Dec 9

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Inside this month’s issue: December 2009

The December issue is devoted the 25 winning projects of the AR Awards for Emerging Architecture. Now in its 11th year, the AR Awards celebrate built work by young architects from across the world.

Chaired by AR editor-in-chief Kieran Long, this year’s jury of Elizabeth Diller, Yvonne Farrell, Thomas Heatherwick and Tony Fretton decided on four prize winners (from China, Ireland, Spain and India) together with 21 runners up.

Though all the published projects show an immense diversity of formal approaches and technical preoccupations, they are underscored by a heartening concern for environmental and social responsibility.

The quartet of winners constitute an intriguing snapshot of global architectural activity. Li Xiaodong’s Bridge School in remote Fujian Province not only has immense formal clarity and grace, but also helps to transform life on China’s rural margins.

Knocktopher Friary by Odos Architects is an exceptionally subtle piece of design that resonates with the monastic need for calm, contemplative spaces. At one end of the scale, José María Sánchez García’s huge Sports Research Centre cunningly metamorphoses into its lakeside site, like a piece of land art, while Matharoo Associates’ Curtain Door for a house in Surat is a jewel-like model of technical and constructional ingenuity.

With projects from Chile to China, the issue affirms the transforming potential of architecture and provides a tantalising preview of the next generation of designers. AR+ readers can subscribe to the AR today and save 20%

Video: Kieran Long recaps the night at the Architectural Review’s 2009 Awards for Emerging Architecture held at the Royal Institute of British Architects in London.

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— Catherine Slessor

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