The Swiss Ambassador: “Russia is an integral part of European civilization and culture”

News of the Awards

The Swiss Embassy to Russia supported the international awards for architecture named after the first St. Petersburg’s architect.

The 3^rd international Golden Trezzini Awards for Architecture and Design has been held in St. Petersburg since 2018, and this year it will be supported by the Swiss Confederation Embassy to Russia. Yves Rossier, Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary in Russia, will join the International Council of the Awards, in particular, established to bring in to the Awards experts and participants from abroad.

The international Golden Trezzini Awards for Architecture and Design is named after Domenico Trezzini (1670—1734), the first architect of St. Petersburg originating from Switzerland.

“Domenico Trezzini started as a regular mason,” said Yves Rossier. “He had travelled all across Europe before he committed himself to Russia’s new capital. To a large extent, Domenico Trezzini defined the looks of this European city. His creative biography distinctively proves that Russia is an integral part of the European civilization and culture.”

In 2020, the Golden Trezzini was officially granted the international status, supported by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs for the Russian Federation in St. Petersburg. The International Council of the Awards was established in that regard. Its mission includes promotion of architectural diplomacy, connecting countries from across the globe through participation of their architects, designers, renovators, and students in St. Petersburg-based competitions, exhibitions, and conferences, consolidated under the name of Domenico Trezzini. Mr. Vladimir Zapevalov, the Representative of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Russian Federation in St. Petersburg, was appointed as the Chairman of the International Council of the Golden Trezzini Awards.

Entry submission for the Golden Trezzini opens on April 15, 2020, at www.goldtrezzini.ru. Nominees from across the globe are welcome to join, including developers and planners, architects and renovators, designers and decorators, as well as students of architectural schools and departments. Participation in the Awards is free of charge.

On December 1 during the Awarding Ceremony in St. Petersburg, winners and awardees will be announced and presented with designer Golden Trezzini figurines and certificates. Works submitted by the winners will be showcased at an annual exhibition in the Peter and Paul Fortress, as well as added to the collection of the State Museum of St. Petersburg History.

The Golden Trezzini Awards is supported by the Representative Office of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Russian Federation in St. Petersburg, the Embassy of Russia to Switzerland, the Embassy of Switzerland to Russia, the Consulate General of Switzerland in St. Petersburg, the Committee on Urban Planning and Architecture (KGA), the Committee for State Supervision, Use and Protection of Cultural and Historical Landmarks (KGIOP), the Global Club of St. Petersburgers, the Russian Union of Architects, and the St. Petersburg State University of Architecture and Civil Engineering (SPbGASU).

The Embassy of Switzerland to Russia as the official representative of Switzerland abroad manages all the matters associated with our countries’ diplomatic relations. The Embassy promotes Switzerland’s interests in the fields of politics, economy and finance, as well as law, science, education, and culture.

Yves Rossier, Ambassador of Switzerland to Russia has been holding his post since February 2017. He started his diplomatic career in 1990 as a legal advisor in a Swiss EU integration office. He was also a science and a political advisor to the Minister of Economic Affairs. From 2012 to 2016, Mr. Rossier was the State Secretary at the Swiss Federal Department of Internal Affairs. When in 2016 Ambassador of Switzerland to Russia Pierre Helg retired, Yves Rossier took his place.

BA in law, Fribourg University (Switzerland); Diploma in European Studies, College of Europe, Bruges (Belgium); Master’s in law, McGill University, Montreal (Canada).

Born in 1960 in Delemont (Switzerland), married father of 5 children.