Aga Khan awards for 7 architecture feats
The announcement at the historic Humayun's Tomb, marked the completion of the ninth cycle of the programme. The Award, which has a triennial prize fund of US$ 500,000, is the world's largest architectural award.
Seven projects selected by the 2004 award Master Jury are: Bibliotheca Alexandrina in Alexandria, Egypt; a primary school at Gando in Burkina Faso; self-built housing using sandbags developed by Iranian architect Nader Khalili; the restoration of Al-Abbas mosque in Asnaf, Yemen; a house built by two brothers overlooking the coast in Turkey and Petronas Towers in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.
For all latest news, follow The Daily Star's Google News channel. In his speech at the award ceremony, the Aga Khan remarked on the appropriateness of India as the venue for the event, given its rich cultural heritage and pluralistic traditions.
The Aga Khan emphasised that the Award for Architecture was a recognition of the work of architects and their clients, builders large and small, governments, planners, international organisations, granting agencies, village organisations and individuals, all of whom were collectively responsible for the creation of a humane, and socially-supportive built environment that was important to improve the quality of life of people.
Praising the Aga Khan for the work done in restoring historical monuments, Manmohan Singh said this had been an instructive example in finding new and creative solutions to the age-old problem of allocating scarce resources in a developing country to the preservation of heritage.
During the current cycle of the Award, 378 projects were presented for consideration, and 23 were reviewed on site by outside experts.
The Aga Khan Award for Architecture was established by the Aga Khan in 1977 to identify and encourage building concepts that successfully address the needs and aspirations of Islamic societies.
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