At the Guggenheim Museum in Bilbao, the founders of SAWA – Robert Winkel and Mark Compeer of Mei architects and planners and Nice Developers – were proud to be presented with the 8th architectural award for SAWA for best Conceptual Architecture in America’s prestigious Architecture MasterPrize competition. In the same week, during a festive ceremony, the symbolic starting signal is given for the construction of this very first circular wooden residential building of 50 meters high in the Netherlands. With this, the project team proves that SAWA is more than a groundbreaking and award-winning concept, but also a viable and practical reality.
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Architecture MasterPrize
The annual Architecture MasterPrize (AMP) celebrates the very best in design excellence and innovation from the worlds of Architectural, Interior, and Landscape Design. The awards program is dedicated to showcasing and promoting exceptional talent, and the value of the art and science of architecture in enriching our lives. The winners were selected by an international jury of renowned architects, academics and industry experts.
In addition to their visually striking designs, the judges were impressed with the way the award-winning entries demonstrated an amazing balance of form and function:
“The capabilities demonstrated by this year’s entries are sure to inspire the next generation of architects. Their work today will resonate into the future, as the works also reflect an increasingly important focus on sustainability.”
Even before SAWA is actually built, the project wins eight prestigious international architecture awards. ‘This international appreciation strengthens our team that we are in fact working on something exceptional,‘ said Robert Winkel. ‘The conviction and decisiveness to not only design but also realize a revolutionary concept like SAWA is fueled by the ambition to contribute to reducing CO2 emissions, strengthening biodiversity, achieving (inter)national climate goals and at the same time creating affordable housing. With SAWA we are developing a new icon for the city of Rotterdam. An example for future generations of builders and developers.’
