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GOLDEN CUBES AWARDS 2020/2023. RESULTS

 

The UIA Architecture & Children Golden Cubes Awards were founded to honour people and organizations that help children and young people to understand architecture. Entrants made submissions describing activities or products designed to teach children and young people to understand architectural design and the processes by which our environment is formed, Built
Environment Education, BEE.

 

Following a national selection process, 31 countries submitted their nominations to an International Jury in four categories - Institutions, Schools, Written Media and Audio-Visual Media. 82 National best nominations were sent to UIA, there were 30 entries in Institutions category, 19 entries in School category, 17 in Written Media category and 15 in Audio and visual category.
 

The International Jury met virtually on March 29 th and April 18 th 2023 to evaluate the best national nominated entries and select one in each category for an Award. The jury also selected eight additional entries for Special Mention.


The jury was fascinated by the variety of approaches of the different projects from the different countries all over the world. The jury renowned the fact that the entries from the five UIA regions, including new and non-member state counties. The jury acknowledged the fact of tackling the health and well-being, better quality of life, participation, and the UN 17 SDGs values and aspects in most of the works. BEE activities was successfully executed during the last three years, in spite of COVID pandemic: That shows the creativity and resilience of BEE actors.
 

The International Jury has selected the following winners and special mentions:

Institutions Golden Cubes Award:

 

Winner project:
Entrant N°3931 Germany Spielstadt Mini München Play City Mini-München (Architecture and urban planning with children).

Entrant: Gerd Grüneisl, Kultur & Spielraum e.V.
 

Jury’s comment: Education about the urban dynamics of city life can never be more fun. Through a simple holiday game that engages children, families, experts and different city institutions, the playing practices offer children a variety of role in which they have various planning and design decisions to make. Social, economic, political and organizational interactional challenges do prepare the children for their adult life roles in their cities.
 

Special Mention:
Entrant N°3935 Portugal Let’s renovate our garden and make bridges out of walls.

Entrant: ArkiPlay – architecture is for all!

Jury’s comment: In quest for health and well-being in vulnerable neighbourhoods in Portugal, this participatory project succeeds to alter the abandoned locations into sustainable, joyful, playful, amiable, edutainment spaces for kids, setting an example to be followed in many parts of the world.
 

Special Mention:
Entrant N°3979 Denmark Architecture building kits for hospitalized children.

Entrant: Arkibag Charlotte Carstensen


Jury’s comment: Through an infinite number of play options, isolated children’s physical and mental health is strengthened, as they become a part of the outside world beyond the hospital walls. Through playing with the architecture kit, the children’s enthusiasm, imagination and creativity are amplified, leaving them with brighter hopes for their roles as cocreators of their built environment upon departing the hospitals.

 

Schools Golden Cubes Award:

 

Winner project:
Entrant N°3983 Japan Workshop centred on building a straw hut.

Entrant:: Architectural studio WORKS


Jury’s comment: Using rice straws, soil of rice fields and mud, the children are able to observe a full process of production and circulation of harvesting rice, felling bamboo and painting clay. The “Entei” project links the young children with their vegetation and agricultural heritage, and highlights the relationship and aspects with the local building culture and vernacular architecture. Children become cocreators of their built environment, reinforced with a knowledge of their surroundings while fostering their pride and sense of belonging.


Special Mention:
Entrant N°3927 Nigeria Thank God it’s Friday, TGIF Assembles.

Entrant: Great Blessings Christian Learning Centre, Rayfield, JOS
 

Jury’s comment: The project smoothly Introduces the “Reduce, Reuse, Recycle and Upcycle” values that are core aspects of the wise consumption and waste management sustainable goal to children. Through art, recycling and repurposing of material with the help of professional technical experts develops the children’s critical thinking and problem-solving skills to find creative solutions while learning about their indigenous culture.


Special Mention:
Entrant N o 3950 Romania The Park Tribune.

Entrant: Dimitrie Anghel-Secondary School, Cornesti Village, Iasi, Romania
 

Jury’s comment: A practical implementation of BEE at school. Throughout the project, children were actually playing with geometry in natural landscapes. They utilized the available material to design and implement an amphitheatre park with customized benches, creating an area for relaxation, a playground, an outdoor classroom and a location that will brings the entire community together in social and cultural events.

 

Written media Golden Cubes Award:

 

Winner project:
Entrant N° 3896 Hungary Landscape-space-repository + Creations boost visual-spatial-intelligence.
Entrant: GyIK Mühely Foundation (Creative Art Studio for Children and Youth)

Jury’s comment: This well-structured methodical handbook makes landscape education easy through an architecture and art approach. The book starts with providing tasks from abstract spatial concepts gradually and smoothly till actual three-dimensional arts, crafts and design tasks. The book is also a resourceful manifesto not only for teachers at school but for trainers in every BEE venue.
 

Special Mention:
Entrant N°3956 Serbia Spector – the sustainability inspector.

Entrant: Marta Brkovic Dodig, NGO ARQubator, Belgrade
 

Jury’s comment: A strategic board game which presents an innovative way of introducing multiple architectural aspects including the UN17 Sustainable Development Goals to children. The game also emphasizes the importance of the built heritage.
 

Special Mention:
Entrant N o 3985 Japan Development of SDGs Super City Game: Card Game of New Concepts for the Next Generation.

Entrant: Takaguchi Laboratory, Waseda University/ Maeda Laboratory, Takasaki University of Commerce/ Insplace Inc
 

Jury’s comment: How to achieve a sustainable city is a core BEE principal that sought to be rooted in the children’s minds from the onset. Through this challenging game board, children are able to draw and prioritize city planning goals and allocate building typologies along sustainable thinking criteria and considerations. The winner is the one who is able to create a better quality of life for everyone in the city.

 

Audio visual media Golden Cubes Award:

 

Winner project:
Entrant N°4021 Egypt Al Khalifa Urban Dreams

Entrant: Megwara| Athar Lina / Architect Hadeer Saeed Dahab
 

Jury’s comment: Through the collaboration and engagement of international place-making film producing team together with BEE educators, this project captured the youth’s change of their own perspective and relationships to the natural and urban heritage of their vulnerable historic area. The developed personal stories through films acknowledge the social and economic values of their historic districts and enhances awareness of broader environmental issues.
 

Special Mention:
Entrant N°3860 Israel StreetPlay JLM

Entrant: Insomnia Studio / Nir Cohen and Hadasa Greenberg- Yaakov
 

Jury’s comment: The project succeeds in utilizing augmented reality in enhancing and deepening the children’s understanding of history, archaeology, architecture, urbanism, art and culture. The game route strengthens children’s awareness of the city streets, hidden squares and alleys, while the virtual reality supports farther knowledge of bygone folklore and people pf the city.
 

Special Mention:
Entrant N o 3890 Canada Architecture Playshop: Developing Critical Literacy with Young Children around Climate Change, Forced Migration and the Built Environment.

Entrant: Prof. Ipek Türell


Jury’s comment: A resourceful platform for BEE educators worldwide that emphasizes the role of the architect and shapes their sustainable thinking from an early age. Climate change, fossil fuels, greenhouse gasses, pollution, clean energy, global warming, climatic migration, renewable building materials, solar gains, etc., are issues introduced to young children through this project.

 

The international jury members were:

- Carla RINALDI (Professor and president of Fondazione Reggio Children – Centro Malaguzzi, Italy)
- Angela Uttke MILLION (Professor Technical University Berlin, Germany)
- Krisztina SOMOGYI (Communications specialist, Hungary)
- Jorge RAEDO (Media specialist, Colombia)
- Heba Safey ELDEEN (Professor, Architect, Codirector, UIA Architecture & Children Work Programme, Egypt)
- Ken-Ichi SUZUKI (Professor Nagoya City University, Japan)
- Peter EXLEY (Professor former president of AIA cofounder of Architecture is fun, USA)

 


The Awards and special mentions will be formally presented during the Official UIA Award Ceremony during the 28 th UIA Congress of Architecture, UIA2023CPH International Award Winners, Special Mentions and all of the best National Nominations projects will be exhibited at the UIA Congress in July 2023 where we hope you join us in Copenhagen.

 

SUMMARIES AND EVALUATIONS OF THE WORLDWIDE COMPETITION
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