Six finalists for the 2023 Mies Crown Hall Americas Prize (MCHAP) have been announced at an event in Medellín, Colombia.
The award, organised by the College of Architecture at the Illinois Institute of Technology in Chicago, is given every two years for the best building completed across the Americas. The candidates are:
Anahuacalli Museum (2021), Taller and Mauricio Rocha
The project expands and remodels the Anahuacalli Museum in Mexico City, which was Diego Rivera’s studio. The new structures are made from volcanic stone, concrete slabs and latticework.
Guadalupe Market (2021), Colectivo C733
The 7,600 sq m indoor market replaces a thirty-year-old structure in Tapachula, southern Mexico. It is made from brick, reinforced concrete, bamboo and prefabricated metal and can accommodate 200 stalls.
The Menil Drawing Institute (2018), Johnston Marklee
The “Energy House”, designed by Johnston Marklee, was added to the Menil Drawing Institute campus, which opened in 1987.
Park in the Prado Neighbourhood (2021) Mayor’s Office of Medellín
Traditional, vernacular building techniques were used at the sloped plot which allowed locals to help with the construction process.
The Polygon Gallery (2018) Patkau Architects
This 22,600 sq ft exhibition space appear to hover over the Vancouver waterfront.
Valois Housing Building (2021) Jose Cubilla
The building in Paraguay’s capital Asunción uses a traditional rammed earth technique, and aims to show how the process can be used in an urban environment.
Each of the six projects were selected according to criteria including its scale and use of resources and local materials, the use of natural light and ventilation and its social and environmental context.
Sandra Barclay, MCHAP’s jury chair, said: “In the 21,000km we have traveled, we have witnessed the potential of architecture to transform places and offer new dynamics within society.
“This group of projects reflects and represents the concerns and investigations that are critical to architectural production at this time.”
The winner of the MCHAP will be announced on 24 March. The prize fund is $50,000.
