The prestigious Aga Khan Award for Architecture (AKAA) has announced the list of winners for its 2022 edition.
Established in 1977 by the Aga Khan, the award for Architecture promotes new building concepts in communities with a Muslim presence.
Since its launch 45 years ago, around 121 projects have received the AKAA award and 10,000 building projects were documented.
The 15th Award Cycle recognized 6 winners in several fields, from contemporary design to landscape design, from India, Iran, Lebanon, and Senegal, who will share the $1 million award.
Lebanon’s renovation of the Niemeyer Guest House in Tripoli has been selected with 5 other projects, as a winner of the 2022 Aga Khan Award for Architecture.
The firm behind the project, East Architecture Studio, founded by Lebanese Charles Kettaneh and Nicolas Fayad, expressed that the award is “one of the largest in architecture, and shows promise for communities, innovation, and care for the environment.”
Designed in 1962 by the Brazilian architect Oscar Niemeyer, the guesthouse was deserted during Lebanon’s civil war in 1975.
The site in Tripoli was named Rachid Karami International Fair and added to UNESCO’s World Heritage list. One of its 15 pavilions, the Niemeyer Guest House, was transformed into a production facility to promote the city’s wood industry.