The winners of both initiatives received their awards at the ceremony, after which the exhibition of their work was opened and the publication MMXVIII was presented
The Ceremony
Last Wednesday 13 June in the Arquería de los Nuevos Ministerios the award ceremony of the Richard H. Driehaus Building Arts awards and the Architecture Competition took place. It was conducted from the hands of the promoter of the awards, the American philantrophist and patron Richard H. Driehaus and Francisco Javier Martín Ramiro.
The event was chaired by the Director General of Architecture, Housing and Land, Javier Martín Ramiro, by Richard H. Driehaus, by Harriet Wennberg, Director of INTBAU, by Laureano Matas, Secretary of the Superior Council of Colleges of Architects of Spain and by Alejandro García Hermida, Director of the initiatives promoted by Driehaus in Spain and Portugal.
The first to be honored were the winners of the Building Arts Awards, whose purpose is to recover and revalue disciplines on the verge of extinction due to the abandonment of old trades in favor of standardized products. The winners in the four categories were: Cantería Jaurrieta, stonemasons; Carpintería Los Tres Juanes in the category of woodwork; master Fátima Quesada in ceramic mosaic and Enric Pla, blackmisth. All of them received their plaques and expressed their gratitude for the visibility these awards are giving to trades nearly forgotten, but nonetheless essential for the preservation of heritage.
Next, the Driehaus Architecture Competition awards were presented. This competition was created with the purpose of helping the recovery of traditional architecture in Spain. This competition becomes a great opportunity for municipalities that have been unable to afford the rehabilitation of their spaces.
The mayors of both municipalities had a few words of thanks to the participants.
Finally, Richard H. Driehaus stated: “All the winners are an inspiration to me. An important bridge between the past and the present. I hope that winning this award will encourage you to persevere in the continuation of Spanish architectural traditions”.
The exhibition
Following the ceremony, the exhibition New Traditional Architecture 2017 was inaugurated. It presents each year the projects awarded in the Richard H. Driehaus Architecture Competition, as well as the works of the winners of the Richard H. Driehaus Awards for Building Arts, thanks to the Ministry de Fomento, will remain open to the public from June 14 to July 26 at the Arqueria de Nuevos Ministerios. Admission is free.
Publication New Traditional Architecture MMXVII
The book New Traditional Architecture MMXVII is now available for free download. Like every year, it presents the projects awarded in the Richard H. Driehaus Architecture Competition, as well as the works of the winners of the Richard H. Driehaus Awards for Building Arts.
