Published: Friday, 1st August, 2008 12:00
Looking for the best laid plans
By Annabel Williams
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A sight for sore eyes: Inside the John Madejski Academy.
WHAT does Whitley’s John Madejski Academy have in common with the elephant house at Copenhagen Zoo, fashion house Fendi’s flagship store in Beverly Hills, California, a public toilet block in Austin, Texas and a police station in Melbourne, Australia?
Give up?
Well, all have been shortlisted in the inaugural World Architecture Festival Awards, competing against cutting edge airports, museums and Olympic stadia around the globe.
More than 200 projects across 43 countries are up for the gongs, which celebrate buildings completed in the last 18 months.
Architects will present their work live to juries and audiences at the festival, which takes place over three days in October in Barcelona.
On the final day winners from each of the 17 categories, from private homes to offices and transport to sport, will compete to be named the World Building of the Year 2008.
Catering for pupils aged 11 to 18, the Hartland Road academy was built with £2million of investment from entrepreneur and Reading Football Club owner, John Madejski, with the other £25.6million from the Government.
The school was built by Wilkinson Eyre Architects and officially opened by former Prime Minister Tony Blair last December.
It is among 23 British projects to make the shortlist, which also includes Wembley Stadium and the O2 Arena in London, Manchester Civil Justice Service Centre and the De La Warr Pavilion in Bexhill-on-Sea.
Festival organiser, Emap Limited, runs a number of other events including the World Retail Congress and Cannes Lions International Advertising Festival, and publishes The Architectural Review, The Architects’ Journal, and Middle East Economic Digest.
Paul Finch, The Architectural Review editor and festival programme director, said: “The global construction market is currently worth more than £2.3trillion and at any one time, hundreds of thousands of buildings are on the drawing board or under construction.
“This shortlist provides a true indicator of the quality and diversity of architectural design worldwide.
“Each of the shortlisted projects has been selected for its aesthetic quality as well as for the way in which it takes the economic, social and environmental needs of the clients and communities into consideration.
“Any of them could win, irrespective of their scale.”
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