Rotterdam CS winner of Rotterdam Architecture Award and Team CS wins Architect of the Year 2014
The fifth Rotterdam Architecture Prize was awarded on Wednesday 17th of December. Chaired by Janny Rodermond, the professional jury selected Rotterdam CS, a design by Team CS, as the winner of the Professional Jury Prize. The Rotterdam Architecture Prize, which consists of the Professional Jury Award and Public Award, is a joint prize awarded to the client, construction engineer and architect.
The Rotterdam CS Team includes: designer Team CS (a cooperation between Benthem Crouwel Architects, MVSA Meyer en Van Schooten Architecten, West 8), clients ProRail and City of Rotterdam, construction engineers Iemants Steel Construction NV (station) and Bouwcombinatie TBI Rotterdam CS (beam / travelers passage / offices).
The theme for the 5th edition of the awards was “Non-commercial Construction”. This year a shortlist of 25 nominees were selected from the 44 projects submitted by professionals and the general public.
According to the jury: “The new Rotterdam Centraal Station is a project about cultural and historical stratification, urban context and future orientation. It is a building with an expressive architectural quality that contributes positively to the urban character of Rotterdam. Its quality is appreciated by everyone, from the most cynical architectural critic to the unsuspecting traveler. The jury takes a deep bow for Rotterdam Centraal.”
Professional Jury
The Professional Jury Award is sponsored by AIR, the Architecture Center of Rotterdam. This year’s jury was chaired by Janny Rodermond (director of Stimulation Funds for Creative Industries) and supported by Marleen Hermans (Professor of Public Commissioning, TU Delft), Tijs van den Boomen (journalist specializing in public space), Alex van de Beld (founder of Onix) and Rick ten Doeschate (founder of Cloud Collective).
Rotterdam Architecture Prize
The Rotterdam Architecture Prize is an initiative of the municipality of Rotterdam, organized by AIR, the Architecture Center of Rotterdam. The award was established to further stimulate the architectural climate in Rotterdam and to improve the quality of the built environment in the city.
The theme of the Rotterdam Architecture Prize alternatives between three themes ‘Transformation’ (2010, 2013): ‘Non-commercial Construction’ (2012, 2014) and ‘Residential Construction’ (2011, 2015). The annual prize consists of both a Professional Jury Award as well as the Public Award.
TEAM CS CROWNED “ARCHITECT OF THE YEAR 2014”
On the 19th of December the ceremony for the Architect of the Year Award 2014 took place. During a festive event at the Rotterdam City Hall the winners in the SAMLL and LARGA categories were announced. In the LARGE category (for major offices), Team CS won the title of the Architect of the Year 2014.
Team CS (a collaboration between Benthem Crouwel Architects, MVSA Meyer and Van Schooten Architects, West 8) is bestowed with the title “Architect of the Year’ until the next edition of the awards.
The Jury
This year, the jury consisted of Bernard Colenbrander (chairman), Sylvia Pain Borg and Ronald Rietveld. Colenbrander is Professor of Architectural History and Theory at TU Eindhoven and Pain Borg an architectural heritage developer. Ronald Rietveld and his office RAAAF won Architect of the Year in 2013.
From the Jury:
“[…] Engaged in design and construction for more than a decade, the designers have in an exemplary manner managed to connect two parts of the city back together, creating clarity in what was almost an inextricable tangle of traffic. The new station with its covered square creates a new entrance to the city of Rotterdam.
What we are interested in is not just the end result and that building with the huge canopy. Above all it is the refined, we might say, polished form work that deserves attention […] Team CS was a super formation, the Traveling Wilburys of Dutch architecture […] They have worked with all interested clients in the intensive process to achieve a good result with the 600 million construction budget and also worked to keep the political leaders on board. A huge carpet of stone now brings you from the platforms to the heart of the city. The public domain is the winner.
A new office was set up for one big project, using the specific knowledge and power of the individual participants. The jury feel that after a decade in operation Team CS, deserves wholeheartedly to win the Architect of the Year Award 2014 in the category of major agencies.”
The 2014 Architect of the Year Award is an initiative by Architectenwerk. This year is the 8th time Architectenwerk has organized the Architect of the Year Award. The annual prize aims to promote the work of Dutch firms and bring it to the attention of a larger audience.
