Small House in Sydney, Australia, designed by Domenic Alvaro, has won the ‘World’s Best House’ award at the prestigious World Architecture Festival (WAF) Awards 2011.

The presentation of the WAF Awards are taking place during the largest global celebration of architecture – the World Architecture Festival, which is being held at the Centre Convencions International Barcelona (CCIB) this week.

The ultra-compact vertical house is located in an urban setting and features an outdoor room on the top floor. It was designed by Alvaro not only to be his own home, but also to test a development model for downtown urban living as an alternative to the ubiquitous luxury apartment.

By proposing a vertical house type on an apparently useless piece of left over land, Alvaro and his partner have demonstrated a replicable model. Already the adjacent plot has been acquired by another future resident who will follow this fine example.

The building was selected by a panel of esteemed architects and designers, beating off competition from a shortlist of 18 entries.

The jury commended the project, saying: “Built on a difficult laneway site in Sydney, more than any other contender this project demonstrated commitment and excellence on many levels. From the concept right through to execution, employing construction techniques more typically used on large scale commercial projects in response to physical and budget constraints.”

Speaking at the WAF Awards 2011 Paul Finch, WAF Programme Director, said: “The World Architecture Festival is the world’s largest, live, truly inclusive and interactive global architectural awards programme. Attracting entries from internationally renowned practices to small local architects, the stellar quality of this year’s designs demonstrates their commitment to designing the world’s most exciting buildings. This year we’ve attracted more entries than ever before, with over 700 submissions from 66 different countries. Our congratulations go to the winners for a truly accomplished project.”

This is the 4th year the World Architecture Festival Awards have been presented, and by the end of the awards 38 WAF Awards will have been announced across the three main sections of Completed Buildings, Structural Design and Future Projects. The Festival culminates with the announcement of the prestigious ‘World Building of the Year 2011’ award.

The judges added that “a mention should also be made of two other Australian projects – Ian Moore for the creative re-use of Strelain Warehouse, which was a rigorous intervention in a disused warehouse. The second mention being Andrew Maynard’s brick extension, which not only had a strong agenda to re-define what a sustainable home should be, but which also brought a radical new identity to an otherwise anonymous brick bungalow transforming the life of the family who continue to live there.”

Previous winners include ‘World Building of the Year 2008’ – Luigi Bocconi University, Milan, designed by Irish practice Grafton Architects; ‘World Building of the Year 2009’ – Mapungubwe Interpretation Centre in South Africa, designed by Peter Rich Architects of Johannesburg, and ‘World Building of the Year 2010’ – MAXXI (National Museum of the 21st Century Arts) in Rome, designed by Zaha Hadid Architects.

The WAF Awards see unsung local buildings take on internationally acclaimed projects in what is the world’s biggest architecture contest. Unlike other architectural competitions, architects present their work in front of leading industry judges and a live public audience as they compete for the accolade of ‘World Building of the Year’.

Web: www.worldarchitecturefestival.com
Source: v2com.biz