Winners of the 4th International Golden Trezzini Awards announced in the Hermitage

News of the Awards

On Monday November 15, the winners of the Golden Trezzini 2021 Awards for Architecture and Design were prized in the Hermitage Theatre.

Mikhail Piotrovsky.

The Awards powered by the Worldwide St. Petersburg Club was established in 2018. Every year, the international jury chooses architectural, design, renovation, stage design and museum projects of the highest artistic value. Named after Swiss Domenico Trezzini (1670—1734), the St. Petersburg’s first architect and designer of the city’s 1st master layout, the Summer Palace for Peter the Great, the Saint Peter and Paul Cathedral, the Twelve Colleges House, as well as other Petrine Baroque memorials, the Awards has its motto states as «Architecture as Art.»

The Awarding Ceremony was mastered by Nikolay Pozdeev, Honored Artist of Russia. Performers of the official concert partner of the Awards, ReachSound.Art record label, were in charge of the music during the evening. Pieces from the new albums of the “Soloists of Catherine the Great” ensemble under the baton of Andrey Reshetin, Maria Krestinskaya (baroque violin) and expert in rare baroque music Andrei Penyugin were performed.

Attendees of the Awarding Ceremony were welcomed by Mikhail Piotrovsky, Director of the State Hermitage; Krystyna Marty Lang, Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of Switzerland to the Russian Federation; Boris Piotrovsky, Vice-Governor of St. Petersburg; Vladimir Zapevalov, Head of the Office of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Russian Federation in St. Petersburg; Sergey Makarov, Chairman of the Committee for the State Preservation of Historical and Cultural Monuments of St. Petersburg (KGIOP); and Sergey Korneev, Chairman of St. Petersburg Committee for Tourism Development.

In 2021, the Arrangements Committee received 1,031 applications from nominees based in 97 countries, which was one third more than last year. Three new nominations were added in 2021. Moreover, Facebook users were invited to vote for the projects they like and thus choose a winner of Premio del Pubblico.

“This year is the first time when we’ve received 1,000+ entries from almost 100 countries, but it is not just the geography of the Awards that keeps on extending. Quality of the projects and qualifications of our applicants increase, too, and many of our experts noticed that. We expect to see such evolution every year. Today, architects are really into the global context as regards to information technologies, engineering, sustainability and eco-friendliness, and they are timely including these issues into their projects. When the technological imperative meets artistic talents, the result can be really amazing. I am positive that the next Awards will bring us more and more astonishing marvels,” said Pavel Chernyakov, Chairman of the Organizing Committee for the Awards.

The list of the Golden Trezzini 2021 winners embraced projects from 14 countries, namely Brazil, China, El Salvador, India, Iceland, Israel, Italy, Mexico, Netherlands, Portugal, Russia, Singapore, Spain, and UK.

The special Genius Petropolis (the Spirit of St. Petersburg) prize was awarded to Liteynaya Chast 91 Architectural Bureau, who restored the Nativity Church in Peski (St. Petersburg). The Honorary Chairman of the International Council of the Awards Mikhail Piotrovsky presented the winners a medal established by the Worldwide St. Petersburg Club in honor of Valentina Orlova (1945—2021), their first Chairwoman of the Board and the first member of the Golden Trezzini’s International Council.

This year, the special figurine was given out for the third time in a row for outstanding contribution into arrangement and holding of the Golden Trezzini Awards. Previously, this prize was delivered to diplomatic missions of Switzerland in St. Petersburg — in 2019, and in Moscow — in 2020, but this time it was obtained by Natalia Sidorkevich, Chairwoman of the Board of the Worldwide St. Petersburg Club.

The Best Architectural Design for Museum nomination was won by the Geological Museum of Malaga project from Spain. The future building for the Geological Museum of Malaga designed close to Colección del Museo Ruso de San Petersburgo (Malaga) pretends to be an abstract design composed of 3 pyramids of alabaster stone floating over a solid podium laying on the ground. The project was created by fit* DESIGN Studio and architect Fran Carrera Ros.

The architectural concept of the art exhibition in Manege “Stillness. Russian Classical Sculpture from Shubin to Matveyev” designed by Tsirkul Creative Studio became the Best Implemented Project of Temporary or Permanent Museum Exposition. The central enfilade refers to historical scenes of the world and comprises three sound-proof areas with sculptures resting on an inclined plane, a static circle and the amphitheater, making the viewer a kinetic part of the exposition. The 1st floor represents the theatric backstage.

Today, architectural styles are increasingly often used in theatrical scenery, and that's why the new nomination — Best Implemented Theatre Set Design — turned out to be quite popular. The winner was the theatre set for Mozart’s “Don Juan”. The design solutions were intended for a dressed rehearsal of the famous opera. Decorations for the Pyotr Fomenko Workshop Theatre were designed by artist Maria Tregubova.

The Best Implemented Restoration / Reconstruction Project nomination was won by the Restoration of the Monument to Nicholas I project (Isaakiyevskaya Square, St. Petersburg). The authors managed to deal with moistening of the pedestal caused by the cracked plinth, as well as with the white Carrara marble decaying and unwanted patina. Bronze bass-reliefs telling about the key events during Nicholas I’s reign were restored in the workshops, but the statue itself was renovated right on the pedestal. The renovation project was implemented by Restavrator LLC The works were performed by the Naslediye Repair Workshop on the order of the Customer’s Directorate on Renovation and Restoration of Historical and Cultural Memorials.

Living The Noom (Cancun, Mexico) became the winner in the Best Project of Residential Estate nomination. The project features sustainability by integrating bioclimatic and sustainable strategies such as rainwater harvesting, wastewater separation, biodigesters, wetland for greywater treatment, vegetation cover that creates a barrier for pollution and reduce the Heat Island effect among others. The concept authors are sanzpont [arquitectura], a Mexico-based architectural studio.

The Golden Trezzini recipient of the Best Implemented Project of Residential Estate prize was Freebooter House (Amsterdam, the Netherlands). The authors from GG-loop believe it is a triumph of biophilic home-owner-centric design.

The winner in the Best Project of Public Building or Facility nomination was chosen, too - Anchor of the Plates (Reykjahlíð, Iceland). The observation towers designed by 00Group act as a boat trying to pull two plates together.

Fantastic facilities from the Bamboo Bamboo Canopy project offering shelter to watchers of the light show in Guilin, China won the 1st place in the Best Implemented Project of Public Building or Facility category. The project was designed in the LLLab studio.

The Best Implemented Interior Design Project for Public Space prize went to the main lobby and floor lobbies project for the Pituach by the Sea Development (Herzliya, Israel). Dana Oberson Architects found inspiration for the material palette in the proximity to the marina and the sea. The light shades of sand in the travertine stone and the cladding are reminiscent of endless sand dunes.

The B (up) park Singapore-based project by Alejandro Moreno Guerrero turned out to be the definite winner in the Best Landscape Architecture Project nomination. The feature of the project is creating a new floating space for human gathering.

Veretyevo Park by artist and architect from Russia Alexander Brodsky earned the highest points as the Best Implemented Landscape Architecture Project. Located in the art-manor of the same name, the park covers 7 hectares of virgin swamps.

The experts decided that Vila Volcá based in Santa Ana, El Salvador, was the Best Project of Private Residence. A strong concept that lead the architects from the Molino Studio was the contradiction of not searching an eternal present, but rather an architecture with a materiality that allowed time to be incorporated, slowly revealing the footprint of the years on the wear of the surfaces.

Casa da Laje Inclinada (Nova Lima, Brazil) appeared to be the Best Implemented Project of Private Residence. At first the concrete slab appears as a light component, which rests on only two pillars. It has the function of marking the main access and the garage, as well as framing the panorama that walks between the spectacular view of the mountains and the limit of the densely populated area of Belo Horizonte. The project is designed by TETRO Arquitetura.

Home of hand-craft experiments in Beijing, China, won the hearts of the international jury as the Best Implemented Apartment / Private House Interior Design Project. The architects from Atelier ZZ used lots of crafts and experiments in their design.

Shepherd’s Chapel (Scotland, the UK) was evaluated as the Best Project of Building or Facility by Student. A student from Panama Christian Joel Lasso Góngora thought of it as a space for meeting, contemplation and prayer for the people of the farming community.

Other shortlisted entries were left behind by Garage City (Yaroslavl, Russia) designed by Anastasia Danilova and Dmitry Tchizhov, graduates of Architecture and Design School at the Yaroslavl State Technical University. Their project won the Best Project of Public Space by Student prize. The authors of the project believe that making the existing garage agglomerates more accessible by transport, adding functional diversity and zoning, and establishing garage modules for different activities could help.

Edifício Náutico (Marine-style House) in Cascais, Portugal, became the winner in the Best Implemented Façade or Interior Project Using Ceramics nomination. This project was also awarded the special Ceramic Trezzini prize, as it embraced 29,104 ceramic pieces distributed in 856 panel blinds (fixed and pivot) with 4 mt high each.

The office arranged for DESIGNIC Studio (St. Petersburg, Russia) was believed to be the Best Implemented Interior Design Project Using Works of Art. The team led by Anna Sarkisyants was also awarded the Special Golden Trezzini Compasses prize for their everlasting endeavor to use designer works and installations in their projects.

A Space for a Forgotten Word (Chhattisgarh, India) was bound to be admitted as the Best Design Project for Library and definitely won the figurine of St. Petersburg’s first architect. The project is an international center of learning and a symbol of preservation for the ancient Gondi language and culture. Architects Dhruv Shah and Sneha Dhanuka are interested in radical concepts and a sustainable approach.

The figurine won by the Best Implemented Creative Space Design will stay in St. Petersburg, as it has been awarded to Sevcable Port, the city’s new carte-de-visite. The design concept was developed by Khvoya Bureau, project curator is Alexey Onatsko.

The Best Innovative Architectural Project Lazar Khidekel Prize was awarded to the project of Mirvita Freespace — the Future #ArtScienceHumanism XXIst (Apulia, Italy). Italian Prof. Donato di Gaetano won the prize named after Lazar Khidekel (1904—1986), a bright representative of Russian avant-garde and one of the first Suprematist architects. One more prize from the Lazar Khidekel Society, partner to the Golden Trezzini Awards, will be shipped to Mikhael Lobovikov who developed a concept of an eco-city in Israel, and Zproekt studio will be presented a special certificate within the category for their residential building constructed in New York.

And last but not least — Premio del Pubblico (people’s choice prize) was voted for by visitors of the Awards website and went to the Oasi di Vita project (Italy). This project symbolizes revitalization and was born to bring the swamps of the Orbetello Lagoon back to life and attract tourists from all over the world to experience the dynamics of nature.

The shortlist was compiled by the Qualification Committee comprised of 12 professional experts — DScs and PhDs of architecture, well-known renovators, architects, and designers.

The International Council selected the winners from the shortlist together with the Jury.

The comprehensive list of the winners is available at the website of the Awards https://www.goldtrezzini.ru. In the next few days, the Organizing Committee will post the list of winners who will be sent special and honorary certificates.

The Golden Trezzini Awards for Architecture and Design are named after Domenico Trezzini (1670—1734), Russian architect of Swiss origin, the first architect of St. Petersburg. The Awards have been taking place since 2018, under the patronage of the Municipality of the City of Lugano and supported by the Worldwide St. Petersburg Club, the Representative Office of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Russian Federation in St. Petersburg, Committee for External Relations of St. Petersburg, the Embassy of Russia in Switzerland, the Embassy of Switzerland in Russia, the Consulate General of Switzerland in St. Petersburg, Department of Culture and Tourism — Abu Dhabi, and a number of other organisations and institutions. The main objective of the Awards is turning the most artistically valuable architectural, design, restoration, scenography, and exhibition projects into museum objects. The Honorary Chairman of the International Council for the Golden Trezzini Awards is Mikhail Piotrovsky, President of the Worldwide St. Petersburg Club and General Director of the State Hermitage. The best projects by competitors will be added to the collection of the Architectural Graphics Fund at the Museum of St. Petersburg History and take part in an annual exhibition.

The General Partner of the Golden Trezzini Awards is LAUFEN. The General Museum Partner is the State Museum of St. Petersburg History. The Strategic museum partner is the State Russian Museum. The Official partner of the Awarding ceremony is Setl Group. The Strategic partner of the Awarding ceremony is Etalon Group. The Official car partner is AVANGARD. Partner of a category is Lenstroytrest Group. Partner of a special category is IMISP. The System partner is RBI. Special partner of the awarding is Zavod Sloistyh Plastikov. Special partners are Nency company, Meltzer Group, MADE, Laminam, and Contract Interiors. The independent auditor is Borenius Attorneys Russia Ltd. To see the full list of the Awards partners please check https://www.goldtrezzini.ru/en/partners2021/.

Photo by Vitaliy Kolikov

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