Results of the European Copper in Architecture Awards

Buildings.

The winners of the European Copper in Architecture Awards 2017 have been announced, with the top prize going to CF Møller Architects’ Maersk Tower in Copenhagen.

The biennial competition attracted 35 entries, from which eight projects were shortlisted. Commendations were awarded to two buildings: Lahti Travel Centre in Finland by JKMM Architects; and a pair of entrance portals to the Bosruck Tunnel in Austria by Riepl Riepl Architekten.

Pracownia Projektowa ART FM’s Hydropolis water sculpture pavilion in Wrocław, Poland, won the public choice prize.

The jury comprised four architects – all recipients of previous Copper in Architecture Awards: Ebbe Waehrens (BBP Arkitekter, Copenhagen), Maxime Enrico, (LAN, Paris), Ville Hara (Avanto Architects, Helsinki) and Craig Casci (GRID Architects, London).

MaerskTower, Copenhagen, by CF Møller Architects (ph: Adam Mørk)

Winner: Maersk Tower, Copenhagen
A unanimous judges’ choice, CF Møller Architects’ state-of-the-art health research complex in Copenhagen is a landmark building designed to facilitate interdisciplinary working across and between floors and departments. Clad with copper fins, the scheme’s gently curved form is intended to reduce its visual impact while controlling solar gain.

Lahti Travel Centre, Finland, by JKMM Architects (ph: Mika Huisman)

Commended: Lahti Travel Centre, Finland
Well detailed and executed, JKMM Architects’ visually-striking scheme is designed to enhance the travel experience. The judges were particularly impressed by the way copper is used to unite disparate elements and enhance everyday structures associated with transport interchanges.

Buildings.

Bosruck Tunnel, Austria, Riepl Riepl Architekten (ph: Otto Hainzl)

Commended: Entrance portals for the Bosruck Tunnel, Austria
The judges considered Riepl Riepl Architekten’s project to be an exemplar of how copper can be used to elevate a utilitarian structure in a challenging environment. The architectonic, large-scale approach responds to the building’s dramatic landscape location, enhancing the experience of travelling through the tunnel at speed.

Buildings.

Hydropolis, Pracownia, by Projektowa ART FM (ph: Michal-Lagoda)

Public Choice Winner: Hydropolis water sculpture pavilion, Wrocław, Poland 
Featuring an innovative ‘water printer’ sculpture, Pracownia Projektowa ART FM’s entrance pavilion celebrates the regeneration of a 19th-century reservoir into a knowledge centre devoted to water. Circular holes in the copper cladding are intended to mimic computer punch cards in keeping with the printer theme.