Social Good - AZ Awards

The finalists

Social Good

Are

Finalist

Project

Tiny Victories

Location

Austin, U.S.

Firm

Michael Hsu Office of Architecture, U.S.

Summary

This micro-house serves as one of five templates for the 200 new units being added to Community First! Village, which provides accommodations to people transitioning out of homelessness in Austin, Texas. The initial prototype was developed for a man seeking a heightened sense of privacy that would contrast his prior experiences on the streets. In turn, an ultra-secluded interior brings in light from a glass copula in its lofted ceiling, yet still maintains a sense of warmth thanks to the Baltic birch used to construct its central storage wall, built-in desk and cozy bed nook. Meanwhile, space for guests and views of the outdoors are both satisfied by an expansive screened-in patio.

Finalist

Project

El Terreno

Location

Mexico City, Mexico

Firm

Vertebral, Mexico

Summary

“Spaces that are strictly defined rapidly become obsolete. By contrast, anonymous and ambiguous spaces are resilient and multi-faceted, allowing their significance and purpose to shift among users.” That’s how the Mexico City–based architects at Vertebral describe El Terreno, their uniquely versatile project in the Mexican capital.

Finalist

Project

Rajkumari Ratnavati Girls School

Location

Jaisalmer, India

Firm

Diana Kellogg Architects, U.S.

Summary

Female literacy in Rajasthan’s Thar Desert region currently sits at 32 per cent — but if this new school commissioned by non-profit CITTA has anything to do with it, that number will soon be a lot higher. Built entirely out of Jaisalmer sandstone by community craftspeople, the school’s elliptical design — a reference to both sand dunes and the infinite power of feminine strength — nods to local vernacular with its sun-blocking jali screens. Indoor fans deliver an additional way to beat the heat, and in one of the project’s many sustainability considerations, they are powered entirely by a rooftop solar panel canopy. Talk about a meaningful lesson in design.

Finalist

Project

Vertical Activation: A Scaffold for Economic Recovery

Location

Bogotá, Colombia

Firms

Sociedad Colombiana de Arquitectos (Colombia), TALLER Architects (Colombia) and Colab-19 (Colombia)

Summary

When the time came to reopen Bogotá after Colombia’s 165-day lockdown, the municipal government sought new strategies to help the city’s markets rebuild their vibrancy. Under social distancing requirements, only six tables would be possible in each market’s limited outdoor space. The solution: expand upward. Temporary vertical scaffolding introduces tiers of seating to safely accommodate more diners. An early execution at La Perseverancia Market was soon followed by a second at La Concordia Market Square, which wraps woven hemp around the scaffolding to better reflect the local design language, and also introduces a top viewing deck that visitors can enjoy without purchasing food.

And

Social Good

The People’s Choice

People’s choice

Project

Rajkumari Ratnavati Girls School

Location

Jaisalmer, India

Firm

Diana Kellogg Architects, U.S.

Diana Kellogg: 2021 AZ Award Winner in Buildings Under 1000SqM

“I wanted to create a building about light and community — a structure that resonates with the soul of its people and enforces the natural energies to nurture and heal the women and girls,” Diana Kellogg says. The New York architect has done just that with the Rajkumari Ratnavati Girls School, a resplendent haven in a region of India where female literacy is barely above 30 per cent. The pro bono project serves 400 girls from below the poverty line within an oval form that references femininity and infinity — and the dunes of its desert home.

The school is made of regionally available stone — Dabri veneer and Jodhpur — and was built with the help of its future students’ parents. Local craft and tradition informed its main features, including a parapet wall that reinvents the jali screen (a privacy device for women) and circulates air while keeping out sand and direct sunlight. The building’s orientation also helps mitigate intense solar gain while maximizing prevailing wind.

(more…)

And

Social Good

The Winner

Winner

Project

El Terreno

Location

Mexico City, Mexico

Firm

Vertebral, Mexico

Elías Kalach and Teddy Nanes: 2021 AZ Award Winners in Social Good

Presented By: Landscape Forms

The new community garden and educational nook is a distinctly flexible space — though hardly an anonymous one. Constructed using recycled materials left over from the studio’s other projects, the subtle intervention transforms a local hill into a multi-use social destination.

“El Terreno is a fantastic project — and a very important one in this moment. We have to dream that we can build like this: very simply, but with impact.”

Patricia Urquiola, Az Awards 2021 Juror

At the heart of the space, volunteers from the neighbourhood assembled a pavilion using stone walls excavated at the site and a roof of discarded wooden trusses from old concrete formwork. Accompanying this semi-enclosed community destination, the surrounding hillside encourages small-scale urban agriculture.

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