August 9, 2002—US architects Tod Williams, Billie Tsien, and Associates have won the prestigious $30,000 Arup World Architecture Award for their design of the new American Folk Art Museum Building in Manhattan, New York. The building was selected from almost 300 international projects completed during 2001, the second year for which the award was given.
Entries came from 45 countries, and included a wide range of types and sizes of buildings, with the shortlist ranging from an environmentally friendly school in northern India to a World Cup football stadium in Japan.
Designers included internationally known architectural firms and one-person practices. Other awards were presented for the best residential projects in the world, the best cultural/public building, the best education development, the best office/retail scheme, the best sports/leisure facility, and the best “green” building in the world.
Naomi Stungo, editor of World Architecture, said the American Folk Art Museum building was a very worthy winner. “This may not be a big building—by American standards—but it is a magnificent one. The design is a very interesting response to New York, where buildings are usually so glassy. Here there is a real weightiness; it suggests a different take on contemporary architecture.”
The unique faade is made of Tombasil panels, an alloy of copper, zinc, manganese and nickel. Internally the contrast between the heavy raw concrete finishes and the delicate objects on display works extremely effectively, according to Stungo. The project finished on time and budget for the client. In its new home, the museum is attracting four times the number of visitors. For more information contact Naomi Stungo at 44 (0) 7974 408 007.
