Blueprint Awards 2019 Winners Announced!
Best Non-Public Project – Commercial
Winner: 3XN Architects, Denmark with Itten+Brechbühl, Switzerland
Olympic House, Lausanne, Switzerland
Image Credit: 2019 International Olympic Committee (IOC) / Adam Mørk
Judges’ Comments
‘An inspiring place to work, creating a building that is dominant yet interweaves itself with the landscape.’ Nicholas Grimshaw
‘Like a pavilion in the park, the building operates through well-crafted design — not only through environmental sustainability, but also through social sustainability, which shapes a stimulating environment for co-working and collaboration.’ Ben van Berkel
Olympic House — the International Olympic Committee’s new HQ in Lausanne, Switzerland — is designed to incorporate rigorous criteria in energy and water efficiency, while optimising the health and wellbeing of its users. The project has received three of the most rigorous sustainable building certifications making it the most sustainable building in the world: LEED® v4 Platinum certification, with the highest score ever given, Platinum level of the Swiss Sustainable Construction Standard (SNBS) and Minergie P.
More than 95% of the previous headquarters building was reused or recycled for Olympic House. Solar panels and heat pumps using water from nearby Lake Geneva provide renewable energy to the building, which is expected to use 35% less energy and 60% less municipal water than a conventional new construction.
The undulating glass facade makes the building appear different from all angles and aims to emulate the movements of an Olympic athlete. By optimising the facade to floor plate ratio and creating a fully glazed facade from floor to ceiling, the design brings daylight deep into the building. The interior is designed with minimal structural constraints resulting in a flexible workspace that encourages interaction.
The Unity Staircase, the design of which references the Olympic Rings, soars the full height of the building and connects the five floors through the central atrium.
Highly Commended
David Chipperfield Architects, Germany
Amorepacific Headquarters, Seoul, South Korea
Shanghai PTArchitects, China
Jiangnan Courtyard, Hangzhou, China
Commended
Lacime Architects, China
Vanke Emerald Park, Chongqing, China
Finalists
Batlle i Roig Arquitectura, Spain
The Ó Building, Barcelona, Spain
BuckleyGrayYeoman, UK
Arnold House, London, UK
F3 Architects, UK
The Lodge, London, UK
HPP Architekten, Germany
Horizon — L’Oréal Germany Headquarters, Düsseldorf, Germany
Lacime Architects, China
U-Cube Office, Shanghai, China
Moxon Architects, UK
Cairngorms National Park Authority Headquarters, Grantown-on-Spey, UK
Nuno Capa | Arquitecto, Portugal
Urbo Business Centre, Matosinhos, Portugal
Oppenheim Architecture, US
Ayla Clubhouse & Golf Academy, Aqaba, Jordan
Squire & Partners, UK
The Frames, London, UK
