Arquin-FAD, the association that is the driving force behind these well-known interior architecture awards, has been going strong since 1958, the year in which the prizes were first given out with the goal of encouraging innovation.  This year, several projects have been selected and will form part of the ‘El mejor diseño del año’ (The Best Design of the Year) exhibition that will run from June 2 until August 28 at Disseny Hub Barcelona.  We here at Connections By Finsa wanted to share our three top picks from the event:

 

Peter Lindbergh: Untold Stories

This project by Elsa Urquijo Arquitectos and Emilio Montero was described by the jury as “the first of many cultural and exhibition projects that this new site at A Coruña port to open the city up to the sea”.  The site features old Cantabrian Cement silos and the Batería jetty at A Coruña port opening out onto the sea, transforming them into a cultural space that is accessible to all.

 

Salida

This project, the title of which translates to Exit, features an exterior landscape scene that acts as a spatial illusion, with trees and a sunset where visitors can mingle.  It’s an homage to the complex period of history that we experienced in the middle of the COVID-19 pandemic and is from the minds at ARCO Madrid.

 

CEM KAMANAR highschool (Senegal)

The chosen international project, led by David García and Aina Tugores, focused on the respecting local culture and available resources, while also ensuring that the structure would integrate seamlessly into the landscape, making it feel like the two form part of a whole – the ideal relationship between the interior and exterior of a building.