Studio leads David Leech Architects win prestigious international prize.
Date: 14 December 2018
A project by David Leech Architects, whose principal leads Studio 6 on BA Architecture ( RIBA part 1) at The Cass, has won a 2018 World Architecture Festival (WAF) Award. His project a house in a garden - 81 Hollybrook Grove, Dublin, Ireland - beat off stiff international competition to win the House- Completed buildings category of the prestigious global accolades.
About the project:
The 81 Hollybrook Grove project is a contemporary translation of the ordinary suburban house. In their spirit, the house is built economically using everyday materials and techniques easily sourced and knowledgeable for a local builder and tradesmen. The house is situated in a garden at the end of a short terrace of a typical housing estate on the edge of Dublin city centre. A cross-shaped core divides the ground floor plan into 4 public rooms, a hall/library, kitchen, dining and living room. On the first floor, three bedrooms and a bathroom are located off a small top-lit central landing. The surrounding gardens are planted to grow wild with a mixture of edible planting, ferns and grasses. Externally the house is treated in a manner similar but exaggerated to its neighbours to become something at once familiar but ambiguous.
About the festival and awards:
The World Architecture Festival (WAF), which this year takes place in Amsterdam, is dedicated to celebrating, sharing and inspiring outstanding architecture. The event combines keynote talks from the industry’s most influential figures alongside live judging presentations from over 500 award finalists plus global networking and an international product exhibition. 2018 has been a record-breaking year, with the WAF awards receiving more entries than ever before. This year's shortlist was made up of an international collection of projects, from architectural practices from 66 countries.
Major world architects shortlisted included Zaha Hadid Architects, BIG, Neri & Hu Design and Research Office, Allford Hall Monaghan Morris, Nikken Sekkei, Perkins+Will, Grimshaw and Heatherwick Studio. Many smaller practices also took part to pitch against the big names.
The full WAF award results can be seen here
