WAN Jurors weather the storm to pick the top twelve commercial projects of 2010

This year’s Commercial judging was hit by country-wide weather issues, with snow drifts and icy tracks threatening to throw off the entire affair. Luckily the WAN Jury panel is made from sterner stuff, with the majority of our chosen few braving the treacherous conditions to make it in (and Vice President of HOK Barry Hughes quick to make up the numbers!).

Once again, the panel were blown away by the ‘high quality’ and ‘remarkable’ diversity of projects submitted. Expert in eco-urbanism and valued member of the UIA, Miguel Ruano was not only impressed by the variety of projects, but also of the architects who entered them: “new architects, young architects, well experienced architects…” Despite praising the wide geographical and demographical spread of commercial projects of offer, Ruano continued: “nothing from Africa unfortunately, maybe next year there will be something from Africa.”

Whilst the contrast of designs entered played a key role in the selection process and provided a solid basis for avid discussions, there was a noted distinction between this year’s entries and those of 2009 – especially noticeable in the unbuilt category. The jury was quick to point out that the longlists provided a snapshot of ‘the state of art and architecture on the planet today’.

UNBUILT

Adajan Terminal, Surat, India Space Matrix Design Consultants Pte Ltd
Spiegel Headquarters, Hamburg, Germany Henning Larsen Architects
KEPCO Headquarters, Naju, South Korea Haeahn Architecture + H Associates
Cliff_hanger Hotel, Grand Canyon, United States HKS, Inc.
Garak Market Redevelopment, Seoul, South Korea Samoo Architects & Engineers
Manama Lagoon, Bahrain, Bahrain International Design Studio Pte Ltd

BUILT

Burj Khalifa, Dubai, United Arab Emirates Skidmore, Owings & Merrill LLP
Sanlitun Village, Beijing, China The Oval Partnership Limited
Ramboll Head Office, Copenhagen, Denmark Ramboll Denmark & DISSING+WEITLING architecture
European Investment Bank HQ, Luxembourg, Luxembourg ingenhoven architects
Spinpark, Guimarães, Portugal IMAGO - atelier de engenharia e arquitectura lda
MGM Mirage CityCenter, Crystals, Las Vegas, United States Studio Daniel Libeskind