NEW YORK, NY, USA – October 27, 2016 –  Over 200 guests, some of the world’s best architects and designers, attended the first annual American Architecture Prize Winners Cocktail Evening at the Cooper Hewitt, Smithsonian Design Museum in New York City on Tuesday evening, October 25, 2016.

Aga Khan Park, by Vladimir Djurovic won two awards in the landscape architecture category:  silver in the “Gardens” category and bronze in the “Public” category.

The American Architecture Prize (AAP) jury selected exceptional designs in over 40 categories across the disciplines of architecture, interior design, and landscape architecture. Over 60 platinum, gold, silver, and bronze prize winner teams were presented with their certificates.

 

AGA KHAN PARK

Company: Vladimir Djurovic Landscape Architecture
Lead Designer: Vladimir Djurovic Landscape Architecture with Landscape Architects of Record Moriyama and Teshima Planners
Design Team: Landscape Architects of Record Moriyama and Teshima Planners
Category: Landscape Architecture: Gardens & Public

The Aga Khan Park lies on the outskirts of Toronto’s city centre in a dense setting surrounded by high traffic streets and highways. It occupies a 17- acre site where two institutional buildings are housed: the Aga Khan Museum and the Ismaili Centre, Toronto.

The Park’s aspiration was not only to embrace and unify these two buildings, but also to offer a serene and contemplative space. Moreover, the project had to create an inviting environment in which educational, social, and community activities initiated by the Museum and Ismaili Centre could be held in warm weather.

A formal garden inspired by traditional Islamic gardens around the world functions as the central feature of the entire Park.

Surrounded by a densely planted buffer zone and conceived as the outdoor extension of the Museum and Ismaili Centre, the formal garden captures the essence of Islamic gardens, translating them into an expression that reflects its context – both geographical and temporal.

Embracing the five senses, every space within the formal garden is imbued with the delicate sensations that we seem to have lost in this fast-paced era. The ephemeral and the eternal are both essential to the composition of spaces. Shadows, light, petals, leaves and water in motion are complemented by the solidity and purity of created forms.

Amongst the five water islands in solid raised black granite channels, emerges an orchard of native Serviceberry trees, a contemporary boustan. With its white spring blossoms, edible summer fruit, autumn colour and stark presence in the winter snow, the orchard infuses the space with seasonal perfumes.

The Park integrates two unique buildings into a coherent whole that not only brings unity to the complex, but also becomes a gift to the city of Toronto and its people.

 

About the American Architecture Prize

The American Architecture Prize (AAP) honors designs in the disciplines of architecture, interior design, and landscape architecture with the goal of advancing the appreciation of architecture worldwide.

Each submitted design is evaluated by the esteemed AAP Jury on its own merit based on form, function, and innovation. Winning projects are given titles of platinum, gold, silver, or bronze levels, along with honorable mentions from many distinguished submissions.

 

Discover, Explore and Learn more via:

• American Architecture Prize Winners
• American Architecture Prize Winners | Category: Landscape Architecture / Gardens
• American Architecture Prize Winners | Category: Landscape Architecture / Public

 

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Research, Insight & Perspective by A. Maherali

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