Li Xiaodong Wins The first Moriyama RAIC International Prize
25/10/2014.
Moriyama RAIC International Prize [Toronto] Canada
metalocus, INÉS LALUETA
metalocus, INÉS LALUETA
The Moriyama RAIC International Prize awarded $100,000 to the Chinese architect Li Xiaodong for the Liyuan Library at a gala for 350 people at the Aga Khan Museum in Toronto Saturday.
Barry Johns, the head of the prize’s selection jury, called it “a modest yet powerful building that makes architecture from a deep understanding of place, materiality, form and light.”
Barry Johns, the head of the prize’s selection jury, called it “a modest yet powerful building that makes architecture from a deep understanding of place, materiality, form and light.”
Liyuan Library by Li Xiaodong. Photography © courtesy of Moriyama RAIC International Prize.
Liyuan Library by Li Xiaodong. Photography © courtesy of Moriyama RAIC International Prize.
Liyuan Library by Li Xiaodong. Photography © courtesy of Moriyama RAIC International Prize.
Liyuan Library by Li Xiaodong. Photography © courtesy of Moriyama RAIC International Prize.
Liyuan Library by Li Xiaodong. Photography © courtesy of Moriyama RAIC International Prize.
Liyuan Library by Li Xiaodong. Photography © courtesy of Moriyama RAIC International Prize.
Liyuan Library by Li Xiaodong. Photography © courtesy of Moriyama RAIC International Prize.
Liyuan Library by Li Xiaodong. Photography © courtesy of Moriyama RAIC International Prize.
Section. Liyuan Library by Li Xiaodong. Image © courtesy of Moriyama RAIC International Prize.
A modest library on the outskirts of Beijing, China, designed by architect Li Xiaodong, has won the inaugural Moriyama RAIC International Prize. Distinguished Canadian architect Raymond Moriyama, FRAIC, established the prize in collaboration with the Royal Architectural Institute of Canada (RAIC) and the RAIC Foundation. It includes a monetary award of CAD$100,000 and a crystal sculpture by Canadia n designer Wei Ye.
One of the most generous architectural prizes in the world, the Moriyama RAIC International Prize is awarded to a building that is judged to be transf ormative, inspired as well as inspiring, and emblematic of the human values of respect and inclusiveness. It is open to all architects, irrespective of nationality and location. It recognizes a single work of architecture, as opposed to a life’s work, and celebrates buildings in use.
The Liyuan Library opened in May 2012, in the hillside village of Jiaojiehe. “It is a lovely object in a dramatic landscape, a wondrous thing to use and be in” the six - member jury wrote in their statement.
Architect Li Xiaodong started working with the community before funding was in place in the hopes that a well - designed library would not only improve life in the village but also boost the local economy by attracting tourists to the scenic area. The library was eventually funded by a rural - development grant from the Luke Him Sau Charitable Trust in Hong Kong. The construction budget for the 175 square metre library was CAD $185,000.
More information
Li Xiaodong
Li Xiaodong (b.1963, China) is a practicing architect, educator and researcher on architecture. He established Li Xiaodong Atelier in 1997, and his work ranges from in teriors to architecture and urban spaces. Currently, he is chair/professor at the School of Architecture, Tsinghua University, in Beijing. He graduated from the School of Architecture at Tsinghua University in 1984. He completed his Ph.D. at the School of Architecture, Eindhoven University of Technology in the Netherlands in 1993.
His work has won national and international design awards, including a 2010 Aga Khan Award for Architecture for Bridge School in Fujian Province, a World Architecture Festiva l award in 2012 for Liyuan Library , and the Architecture of Necessity Award, Sweden in 2013. Xiaodong has also received the UNESCO Jury Award for Innovation for Yuhu Elementary School. In 2011 he was named Man of the Year in China by GQ Magazine.
His publications in articles and books in both English and Chinese covers cultural studies, history and theory of architecture, and urban studies.
