GRAITEC supports Global Award for Sustainable Architecture

Global Award for Sustainable Architecture™

GRAITEC continues its proud support of the Global Award for Sustainable Architecture™ in 2023, recognizing and celebrating outstanding achievements in sustainable architecture while fostering inspiration for future innovations. The Global Award for Sustainable Architecture™ is organized by La Cité de l’architecture et du patrimoine, Paris.

Global Award for Sustainable Architecture™ | GRAITEC Group

GRAITEC is committed to modeling the future. We believe that sustainability is the future of the built environment and we are dedicated to taking action to support green initiatives without compromising on iconic design.

GRAITEC is proud to support the Global Award for Sustainable Architecture™ organized by La Cité de l’architecture et du patrimoine.

Image above: Spanish Pavilion, World Expo Shanghai 2010, Benedetta Tagliabue, arch. (EMBT). © Shen Zhonghai

Recognizing the best of sustainable design

The Global Award for Sustainable Architecture™ highlights the best of sustainable architecture and inspires future innovation. By joining the award’s supporters such as UNESCO, Graitec recognizes the impact of celebrating changemakers within sustainable architecture to grow the industry while supporting the interests of our planet.

The Global Award for Sustainable Architecture™ was founded in 2006 by the architect and professor Jana Revedin. It defines architecture as an agent of empowerment, self-development, and civic rights. The award annually recognizes five architects making strides in sustainability to enhance the way we build our future in both the Global North and the Global South.

Creating more equitable and sustainable architecture

The Global Award Community, which consists of the 80 contemporary architects from around the globe who have received the award, works towards a sustainable architectural ethic and fosters research, experimentation, and transmission in the fields of sustainable architecture, urban renewal, and academic social responsibility.

Celebrating emerging and outstanding talent

Known for recognizing emerging talent, the Global Award for Sustainable Architecture™ enriches global debate by uniting the individuals behind this outstanding work on a federating stage. Attentive to emerging scenes, interdisciplinarity, and experimentation, the Global Award is recognized for discovering some of the leading architects of the 21st century: Wang Shu, Alejandro Aravena, Carin Smuts, Francis Kéré, Al Borde, Assemble, Rotor, Bijoy Jain, and Marta Maccaglia.

2023 edition: Architecture is experimentation

Forward planning and commitment comprise the strong values of the Cité de l’architecture et du patrimoine, notably concerning the ecological transition that gives architecture new responsibilities and horizons.

Catherine Chevillot,
President of the Cité de l’architecture et du patrimoine, Paris

Experimentation: “The action or process of trying out new ideas, methods or activities.”

Should architecture be experimentation? And if so – and this need is more urgent than ever before – how can we redefine architects as lifelong explorers, as they were at the time of the Bauhaus? Discover the powerful positions of our 2023 laureates, who engage themselves in thinking and doing architecture otherwise and in teaching this to future architects by example and experience.
Jana Revedin, Founding President of the Global Award for Sustainable Architecture(TM)

The 2023 edition of the Global Award for sustainable architecture winners are:

BENEDETTA, TAGLIABUE, architect, EMBT, Barcelona, Spain.
XU TIANTIAN, architect, DnA Design and Architecture, Bejing, China.
SIMON TEYSSOU architect, Atelier du Rouget Simon Teyssou & associés, Le Rouget-Pers, Cantal, France.
METTE RAMSGAARD THOMSEN, architect, Royal Danish Academy, Copenhagen, Denmark.
RONALD RIETVELD architect, artist, and ERIK RIETVELD philosopher, RAAAF, Amsterdam, Netherlands.

Discover more about the Global Award for sustainable architecture

Discover the Press Kit

Discover the winners of the 2023 edition of the Global Award for Sustainable Architecture™

BENEDETTA TAGLIABUE

Benedetta Tagliabue is an internationally renowned architect, with works and direct commissions all over the world, founder with Enric Miralles of the international studio Miralles Tagliabue EMBT in 1994, now Benedetta Tagliabue – EMBT, with offices in Barcelona, Shanghai and Paris. Her most notable works include the Scottish Parliament in Edinburg, the Santa Caterina Market, the headquarters of Gas Natural Fenosa and the Diagonal Mar Park in Barcelona, and the Spanish Pavilion at the 2010 Shanghai World Expo, winner of the prestigious RIBA Best International Building 2011 Award. Benedetta Tagliabue is one of the winners of the 2023 Global Award for Sustainable Architecture supported by GRAITEC.

“I’d like to be more understood. Because we often get blocked. This isn’t good, this isn’t necessary, this isn’t useful.’ Just remember the difficulties we had realizing the Spanish Pavilion using the natural material wicker : They were enormous! A big engineering company won the tender and they organised dinner parties in order to convince everyone not to use wicker. But after endless efforts they gave up: ‘Finally we believe in you, Benedetta…”

Spanish Pavilion, World Expo Shanghai 2010, Benedetta Tagliabue arch. (EMBT) © Shen Zhonghai

XU TIANTIAN

Xu Tiantian is a renowned architect known for her innovative and sustainable designs. Born in China, she studied architecture at a young age and later earned her master’s degree in architecture from a prestigious university. She founded her own architectural firm, DnA Design and Architecture, which has gained international recognition for its unique approach to design and its commitment to social and environmental responsibility. Xu Tiantian’s work often reflects her deep understanding of Chinese culture and her desire to create spaces that harmonize with their surroundings. Her designs have won numerous awards and have been featured in exhibitions around the world. Xu Tiantian is one of the winners of the 2023 Global Award for Sustainable Architecture supported by GRAITEC.

“After working on pro-bono projects in the first year, we eventually discovered that, while all the villages shared a similar architectural typology – rammed earth walls and mortise & tenon-based timber structures – each had its own history or legacy, of which the villagers were and are very proud. So we ensured that this became the key element in each place!…”

Shimen Bridge over the Songyin River links the two villages of Shimen and Shimenyu, Lishui, China, Tiantian Xu arch. (DnA Design and Architecture), 2017. © Wang ZiLing

SIMON TEYSSOU

Simon Teyssou is an architect based in Clermont-Ferrand, France. He is recognized for his innovative and creative approach to architectural design, emphasizing the harmony between aesthetics, functionality, and the environment. His work encompasses a variety of residential, commercial, and cultural projects in Clermont-Ferrand and other regions of France. His commitment to sustainability and attention to detail have earned him a strong reputation within the architectural community. Simon Teyssou is one of the winners of the 2023 Global Award for Sustainable Architecture supported by GRAITEC.

“Our projects can only be read in direct relationship with their context. They’re about leaving ideas of authorship aside and aligning with the continuity of a place. In town centres, our projects for public spaces put cars in their proper place and reopen views of the wider landscape, enhance building thresholds or create micro-structures for housing waste bins, which are a piece of contemporary heritage in the same way that the four banal was representative of yesterday…”

Outdoor resort, Mandailles-Saint-Julien, France, Simon Teyssou arch. (Atelier du Rouget Simon Teyssou& associés), 2019. © Benoît Alazard

METTE RAMSGAARD THOMSEN

Mette Ramsgaard Thomsen is a distinguished architect and academic hailing from Denmark. With a background in architecture and engineering, she specializes in exploring the intersection of digital technologies and architecture. Thomsen is a professor at the Royal Danish Academy of Fine Arts, School of Architecture, Design, and Conservation, where she teaches and conducts research on computational design and fabrication. Her work focuses on sustainable and responsive architecture, employing innovative digital tools and techniques. Thomsen’s contributions to the field have earned her international recognition and numerous awards for her groundbreaking designs and research. Mette Ramsgaard Thomsen is one of the winners of the 2023 Global Award for Sustainable Architecture supported by GRAITEC.

“ We recently submitted our ‘Radicant’ experiment into the architectural use of biopolymers from the waste stream to a competition for the full-scale interiors of a real building. I dream of transferring the results of our experimental work into the built environment. Of course, our role is linked with time-consuming basic research and the profound investigation of the theoretical, methodological and technological foundations of our field. But we want to have an impact…”

The Radicant, bespoke wall-panelling system, bone glue 3d printing, Aedes Architecture Forum, Berlin, Mette Ramsgaard Thomsen arch., 2022. © Anders Ingvartsen

RONALD RIETVELD and ERIK RIETVELD

Ronald Rietveld and Erik Rietveld are Dutch architects and designers known for their collaborative work. They co-founded RAAAF (Rietveld Architecture-Art-Affordances), a multidisciplinary studio focused on creating innovative spatial interventions. The Rietveld brothers explore the relationship between architecture, art, and the human experience, often challenging conventional design norms. Their projects have gained international acclaim, earning them awards and exhibitions worldwide for their thought-provoking and boundary-pushing approach to design. Ronald Rietveld and Erik Rietveld are together one of the winners of the 2023 Global Award for Sustainable Architecture supported by GRAITEC.

“Most of our experiments have multiple layers of meaning: partly, because they’re site-and context-specific and, partly, because they connect the present and the past to generate new meaning for the future. But the point of our artworks is to invite people to reflect for themselves on the themes that they address or, as we call it, to ‘imagine further’ with them. One could indeed call this an Open Work, because the meaning of the artworks is not static but, rather, expansive due to this “uptake” by people. And this changes over time…”
Ronald and Erik Rietveld

DISCOVER 2023 EDITION OF Global Award for Sustainable Architecture