Four Finalists for 2017 Moriyama RAIC International Prize

Although Raymond Moriyama and the Royal Architectural Institute of Canada (RAIC) created the prize also to "raise the international stature of the RAIC and the Canadian architectural profession, and to encourage Canadian architects to aspire to international excellence," the CAD $100,000 prize is open to architects outside of Canada. One of the four finalists for 2017 hails from Canada, while the others include firms from Copenhagen, Boston, Victoria (AU), and Tokyo. The list of the four finalists for the 2017 Moriyama RAIC International Prize are below with more details available on the prize's website.
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In 2014 the inaugural Moriyama RAIC International Prize was given to Li Xiaodong for the Liyuan Library in China. The winner of the 2017 Prize will be announced on 19 September 2017 at the RAIC’s gala event in Toronto.

BIG - Bjarke Ingels Group
8 House, Copenhagen, Denmark

Jury comments:

This is a bold and beautifully integrated mix of multi-generational housing and universally accessible design. ... 8 House is a worthwhile experiment in the development of a new typology to create a vertical mixed-use community. ... The proposed socio-spatial concept offers a more durable way of densifying housing while maintaining a human scale.

Tezuka Architects
​Fuji Kindergarten, Tokyo, Japan

Jury comments:

This is an extraordinarily positive place – a giant playhouse filled with joy and energy, scaled to a broad range of the human condition. ... This architecture in its simplicity and uniqueness embodies a pedagogical ideology of early education. ... The limitless structure of the space liberates the child’s imagination.

John Wardle Architects and NADAAA
Melbourne School of Design, University of Melbourne, Melbourne, Australia

Jury comments:

The spatial concept of an architecture school has become the social focus of the campus for all students. ... It is a beautifully orchestrated space, thoughtfully detailed and well crafted. ... It redefines the educational mission by engaging students with the entire building as a collaborative learning environment.

MacKay-Lyons Sweetapple Architects
​The Village Architect, Shobac Campus, Upper Kingsburg, Nova Scotia, Canada

Jury comments:

​In this age of specialization, this contrarian initiative questions the architect’s accepted role, and instead suggests a broadening rather than a narrowing of the current scope of practice. In so doing, the architect is re-established at the centre rather than at the periphery of critical decision-making.

The 2017 jury consists of:

• Monica Adair, MRAIC: Co-founder of Acre Architects and 2015 Recipient of the RAIC Young Architect Award.
• Manon Asselin, MRAIC: Co-founder of Atelier TAG and Associate Professor of Architecture at the University of Montreal.
• Bryan Avery, MBE: Founder of Avery Associates Architects, author, and lecturer. 
• George Baird, FRAIC: Founding Principal of Baird Sampson Neuert Architects; former Dean of the John H. Daniels Faculty of Architecture, Landscape, and Design at the University of Toronto; and 2010 Recipient of the RAIC Gold Medal.
• Peter Cardew, FRAIC: Founder of Peter Cardew Architects and 2012 Recipient of the RAIC Gold Medal.
• Barry Johns, FRAIC: Jury Chair and Chancellor of the RAIC College of Fellows.
• Li Xiaodong, Hon. FAIA: Winner of the inaugural Moriyama RAIC International Prize.