The Industrial Association of Hot-Dip Galvanizing has been awarding the “Verzinkerpreis” for architecture and design since 1989, i.e. for more than 30 years. This award recognises projects that differ from the mainstream in terms of design, but also with regard to resource conservation and sustainability in a positive sense.
As is traditionally the case, the audience’s attention was turned to exceptional building projects at the 17th award ceremony. With 51 entries, the award once again met with a great response from the professional public, building on previous years seamlessly. The projects entered and especially those awarded once again demonstrate the wide range of applications for hot-dip galvanised steel and its importance with regard to future construction requirements such as sustainability or reusability. The independent jury, headed by Prof. Wim Eckert from the Zurich-based architectural firm E2A Architekten, awarded one first prize, one second prize, two third prizes, one mention and two commendations in the category “Architecture”. Two mentions were awarded in the “Design” category.
1st Prize for Architecture – Falginjochbahn Cable Car
Jury comment: With the upper and lower stations, two technoid-looking structures were created, focusing on the materials used in the construction of cable cars – hot-dip galvanised steel as the structure and concrete as the “base”. The external supporting steel structure of the buildings makes the construction method transparent and easy to understand. The same applies to the cableway top station technology consisting of ropes, pulleys, guides and supports. It is aesthetically on a level and blends in with the supporting steel structure of the building. The technology and the building thus become one. The use of hot-dip galvanised steel was also conditioned by the exposed location and high mountain conditions. The high degree of prefabrication of the steel structure contributed significantly to the fact that the construction work on site was carried out within a time interval of six months and was kept to an environmentally defensible level. The long service life of hot-dip galvanising also brings environmental benefits, as maintenance work on the steel structure does not have to be carried out in the sensitive alpine environment. With the upper and lower stations of the Falginjochbahn cable car, the architectural firm Baumschlager Hutter Partners combines the aesthetic, functional and technical strengths of hot-dip galvanised steel in a symbiotic way to create an iconic, high-precision architecture that made a strong impression on the jury. Rightly awarded first prize.