Beyond the Prize

On Friday 9 May, co-founder Kjetil Trædal Thorsen will take part in a moderated discussion hosted by the Aga Khan Award for Architecture, the Holcim Foundation Awards, the EUmies Awards, the Mies Crown Hall Americas Prize, the OBEL Award and the Ammodo Architecture Award. 

For the first time in this constellation, a consortium of prestigious international architecture awards, alongside globally renowned architects with a relation to the prizes, will convene on Friday, 9 May 2025, at TBA21–Academy’s Ocean Space in Venice, to critically reflect on the purpose, impact and trajectory of awards amid pressing planetary, social and environmental challenges.

Taking a starting point from this year’s theme of the Venice Biennale 2025 — collective intelligence and the need for a fundamental shift in rethinking the practice and production of our built environment — the moderated discussion, titled ‘Beyond the Prize’, will emphasise the urgent responsibility of architecture awards to transcend mere recognition and serve as catalysts for meaningful change.

Architecture is instrumental in shaping the world we live in — a world under increasing pressure from conflict, climatic events and societal demands. Architecture awards play a crucial role in recognising excellence and setting benchmarks, and, therefore, it is important to shine light on those leading with optimism and setting new standards for recognising architecture's potential in dealing with today's challenges. ‘Beyond the Prize’ offers a unique forum to critically examine the role of prize-giving today. Challenging existing models, questioning their impact, and understanding how awards remain relevant in a rapidly changing landscape are all key conversations of the event, with lasting reflections continuing well beyond Venice.

The event is moderated by Writer, Cultural Critic, and Curator James Taylor-Foster and the panelists include: 

• Farrokh Derakhshani, Director, Aga Khan Award for Architecture
• Ivan Blasi, Director, EUmies Awards
• Dirk Denison, Director, Mies Crown Hall Americas Prize
• Laura Viscovich, Executive Director, Holcim Foundation for Sustainable Construction
• Jesper Eis Eriksen, Executive Director, OBEL Award
• Marleen van Driel, Director of Architecture, Ammodo Architecture Award
• Xu Tiantian, Founding Principal Architect, DnA_Design and Architecture
• Mohsen Mostafavi, Alexander and Victoria Wiley Professor of Design and Harvard University Distinguished Service Professor
• Kjetil Thorsen, Co-founder, Snøhetta
• Marina Tabassum, Principal Architect, Marina Tabassum Architects
• Rozana Montiel, Founder and Director, Rozana Montiel Estudio de Arquitectura
• Andrés Jaque, Founding Principal, Office for Political Innovation, Dean Columbia University GSAPP

The event is free and open to all, with limited seating available on a first-come, first-served basis.