Press Information

PR693 issued: 21/09/2005 Starts.

EUROPEAN ARCHITECTURAL AWARDS WINNERS

A beautiful church in Finland designed by Kari Jarvinen Ja Merja Nieminen has won the European category of the 2005 COPPER IN ARCHITECTURE AWARDS with Staab Architektens Service Centre on Theresienwiese, Munich gaining a Commendation. Two very different buildings were judged joint winners in the UK category. The design-led competition has been expanded this year to include a new special award for European projects, as well as categories for UK architects, students and craftsmanship. The Awards attracted some sixty entries in total and the panel of architect and critic judges commented on the particularly high standard of design and presentation. Kari Jarvinen Ja Merja Nieminens winning Laajasalo Church uses copper in strata, almost like a cliff face, with soft colours and controlled tones which will develop over time, adding to the harmonious relationship with its natural landscape setting. The build-up of copper panels is concealed with flat, striated surfaces creating an extreme horizontality and tactile quality. The light, airy interior spaces also possess a strong quality and all the materials used blend harmoniously. In contrast, Staab Architektens commended Service Centre on Theresienwiese, Munich, Germany is a bold, monolithic building, forged from a perforated copper screen, which could be considered as a bar of gold in the landscape, particularly intriguing to visitors. A rigorously executed abstract statement, this is an extreme solution which works well in its sensitive location, possessing a calmness which modifies our sense of scale. The UK category joint winners Feilden Clegg Bradleys Westfield Student Village, Queen Mary University of London and Marks Barfield Architects Spiral Caf in Birmingham are completely different in their intentions, locations, scale and budget but both achieve their aims with real panache. Full details of the Awards can be found on www.cda.org.uk/arch.

For design inspiration www.copperconcept.org contains numerous project references from around Europe. ends. Word count from Starts.to.ends: 305 words

EUROPEAN AWARDS Ref: 563/140 001 Caption - Kari Jarvinen Ja Merja Nieminens Laajasalo Church in Finland , European Winner Photo credit: Jussi Tiainen Ref: 563/140 004 Caption - Staab Architektens Munich Service Centre in Germany, which received a Commendation Photo credit: Werner Huthmacher ADDITIONAL PHOTOS Further images of all the award winners and shortlisted projects are available in digital form from Chris Hodson Tel: +44 (0)1242 702741 E-mail: chris@hodsons.com Information for Editors COPPER IN ARCHITECTURE is part of the European Copper in Architecture Campaign promoted by Copper Development Association and participating copper fabricators. We are pleased to provide technical articles on any aspect of the architectural use of copper: please contact Chris Hodson for further information. Contact Details for publication (if required): Copper in Architecture, 5 Grovelands Business Centre, Boundary Way Hemel Hempstead, Herts HP2 7TE Tel: 01442 275700, Fax: 01442 275716 Email: helpline@copperdev.co.uk Webs: www.cda.org.uk/arch & www.copperconcept.org Reader Enquiries to: Copper in Architecture, 5 Grovelands Business Centre, Boundary Way Hemel Hempstead, Herts HP2 7TE Email: mail@copperdev.co.uk Further information for editors, contact (not for publication): Chris Hodson Email: chris@hodsons.com Tel: 01242 702 741

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