DAM Architectural Book Award 2023

These two books under the heading of “StadtLand” (UrbanRural) document the building projects for the International Building Exhibition (IBA) in...

These two books under the heading of “StadtLand” (UrbanRural) document the building projects for the International Building Exhibition (IBA) in Thuringia over the course of a decade. The two volumes, published by M Books, focus in depth on the topics of “Projects – for a new spatial practice” and “Perspectives – for a new spatial culture”. The respective cover design in radiant red or dark green, in combination with the slight embossing and white screen-printing create a real eye-catcher, even from a distance. The layout and type area of the inside pages reflects the innovative and resource-conscious values that were likewise foregrounded when developing the IBA projects. The images and graphics used capture the essence of those projects and convey an impression of the unique future places and experimental construction methods that evolved in Thuringia down through the years. They are not only aesthetically pleasing but also form a visual narrative of change and progress. The robust body of the book sized 24 × 17 cm is easy to handle and affords space not only for texts but also for plenty of high-grade photographs, in part as sequences of full-page spreads. The different text levels are carefully designed down to the micro-typography to create a clear hierarchy of information. I personally found it enjoyable to gradually discover the special ligatures and glyphs of the sans-serif display typeface. Moreover, the typography easily holds its ground against the luminescent chapter dividers that visualize the structure of the content in the edges and bleed too. The Roman typeface chosen for all the body copy has a contemporary feel to it and is very legible down to the smallest point size of the tilted picture captions. The publications form an invaluable archive and a creative expression of how architecture and design can play a decisive role in shaping a sustainable future geared to the common good. Just as the IBA Thuringia projects are pilot projects that encourage you to copy them, so the book design can definitely be considered a model to follow. (Ellen Schulte) 

Jury statement: The “Atlas des Dazwischenwohnens”, of the living spaces in-between, is intended as a reference book and imparts fundamental...

Jury statement: The “Atlas des Dazwischenwohnens”, of the living spaces in-between, is intended as a reference book and imparts fundamental orientational knowledge. The subtitle reveals what the book focuses on, namely living requirements beyond the front door and one’s own four walls. The book concentrates specifically on the residential setting, the interstices, and the quarter’s infrastructure. Meaning it addresses highly topical issues such as appropriation, usages, on using and changing given situations. What kind of living can there be in semi-public and public zones? How do the inhabitants appropriate it for themselves? In order to answer these questions, the book first outlines different housing needs and summarizes them in both impactful and charming terms, such as Adventure, Change of Scene, and Magic. It then goes on to specify places of “living in-between” and has the inhabitants themselves document these. Finally, a concrete aid for orientation is developed in order to enable readers to find the so-called “spaces in-between” themselves, describe them, and analyze them. In the second section of the easy-to-use book, six case studies are presented on the basis of the methods developed in the earlier part. It’s exciting to read how a variety of players are involved and express their opinions. The different voices and moods are also presented in a well-balanced manner visually: full-page photographs reflect truly lived spaces and contrast as images with the small-format Polaroid shots by the inhabitants, whose individual impressions in this way constitute a narrative level of their own. The quotes from experts and inhabitants are also set off in terms of the graphics and colors. Each of the case studies is titled using quotes, which imbues the book with a pleasant sense of directness. Key cross-references, such as the recurrent use of ground-plan typologies as symbols or the consistent referencing of purposedeveloped methods and concepts provide meaningful assistance when finding your way around the book. The very detailed, clear, and varied design runs right through all the heterogeneous parts of the volume, is aesthetically persuasive, and does justice to the content. In the form of this book, Lucerne University of Applied Sciences and Arts is documenting an in-house research project in a readily comprehensible and inspiring way. It quickly nudges the reader toward opening the doors and discovering, researching, conquering, encountering, and designing what lies beyond. The volume presents no less than a typology of “being able to live in-between”. It is intended as a practical tool and a basis for discussion and is aimed at planners and developers, and tenants who want to debate housing qualities that go beyond the particular parcel of land. In fact, it is a successful appeal to rediscover the space in-between as a space requiring design. (Kathrin Siebert)

Jury statement: The content delivers on what the title and cover promise. The book’s structure derives from the topic, explores...

Jury statement: The content delivers on what the title and cover promise. The book’s structure derives from the topic, explores many different aspects of the theme, and yet is very careful not to waste the reader’s time. All of these criteria for a good architecture book are fulfilled by the twin-volume “Stadtwerdung im Zeitraffer”, despite it running to no less than 630 pages. It takes us on a journey to the Swiss Plateau, to Schlieren, to a community in the belt of settlements agglomerated around Zurich, to a place joined in the course of 15 years by no less than 7,000 new inhabitants, where in some places there are now dense buildings and in others as little as nothing has changed. The book wins the prize not least also for its great vision and the endurance necessary to create such longstanding photographic coverage of the process of growing into a town. It also rewards the consistent photos that have been taken from carefully selected angles at intervals of two years each time. They shed light on silent marginal phenomena in the development process that only get considered all too rarely. Moreover, the choice of a suitable place to study the phenomenon of emerging as a town is worthy of praise in itself. For wherever you look towns are coming into being. The two sections of this twin volume tell of that process with the respectively appropriate means. Photos describe the visible moments and open our eyes to the microcosms of suburbs. The essays and other texts provide the background to the developments and place them in context. Together they serve to describe a process that many other communities are currently undergoing on the outskirts of large cities – or still have before them. Just as the editorial team has examined the place very thoroughly and down to the specifics, so, too, the book’s approach can be transposed onto other projects. This was another good reason why the jury awarded it a prize. (Friederike Meyer)

Jury statement: The book on the history and preservation of Swiss integrated system construction forms not only a crucial part...

Jury statement: The book on the history and preservation of Swiss integrated system construction forms not only a crucial part of architecture literature in 2023 but is also a key addition rounding out existing documentation in architecture history. The work offers a deeper look into the world of integrated system construction by taking comprehensive stock of the status of the subject and an interdisciplinary approach that covers not only architecture but also building structures and building physics. One of the book’s striking features are the pithy photos. Not only do they capture the aesthetic sides to system constructions but also highlight their functionality and adaptability. The book’s graphics are of an outstanding quality and visualize the different systems with great clarity and poignancy. They serve not only as explanations but also double up as the basis for more detailed analysis and a deeper understanding of the designs. The book’s design is also worthy of praise. Readers are immediately captivated by the choice of materials for the cover. A sound selection of stylistic tools also conveys the diversity and complexity of system structures in visual terms. Carefully attention to the materials used and high-grade finishing make for enjoyable contents and a pleasant touch, too. Especially of note is the significance of the book for heritage protection as regards plant construction. Such buildings are all too often overlooked and underestimated but form a key element of our architectural heritage. “System & Serie” contributes to preserving and respecting that historical and cultural heritage. It shows how these buildings can be integrated into the future without forfeiting their character and identity. The book will not least be of great benefit for future construction work. “System & Serie” offers an invaluable source of inspiration and insights into the design and realization of future construction projects. It skillfully combines research in architectural history with architectural practice. The multidisciplinary approach, the impressive images and graphics, and its great impact for heritage protection and future construction work make it an appealing read for architects, scholars, and everyone else interested in the development and preservation of our built environment. It deserves a fixed place on people’s bookshelves. (Andrea Jürges with Confiyet Aydin)

Jury statement: “Besser als neu” – better than new – is a publication that is dedicated to the highly topical...

Jury statement: “Besser als neu” – better than new – is a publication that is dedicated to the highly topical issue of resource efficiency in construction. Preserving our built environment and reusing building components and materials has a key role to play here. Taking the example of modernizing the façade of an office building in Basel, Switzerland, the book shows how to create a low-emission and circular system. The strikingly small-format volume delivers on what the sub-title promises. Not only is the important and highly complex topic rendered accessible for a broad readership by means of a real-life example, but it is also presented very vividly and in an appealing manner. The careful, truly classical book design is based on a clear color concept: black-and-white predominates in the typography as well as for the photographs, drawings, and sketches, while areas with a yellow background accentuate things. Especially worthy of note are not just the intelligently positioned essays but also the photo series that document the construction process. In these images, the focus is not only on architectural details, but also on the people who realize the project as a whole. The construction process and artisanship become truly physically palpable here. The book is not just a thorough documentation of the opportunities when tackling a façade from the 1960s and then from the 1900s. It is likewise an homage to precise workmanship. Anyone wanting a more abstract approach will probably immerse themselves in the drawings. Here, again, the emphasis is on simplicity. True-to-scale details as well as juxtapositions of photographs and drawings cover everything. And the book does not stop at the practical example of the façade modernization but gives a readily comprehensible insight into the superordinated concepts of “Reduce-Reuse-Recycle” in the construction world and poses questions that have been neglected to date: Where does the material for the façade come from? What happens to the insulation or the aluminum after a building is torn down and what volume of CO2 is embedded in the respective materials? First and foremost, taking the individual components of the façade as the starting point (from the window seals to the aluminum cladding), an account is given of how they were taken apart, cleaned, and re-used, what materials had to be trashed and replaced, and how all of this impacts on the building’s carbon balance. It remains to be hoped that this exemplary introduction prompts many to copy it in practice. (Kathrin Siebert)

Jury statement: The words “The Renewal of Dwelling” stand in black on the white cover, declaring their intent. The lion’s...

Jury statement: The words “The Renewal of Dwelling” stand in black on the white cover, declaring their intent. The lion’s share of apartment tenement blocks in Europe were erected between 1945 and 1975; in the first three decades after World War II there was an immense demand for new apartments. To this day, millions of people have their homes in the countless housing complexes built back then. The public sector played a major role in helping master the housing shortage. This book presents about 50 projects, with the focus on the cities of Cologne, Lyon, Oslo, Porto, and Zagreb. Moreover, the cities of Leeds, Liverpool, Manchester, and Sheffield are also included. About eight projects are explored in each case to shed light on the location. In addition to studying the ground-plans, the standards in place at the time, the overall economic conditions and the planning philosophy, the respective political context in the post-War world is also discussed. The structured texts start with a short outline of the background history and the urban planning situation. The focus then goes on to cover façades, load-bearing structures, ground-plans, and fit-out features. The book shows clearly how it was possible given the challenges to nevertheless achieve the fundamental renewal of the housing stock and realize it architecturally. As part of the “Housing in Europe” research seminar, students at Darmstadt Technical University collected the historical material that was then comprehensively worked up by the editors Elli Mosayebi and Michael Kraus. Especially noteworthy is the typographical design, which creates a clear structure and likewise ensures the great variety of pictorial material comes into its own. The color design of the book is skillful, supports the overall structuring, and facilitates orientation. The voluminous paper used is nevertheless fairly light and very pleasant to the hand when you leaf through the volume. Zurich’s “Büro 146” consisting of Maike Hamacher, Madeleine Stahel and Marcel Schirmer designed the publication and their work here is truly outstanding. (Danny Lettkemann)

Jury statement: The monograph on the oeuvre of architect Armando Ruinelli is persuasively simple and poignant. The straightforward and haptically...

Jury statement: The monograph on the oeuvre of architect Armando Ruinelli is persuasively simple and poignant. The straightforward and haptically pleasant cloth cover boasts the title in a sans serif font that is positioned on the upper left edge of the book. It is a multilingual edition, and the title is therefore in both German and Italian. Although the volume is comparatively large, owing to its light weight and broad spine it lies well in the hand. The entire book’s layout is very clear in structure. The content is well-organized as highlighted by the careful arrangement of text and graphics and thought through down to the smallest details. The content harmonizes superbly with the design to create a sensory experience. This book highlights the sheer breadth of Ruinelli’s development as an architect. Starting with his first buildings in his native village in the 1980s through modernization projects and new builds that preserve the local traditions and at the same time accord with contemporary notions of housing, through to his latest undertakings in which his architectural expression achieves a certain autonomy, as in the almost abstract studio for artist Miriam Cahn. That said, the book’s focus is on his works in the new millennium. In addition to the images by photographers Ralph Feiner and Raymond Meier and the plans and graphics, the articles by renowned authors (including Ludmila Seifert and Florian Aicher) as well as a picture essay by Katalin Deér provide many an insight into the architect’s buildings and philosophy. They convey the specific features of his lifeworld and the mood in the Alps. Armando Ruinelli has long since been an acknowledged international authority on advancing old builds, in particular in mountainous regions, well beyond his home canton of Grisons. Since 2000, Ruinelli has been developing projects together with Fernando Giovanoli, who has partnered in his architecture practice, and with a small team of assistants. Ruinelli is self-taught and his intense occupation with the place, its typologies, and even traditional and local building techniques form the basis for his unique approach to old builds and the surroundings, whereby his solutions always entail high-grade and exceptionally precise architecture. Armando Ruinelli is undoubtedly a gift to his local community and the entire region and serves as a fine role model for how a village can develop through harmonious design for all the changed requirements and usages. In the course of the book it becomes abundantly clear what a favorable influence an architect like him can have before people start building in a haphazard way in a village. It is highly enjoyable to immerse oneself in the book and thus in Ruinelli’s thought and works. (Danny Lettkemann)

Jury statement: The most beautiful thing about the book is its cover. When you first take it into your hands...

Jury statement: The most beautiful thing about the book is its cover. When you first take it into your hands you are immediately tempted to touch the different types of rendering. The bulky manual stands out for its exceptionally pleasant haptics. On leafing through it, you will come across large illustrations and detailed images, plans and graphic elements, not to mention recurrent illustrations of the specific material. All of this is interwoven with the different blocks of text to create a lively read. Inside the book, the focus is first and foremost on visualizing the immense potential of the material. The editors summarize their findings in three thematic blocks, namely the material itself, crafting it, and its history. Ten different types of rendering, including stucco plaster, lime plaster, and clay plaster are presented in detail along with their technical properties. The book explains what effect they can have in terms of building physics. Artisans, manufacturers, designers, and heritage specialists report on how they use the particular material and what their preferences are. All of this is vividly described by showing a larger number of applications in historical and in contemporary buildings. They all prompt the reader to consider the incredible opportunities rendering offers. Special importance is attached to the section on crafting the material. Rendering is a material that can be designed individually to an almost unprecedented extent, but accordingly also depends on the skills of the respective artisan. The book explains the best way to handle corners and edges, such as the seam between the floor and the wall. And presents the example of a school building in Switzerland in which the metal wainscotting set into the rendering creates a seamless link. In particular the “walk” through construction history is illuminating: Be it plaster bosses in Palazzo del Te in Mantua or stone rendering in Berlin’s Staatsbibliothek, they all await discovery. In the course of the long history of using plaster, the mixture of bonding material, sand and water has been subject to regional specificities, fashion trends, and the respective state of science. The historical discussion culminates in the description of the rendering in Carlo Scarpa’s Casa Zentner in Zurich. Marvelous architecture designed down to the last detail and with elements that are more than worthy of being used today. The volume closes with an extensive glossary. And at the latest here inspired readers will no doubt be wondering why it required this book to draw their attention to all these wonderful details or why they had missed them previously. (Dr. Annette Becker)

Jury statement: The selection of pure photobooks was not great this year, and yet if it had only been about...

Jury statement: The selection of pure photobooks was not great this year, and yet if it had only been about photobooks, Flatlands would have remained very high up on my list. The presentation and aesthetics immediately catch the eye, the print extends from the cover across the edges, the classic thread stitching makes leafing through it and viewing images all the more pleasant and the beautiful printing on matt paper ensures the overall result is a very fine book. The sequence of images kicks off immediately. While the book’s spine suggests that it is in portrait format, the entire book is actually filled with landscape-format photos. The pages are designed as double spreads, whereby the upper section remains white, and the lower section contains the image. Spohler consciously eschews arranging sets of two images, and thus each receives our full attention. The topic is the Netherlands. Henrik Spohler takes us along to a photographic viewing of the countryside. He has us discover how people have artificially appropriated the countryside in a country which played so strong a role in the development of the landscape painting as a genre back in the 17th century. With great curiosity he explores the flat lands outside the densely populated conurbations and shows us countryside packed full of things, crisscrossed by a complex network of roads, canals, rail tracks, and locks, in which every square meter is being used by people. With his distanced eye, his calm visual language, and his gorgeous compositions, he has created a sequence of photos that are enjoyable right through to the end. After just short of 50 photos one might be forgiven thinking that a wind turbine, a container ship, streets or rail tracks can merge aesthetically into the countryside and therefore no longer need be viewed as disturbances, at least not in Spohler’s images. In his text at the back of the book, Gerbrand Bakker writes so beautifully about the “inexorability of flat land. Inexorable in the sense of open, visibly unprotected, nothing can be hidden.” I’m very happy about this, as nothing in the images needed to hide, nor should it have done. It is not the first book by Henrik Spohler, and I’m already looking forward to the next one. (Marcus Bredt)