The Aga Khan Award for Architecture (AKAA) highlights architectural and urban planning solutions in parts of the world with significant Muslim populations. This year's winners, announced Monday, feature a bridge as a gathering space and a building floating above a courtyard, among others.
The prize: Six architectural teams around the globe will share a $1 million prize, one of the largest international awards in architecture. The winning projects are located in Bangladesh, China, Denmark, Iran and Lebanon, and they all serve areas with significant Muslim populations, one of the eligibility requirements of the award. In its 13th cycle, the award is given out every three years by the Geneva-based Aga Khan Development Network.
Check out the winning projects below:
- Bait Ur Rouf Mosque (Dhaka, Bangladesh), Ventilation and the play of light make this neighborhood mosque a refuge for spirituality. Read more about this project here.
- Friendship Centre (Gaibandha, Bangladesh), A rural training center inspired by one of the country's oldest urban archaeological sites. Read more about this project here.
- Hutong Children's Library & Art Centre (Beijing, China), A small-scale project that enriches bonds among communities and revives Hutong life. Read more about this project here.
- Issam Fares Institute for Public Policy and International Affairs (Beirut, Lebanon), A new building, radical in composition but respectful of its traditional context, "floats" above an exterior courtyard. Read more about this project here.
- Superkilen (Copenhagen, Denmark). A public space promoting integration across lines of ethnicity, religion and culture. Read more about this project here.
- Tabiat Pedestrian Bridge (Tehran, Iran) Infrastructure that connects two parks has become a popular urban space. Read more aboutthis project here.