winner
Slack Education Campus, Kenya, by Francis Kerry / Kerry Architecture
Photography: Kerry Architects
The design of this sustainable educational campus, on the banks of Lake Turkana in Kenya, was inspired by the huge termite mounds scattered throughout the area. Berlin-based architect Francis Kerry has gained widespread acclaim for the first time in a decade for a series of school projects in his native Burkina Faso and is known for his site-specific approach that considers the needs of local communities. The Slack campus consists of five main buildings that span two levels. The block is arranged circularly, around a space that allows students to gather. Various shaded terraces, covered with planted pergolas, and wide steps provide options for outdoor teaching. Inside, the buildings contain classrooms, flexible workshops, warehouses, and art facilities. The windows feature woven-straw shades, in traditional mkeka style, that can be adjusted to the setting of the sun, and mosquito nets keep insects out while keeping the air flowing. All labor was local and all items were made on site.
Features clues: The design of this set of hillside buildings looks to nature to aid in ventilation, temperature control and comfort
Previous work of the engineer: Gando Primary School, Burkina Faso; Mali National Park; Nomdo Orphanage, Burkina Faso; Serpentine Suite 2017, London
Shortlist
The shortlist for the Wallpaper*Design 2022 Awards for Best Public Building spans cultural institutions in European countries, educational and community facilities in Asia, and art campuses in the USA. The list was varied and the architecture was purposeful and eye-catching, but it was up to our judges to decide which one would crown as the best public building of the year.
Extension of the MKM Museum Küppersmühle, Germany, by Herzog & de Meuron
Photography: Simon Mings
The MKM in Duisburg Küppersmühle holds one of the most comprehensive private collections of German post-war art. Housed in a complex of industrial buildings dating back to 1908, the original museum was designed in 1999 by Herzog & de Meuron, and the Swiss studio was called back in 2013 to begin the recently completed expansion, and usher in a new era for the museum. Respecting the site’s orthogonal brick volumes and the wider setting, the architects devised an addition that becomes a seamless part of the historic whole. Divided into three parts, the new addition contains exhibition halls, facilities and facilities for handling artworks across five floors (one of which is underground). Bridges across the complex’s original silos connect the old and new parts, and materials were chosen to complement and draw upon the historical fabric. An eye-catching curved staircase connects all floors in the new section, supporting the flow of circulation throughout. At the same time, through the tone of the terracotta and woven concrete materials, it reflects, along with the broader project, the general character of the Küppersmühle “as a typical industrial facility of the nineteenth and twentieth centuries”.
Features clues: This extension of the museum reflects the industrial character of the former mill and silos that make up the current space of the museum, seamlessly linking the old and the new.
Architects’ previous work: Tate Modern, London; de Young Museum, San Francisco; Vitrahaus, Will am Rhein; 1111 Lincoln Road Automotive Garage, Miami; Elbe Philharmonic Hall, Hamburg; M+, Hong Kong
Babin Yar Synagogue, Ukraine, by Manuel Herz
Designed by Swiss architect Manuel Herz, and part of the Babin Yar Holocaust Memorial Foundation initiative, this innovative and robust building not only serves as a temple, helping to re-establish the existing local Jewish community, but also serves as a reminder of the site’s history. Babin Yar, a forested area west of Kiev, was the site of one of the worst Jewish pogroms of World War II. The landscape of the area has changed since then, from jungle to city park. Hertz relied on both elements to design it and create a striking and moving structure that recalls the idea of the book – a central feature of the Jewish religious service. The Babin Yar Synagogue is located on a wooden platform, so as not to have deep foundations that disturb the natural context, and the structure was built using a wooden and iron frame. The interior is decorated with symbols and icons related to Judaism and the former synagogues on the site, which have since been destroyed.
Features clues: Made of oak and solid wood, this stunning structure is designed to open like a book, creating a spacious, sheltered space for worship.
Previous work of the engineer: Ballet Mécanique apartment building, Zurich; Social housing and nurseries, Lyon; Expansion of Tambacounda Hospital, Senegal
Amant Art Campus, USA, by SO-IL
Photography: Iwan Pan
This exhibition, performance, and artist residency space was designed by New York architecture studio SO-IL for the young private arts organization Amant, a flexible art and research platform based in Brooklyn and Tuscany. Located in an industrial district in East Williamsburg, New York, and connected by a visual panel that includes cast-in-situ concrete, brick, and galvanized steel, the campus, which is spread across three blocks, is designed as an oasis within the district, with materials intended to make the four buildings partially anonymous within its industrial landscape. The Amant Art Campus provides enough space for artists to focus on and develop their work while also running an open events program. “Usually, the public is only invited to the area closest to the street, but here we turned that around,” says Florian Edenburg, co-founder of SO-IL. “The performance space and library/cafe are only accessible via an alley and courtyard, passing through the studios and offices.”
Features clues: Spread across three blocks in North Brooklyn, this art campus, designed to encourage community participation, is made of materials that make it partially anonymous in the industrial landscape.
Architects’ previous work: Kokje Gallery – K3, Seoul; K11 Center for Arts and Culture, Hong Kong; Fries Art Gallery, New York; Jan Shrem and Maria Manetti Shrim Museum of Art, California
Peach Hut, China, by Atelier Xi
Photography: Zhang Zhao
Atelier Xi was commissioned to design an arts and culture center in Henan Province, in rural China, and came up with not one but seven ideas. The Shenzhen architecture studio was originally commissioned to design a 300-square-meter public building, but because it was meant to serve an area covering 630 square kilometres, the team proposed seven smaller pavilions, spread across the vast province to reach more people. Six are yet to be built, but the first, Peach Hut, located in a peach grove and inspired by the trees of the site, aims to provide a welcoming space for community activities and a small library, as well as support local trade efforts and host tasting and selling activities. The pavilion is made up of a series of arches, painted in rose-cast-in-situ concrete with wood moldings that define the contours of curvilinear geometry, while the windows, in their various forms, respond to subtle differences in light, casting ever-changing shadows and providing panoramic views across peach fields.
Features clues: A graceful tree-like pavilion, cast from pink concrete and nestled in an orchard, provides educational resources and support for its rural Chinese community.
Architects’ previous work: library in ruins, Henan Province; Way House, Shanghai; Floating Fantasy Land Kindergarten, Wuhan
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