transparent, sloped skylight, serves as the primary architectural feature of a museum that houses a private collection of Impressionist paintings. “The skylight is the light spine of the museum,” the architects stated. “Using [clear laminated glass], we were able to create a highly transparent space despite the cold climate of the area.” Through the skylight, visitors can appreciate views of the nearby village of Kozukayama, and can understand the overall layout of the building by taking in a panoramic view downward through the glass atrium, extending to the second underground floor. Use of laminated glass for the skylight, the award organizers point out, meant that the architects could mitigate the harmful effects of UV rays on the artwork and meet the safety and security codes developed in an area where earthquakes are prevalent. The museum architects also used glass in other ways: incorporated into structural ribs supporting the skylight, as a structural beam for the skylight ledge, for the museum’s entry bridge balustrade, and for a bus stop outside the facility that also sports a laminated glass cantilevered canopy to protect visitors from the elements. “This project is really sensual,” said Lewis Koerner, AIA, a DuPont Benedictus juror. “It’s built in the middle of a forest, a five-story structure with only half a story above ground. The atrium showers visitors with light and brings natural light to all the circulation areas. It permeates the space below the light.” Sylvester Damianos, FAIA, and Julie Vanden Berg Snow, FAIA, also served as jurors. Santiago Calatrava commented on the winning projects and highlighted two of them—the Pola Museum and the Lens Ceiling of the Phoenix Courthouse—for outstanding technical and design innovation. The awards, named for the French chemist who discovered the process for laminating glass, are organized by the AIA and the International Union of Architects (UIA), with sponsorship by DuPont, producer of a broad family of architectural glass laminating products and technologies. 2003 Category Winners • Industrial: Protective housing at the Petuel Tunnel, Munich, by Fritz Auer and Carlo Weber of Auer + Weber + Architekten • Education: Schule am Mummelsoll (school for special-needs children), Berlin, by Armand Grüntuch and Almut Ernst, Grüntuch Ernst Architekten. 2003 Honorable Mentions
• Commercial: • Government •
Recreational • Residential Lebanese student wins top prize Students at Universidad La Salle in Mexico City; the Lebanese American University in Byblos; The University of Hong Kong; and the National University of Singapore received honorable mentions. Copyright 2003 The American Institute of Architects. All rights reserved. Home Page |
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