In this video we are looking at the 20 finalists for the Aga Khan Award for Architecture
2022. If you want more information about the award, and what it represents,
you can watch my previous video which talks about the Aga Khan award in detail. For this
year out of 463 nominations, 20 were selected and from these a few will be chosen for the award.
So let’s quickly go over the shortlist and see if we can pick out which will be the winners.
First is the Rehabilitation of the Manama Post Office, in Bahrain, by Studio Anne Holtrop.
This structure was, one of the oldest public buildings in Bahrain. A new concrete extension
housing 4,400 mailboxes and sorting facilities was built, but more importantly, It was also
important to return the historical building to its former role as a functioning post office.
Second is the Community Spaces in Rohingya Refugee Response, in Bangladesh, by Rizvi Hassan,
Khwaja Fatmi and Saad Ben Mostafa. In the world’s largest refugee camp these Sustainably
built structures occurred collaboratively in the field without drawings or models.
Third is the Urban River Spaces, in Bangladesh, by Co.Creation.Architects.
this was A community-driven project providing public spaces in a riverine city
with 250,000 residents, offering walkways, gardens and cultural facilities, as well as environmental
efforts to increase biodiversity along the river. Fourth is the Outros Bairros Rehabilitation
Programme, in Cape Verde, by OUTROS BAIRROS . This is An urban rehabilitation and redesign
of a public space which allowed residents to execute works in their own neighborhoods
and enhance their sense of belonging. Fifth we come to India to the Lilavati
Lalbhai Library at CEPT University, This is ofcourse in Ahmedabad, by RMA architects: This new
block within the cept university is The library, a living case study of passive climate mitigation
strategies which integrates into the existing campus while forging its own distinct identity.
Next we come to the Blimbingsari Airport, Banyuwangi, Indonesia, by andramatin. Shunning
the standardised style of most airports, this one embraces a context-conscious design approach.
Openings and overhangs are optimised for temperature control through
natural ventilation and shading. A continuous arrangement from landscape to interior space
helps airflow The Materials for this project were selected based on local availability,
functionality and low-cost maintenance. Seventh is the Expandable House, in Indonesia,
by ETH Zurich. This new sustainable dwelling type is designed to be flexibly configured
around its residents’ often precarious resources over time. Its steel-reinforced concrete frame
has aerated concrete block cladding at ground and composite bamboo
cladding or retractable bamboo screens above. Eighth is the Aban House, in Iran, by USE Studio.
On a narrow rectangular site in the heart of Isfahan’s dense historic centre, the three-storey
house for two architects and their newborn daughter is arranged around three open courtyards.
Next is the Argo Contemporary Art Museum & Cultural Centre,
by ASA North in Iran. This is Tehran’s first independent contemporary art museum which
is housed in a more-than-100-year-old former brewery that had been abandoned for decades.
Next up is the Jadgal Elementary School, in Iran, by DAAZ Office. This is An elementary school,
managed by villagers and teachers and funded by tourism and needlework from local women,
is a sustainable development centre for surrounding areas.
The 11th on the list is the Renovation of Niemeyer Guest House, in Lebanon,
by East Architecture Studio. The Rachid Karami International Fair was recently added to UNESCO’s
World Heritage tentative list. One of its 15 pavilions, the Guest House was chosen to
be transformed into a design platform and production facility promoting the area’s
long-established but declining wood industry. Next up is the Wafra Wind Tower, in Kuwait City,
by AGi Architects: This 13-storey building conceived as a wind tower featuring a central,
vertical courtyard that provides natural ventilation to each apartment unit.
Number 13th on our list is the Issy Valley Improvement, in Morocco, by Salima Naji. In
this project there were interventions made for the improvement of palm orchards and water reservoirs,
trails and facilities for tourists. This was the first phase of a larger project for the valley.
Number 14th is Niamey 2000, by united4design . As a response to a housing shortage amid rapid
urban expansion, this prototype housing of six family units seeks to increase
density while remaining culturally appropriate. Next is the Tulkarm Courthouse, in Palestine, by
AAU Anastas: the ensemble features two buildings, one for administrative facilities and the other
containing 10 courtrooms; the two are accessed from broad
stone stairs that give onto an open urban plaza. Number 16th is the CEM Kamanar Secondary School,
in Senegal, by Dawoffice. For this secondary school, volunteers, using local techniques,
produced vault modules from clay which (with lattices) act as evaporating coolers.
Next is the Lanka Learning Centre, in Sri Lanka, by feat.collective . Civil war and
the 2004 tsunami wrought displacement and destruction in Sri Lanka. The client – of
mixed ethno-religious background – survived both and became a child psychologist. Two NGOs that he
founded to encourage education and inter-community reconciliation helped bring about this centre
that hosts gatherings, craft education for adults and a large annual sports,
games and music festival for children. Next is the Le Jardin d'Afrique, in Tunisia,
by Rachid Koraïchi: This is an cemetery and a memorial that provides a sanctuary and
dignified place of final repose to the migrants who drowned whilst crossing the Mediterranean.
Next is the Rehabilitation of Tarsus Old Ginnery, in Turkey, by Sayka Construction Architecture
Engineering Consultancy: This is an Adaptive reuse of an abandoned 19th century ginnery
that allows the operation of a contemporary centre for archaeological research and public engagement.
Number 20th is the Flying Saucer Rehabilitation, in Sharjah by SpaceContinuum Design Studio. The
Flying Saucer is a 1978 Brutalist-style building that originally housed a café, restaurant,
newsstand and gift shop. building was fully restored as a community art space, and a later
extension to the building was demolished. And that was it. Those were the 20 projects
shortlisted for the Aga Khan Award for architecture. One observation I can make is
that a lot of them were reuse or rehabilitation projects. So lets talk about the final winners,
according to me the winners of this year would be Rehabilitation of Manama Post Office,
Community Spaces in Rohingya Refugee Response, Argo Contemporary Art Museum & Cultural Centre,
Jadgal Elementary School, Niamey 2000 and the Lanka Learning Centre. Do you agree with this
selection? Which ones do you think will win. Let me know in the comments below. Before you leave
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