The winners of the Wienerberger Brick Awards 2016 have been announced, in the following categories: Residential Use, Public Use, Re-Use, Urban Infill, and Special Solution. In total, more than 600 projects from 55 countries had been submitted, a new record participation. An independent pre-jury panel narrowed down the submissions to 50 nominations and, from this shortlist, a jury of four architects selected the winners.

This year, two projects were awarded the Grand Prize. One of these prizes went to the office building 2226 by architect Dietmar Eberle, which is located in Lustenau. The entire building manages without ventilation, without air conditioning, without heating. The name already indicates the prevailing indoor temperature, which ranges between 22 to 26 degrees celsius all year round, made possible by 76cm thick brick walls.

The second Grand Prize winner, House 1014 in the historic city centre of Granollers (Barcelona), is an excellent example of how to use space in urban areas. The very long and narrow site, with a width of only 6.5 metres, shows extreme site conditions. The use of bricks conveys both tradition and modernism, and substantially contributes to the overall appearance of the property. In addition to the Grand Prize, this project also came out as winner in the Urban Infill category.

“I am impressed with the quality and internationality of this year’s submissions. They illustrate how customized architecture concepts can bring about unique and forward-looking projects – even under extreme climatic or spatial conditions. The innovative winning projects thus emphasize the varied application possibilities of brick as a building material,” said Heimo Scheuch, chief executive of Wienerberger AG.

Full details of the award winners can be found at the awards website.