International 2022 Piranesi Award

The Piranesi Awards have been conferred annually since 1989, with just the 2020 iteration canceled due to the coronavirus pandemic. Following last year's resumption, when a sports hall in Budapest won the top award, this year's awards again focus on projects nominated from nearly a dozen European countries: Austria, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia, Czech Republic, Greece, Hungary, Italy, Montenegro, Serbia, Slovakia, and Slovenia. 

Close to fifty architectural projects were nominated, with the members of the jury* taking a number of criteria into consideration, including: consideration of context; innovative spatial plan and layout; a respectful approach to natural and cultural heritage; innovative details; and a considered use of color, materials, light, and texture. Details on the winner, the two honorable mentions, and a student honorable mention are below.

The jury determined the winner of the International 2022 Piranesi Award is Covering the Remains of the Church of St. John the Baptist in the Žiče Charterhouse with the temporary lapidary (full title), located in Kartuzija Žiče, Slovenia. The project, completed in 2022, was designed by Ljubljana's MEDPROSTOR (Rok Žnidaršič, Jerneja Fischer Knap, Samo Mlakar, Katja Ivić, Dino Mujić).

Dating back to the 12th century, the Žiče Charterhouse is a former monastery that is now used as an event space for tours, concerts, and even weddings. As part of ongoing reconstruction work at the site, a national cultural monument, MEDPROSTOR covered the walls of the Church of St. John the Baptist with a movable roof. The jury awarded the project the highest honor for its "brave and sensitive approach towards cultural heritage. Authors of the project introduce one innovative element – moving roof that creates a new function and reinterprets the ruins – the silhouette of the roof."

Two honorable mentions were also decided, including House MM in Domžale, Slovenia, designed by a2o2 arhitekti (Žiga Ravnikar and Eva Senekovič, in collaboration with Klara Bohinc and Andraž Keršič) and completed in 2020. The jury said it "appreciates a good practice of how to work with vernacular housing. It is introducing an innovative layout, revitalizing [an] old building, creating a modern space for living while using traditional materials."

The other honorable mention is the Reconstruction of a Roman Theatre in Pula, Croatia, carried out by architect Emil Jurcan of Zadruga Praksa and completed in 2022. The jury described it as "a simple yet complex interventions done to the heritage site. It shows a sensitive handling of this topic – minimal input with the strong impact which is making the cultural heritage accessible for the public, showing the importance for the society."

Lastly, one student honorable mention was selected from the 36 students projects nominated by 18 European schools of architecture from Graz, Spittal, Vienna, Banja Luka, Sarajevo, Zagreb, Thessaloniki, Budapest, Pescara, Trieste, Podgorica, Bratislava, Ljubljana, Maribor, Belgrade, Kragujevac, Novi Sad and AA London. The jury selected the project Across the Wall, designed by Architectural Association London student Tetsuya Saito under Lawrence Barth and Lucy Styles. The jury selected the project because of its "subtle way of inhabiting an abandoned territory of a former mine. Project brings a housing that does not have urban characteristic to the countryside combining with agricultural production."