“Much praised, but for good reason”, concluded the jury of the Architectenweb Awards during the festive live presentation on 28 October; Fenix I has been named Residential Building of the Year 2020! This is no less than the tenth prize that the building can receive, but that does not make the outcome any less special.
The jury is enthusiastic about various aspects of the building: the ‘brave leap over the water’ to Katendrecht, the connection with the surrounding buildings, the involvement of pioneers from the neighborhood, and the way in which the large scale of the building is reduced to a human scale. But the jury was most pleased with the gallery:
“The gallery is not popular at the moment as an access for residential buildings. The jury finds this choice, especially on this scale, daring. The way in which the gallery has been developed by Mei – with transparent elevators, stairs everywhere, balconies on the galleries themselves, as well as vertical greenery – really convinced the jury. Mei believes in the power of the gallery and shows here that this access is permanently relevant.”
With the appointment, Fenix I leaves four other nominees for Residential Building of the Year behind, all of whom were assessed on social relevance, craftsmanship and degree of innovation. The jury consisted of Thomas Dieben (architect and founder Krft), Marieke Kums (architect and founder of Studio MAKS), Gus Tielens (architect and founder Korth Tielens architects), Bas van Dam (founder-director Being Development) and Annuska Pronkhorst (architectural historian and partner of Crimson Historians & Urbanists). Jury chairman was Tako Postma (architect, city architect Delft).
Mei congratulates the entire Fenix I team for this great outcome, as well as the winners in the other categories: Zecc Architecten (Architect of the Year), Forum Groningen (Public Building of the Year), extension Rietveld and Sandberg Institute (School Building of the Year) ), Trippenhuiscomplex (Interior of the Year), Amsterdam UMC Imaging Center (Care Building of the Year) and Het Platform (Office Building of the Year).
Read the complete jury commentary on the Architectenweb website (in Dutch).