Wienerberger Brick Award 14
"Brick has great potential in terms of thermal energy savings. Moreover, it is simply beautiful." Wang Shu
For one decade now, Wienerberger AG has initiated the international "Wienerberger Brick Award" every two years.
More than 1,500 projects from all over the world have been submitted to the Wienerberger Brick Award over the last 10 years.
Every time, the biennially changing international jury consisting of renowned architects and architecture critics faces the difficult task to agree on projects characterised by that certain something as well as one grand winner. Wienerberger has no vote in the selection of the category winners.
The jury for the Wienerberger Brick Award 14 consisted of four prominent members: Chinese architect and Pritzker Prize winner 2012, Wang Shu, architects Vera Yanovshtchinsky (Netherlands) and Ewa Kuryłowicz (Poland)as well as Wienerberger Brick Award winner in 2012, Pavol Paňák (Slovakia). The jury had the task to select five prize winners including a grand prize from 50 nominated projects.
Wang Shu commented on the building material taking centre stage as follows: “When we talk about brick, people think that we talk about tradition. But in this competition, you can find many works with an innovative approach, giving the brick a new meaning and a new appearance. I think this is very important.”
Ewa Kuryłowicz spoke in high terms of brick regarding its energy efficiency, aesthetics and varied application possibilities: “Brick is very economical, especially when it is locally available. Additionally, brick has great potential in terms of thermal energy savings. Moreover, it is simply beautiful: it is small in scale and therefore allows the implementation of architectural fantasies, of very different design variants – this is well demonstrated by many of the entries for the Brick Award.”
Pavol Panak attested the construction material bright prospects for the future: To me brick is a tool of modularity, of the discipline of a building – also the tool of order on a very small scale, and exactly because it is so small it is a means of creativity. I actually dare to say that brick is the only very, very traditional material with a very, very promising future.”