The 20 shortlisted projects for the 2019 Aga Khan Award for Architecture

In January, an independent Master Jury reviewed hundreds of nominations. The 20 shortlisted projects are now undergoing rigorous investigations by a team of experts who visit and evaluate each project on-site. Their reports are the basis for the Master Jury’s selection of the eventual laureates. It should be noted that projects commissioned by the Aga Khan or any of the institutions of the Aga Khan Development Network (AKDN) are ineligible for the Award. To be eligible for consideration in the 2019 Award cycle, projects had to be completed between 1 January 2012 and 31 December 2017, and should have been in use for at least one year. 

President Minnikhanov welcomed the decision of the Prize Steering Committee to host the prestigious awards ceremony in the historic center of Kazan, Republic of Tatarstan, Russian Federation.

The 20 shortlisted projects are:



1. Alioune Dio University Lecture Building 

Bambey, Senegal.
Architects.- IDOM.

Inspired by a large tree in the centre of the Alioune Diop University campus, the new lecture building was designed as a place of shelter, shade and freshness for its students.

2. Warka Water 

Dorza, Ethiopia.
Architect.- Arturo Vittori.

During a trip to Ethiopia, architect Arturio Vittori discovered the natural beauty of the country along with one of its dramatic realities: a dearth of drinking water. To solve this issue, Vittori and his team came up with an unusual design solution: Warka Water. 

3. Ashinaga Uganda Dormitory 

Nansana, Uganda.
Architects.- Terrain Architects.

This residential school accommodates 50 orphans from different countries in sub-Saharan Africa. The students learn to live together with people from different cultures and are prepared to enter universities abroad.

4. Tadjourah Sos Children’s Village 

Tadjourah, Djibouti.
Architects.- Urko Sanchez Architects.

Based on the model of SOS Children’s Villages, the project team built 15 houses in a medina-styled complex designed to shelter at-risk children and give them the chance of a normal childhood in a loving family. 

5. Muttrah Fish Market 

Muscat, Oman.
Architects.- Snøhetta.

The new market celebrates the continuity of the region’s trade and fishing traditions, while also catering to Oman’s growing tourism industry. Situated at Muttrah’s harbour, a top tourist attraction, it houses a rooftop restaurant in addition to the market itself. 

6. Revitalization of Muharraq 

Muharraq, Bahrain.
Architects.- Authority for Culture & Antiquities Conservation Department.

This site is an exceptional testimony to the pearl trade in the Arabian Peninsula, on which Bahrain thrived during the 19th century. In a visionary effort to maintain the spirit of this historic city a number of conservation projects as well as some new buildings and schemes for the public spaces have been implemented by an NGO and the government. 

7. Concrete at Alserkal Avenue 

Dubai, United Arab Emirates.
Architects.- OMA: Office for Metropolitan Architecture.

Alserkal Avenue, a former industrial complex in Dubai has been transformed into a cultural hub. This project took four existing warehouses and reimagined them to create Concrete, a flexible, multipurpose space for artists and cultural events in the centre of the complex.

8. Al Mureijah Art Spaces 

Sharjah, United Arab Emirates.
Architects.- Mona El Mousfy, Sharmeen Azam Inayat.

The Sharjah Art Foundation, a cultural institution that emerged from the Sharjah Biennial, wanted to invest in non-museum spaces and simultaneously reclaim historic links to the city centre. Five dilapidated buildings in the Al Mureijah neighbourhood offered the perfect urban and architectural setting for a contemporary art venue. 

9. Wasit Wetland Centre 

Sharjah, United Arab Emirates.
Architects.- X-Architects.

Part of a much larger project to clean up and rehabilitate this ancient chain of wetlands along the coast, the Wetland Centre aims to provide information and education about this unique environment – and to encourage its preservation. 

10. Msheireb Museums 

Doha, Qatar.
Architects.- John McAslan + Partners.

Four historic courtyard houses dating from the early 20th century have been remodelled and extended to accommodate unified, state-of-the-art museums that together comprise a central element of the development of downtown Doha.

11. Jarahieh School 

Al-Marj, Lebanon.
Architects.- CatalyticAction.

The school provides not only educational facilities for children from 300 Syrian refugee families, but is also a hub for community activities and the settlement’s only secure shelter in the event of snowstorm or earthquake. 

12. Palestinian Museum 

Birzeit, Palestine.
Architects.- Heneganh Peng Architects.

The Museum, clad in local limestone, crowns a terraced hill overlooking the Mediterranean. Its design was directly inspired by the surrounding rural landscape with which it blends seamlessly. 

13. Enghelab Street Rehabilitation 

Tehran, Iran.
Architects.- Amir Anoushfar, Abdolazim Bahmanyar, Mohadeseh Mirderikvandi.

The project encompasses both the rehabilitation of the façades of 114 existing buildings – including 54 of particular interest – and the creation of a public cultural space between the national theatre and opera house.

14. Arcadia Education Project 

South Kanarchor, Bangladesh.
Architects.- Saif Ul Haque Sthapati Maleka Welfare.

Trust, a private social welfare organization, purchased a patch of land to relocate one of their preschools and develop additional social facilities, such as a hostel for single women, a nursery and a vocational training centre. 

15. Amber Denim Loom Shed 

Gazipur, Bangladesh. 
Architects.- Archeground.

The “Loom Shed” is a new design that employs a traditional Bangladeshi residential architecture with contemporary elements that give it a modern twist. 

16. Taman Bima Microlibrary 

Bandung, Indonesia. 
Architects.- SHAU Architects.

A pilot project for a series of low-cost, eco-conscious reading facilities in urban and rural villages, the Microlibrary aims to help combat Indonesia’s low literacy rates. 

17. Am Residence 

Jakarta, Indonesia.
Architects.- Andramatin Architect.

Designed for the architect, the house is characterised by a sense of warmth, simple space programming, and consideration for its wooded suburban context.

18. Courtyard House Plugin 

Beijing, China.
Architects.- People's Architecture Office.

This prefabricated modular system was first developed as a prototype for installation within courtyard houses in the traditionally Muslim district of Dashilar, in Beijing.

19. Tatarstan Public Spaces Development Programme 

Various locations, Tatarstan, Russian Federation. 
Architects.- Architecturny Desant Architectural Bureau.

A programme to improve public spaces, which continues until 2022, covers each of Tatarstan’s 45 municipal districts, the main settlements of which range from major cities to small villages.

20. Beyazit State Library Renovation 

Istanbul, Turkey.
Architects.- Tabanlioğlu Architects.

Founded in 1884 inside a 16th century building, Beyazıt State Library, one of the oldest and largest libraries in Istanbul, underwent an important restoration.