News / October 14, 2014

Architect Wins New $100K Canadian Prize

The inaugural Moriyama RAIC International Prize goes to Chinese architect Li Xiaodong for a modest library he created on the outskirts of Beijing.

A view of the 175-square-metre library in Liyuan, China, designed by Li Xiaodong, winner of a new $100,000 Canadian architecture prize.

Architect Li Xiadong says that “this project is about the relationship of a building to its surroundings and its role in serving the community, rather than a building as a discrete object.”

The jury for the Moriyama RAIC International Prize noted a need for more of these “modest, yet powerful buildings which make architecture from a deep understanding of people, culture, context, site, materiality and light.”

Another view of the library and its setting five minutes' walk from the village centre.

A view of the 175-square-metre library in Liyuan, China, designed by Li Xiaodong, winner of a new $100,000 Canadian architecture prize.

Architect Li Xiadong says that “this project is about the relationship of a building to its surroundings and its role in serving the community, rather than a building as a discrete object.”

Another view of the library and its setting five minutes' walk from the village centre.

A new Canadian architecture prize—with a purse that is one of the largest in the world at $100,000—named its first winner on Saturday at the Aga Khan Museum in Toronto.

The inaugural Moriyama RAIC International Prize goes to Chinese architect Li Xiaodong for a modest library he created on the outskirts of Beijing, China.

Vancouver-born, Toronto-based architect Raymond Moriyama—known for his work on the Canadian War Museum, the Bata Shoe Museum, and the National Museum of Saudi Arabia, among other projects—established the prize earlier this year in collaboration with the Royal Architectural Institute of Canada and the RAIC Foundation.

The purpose of the biannual prize is to raise the international stature of the RAIC and the Canadian architectural profession, and to encourage Canadian architects to aspire to international excellence.

The prize is awarded to a building that is judged to be “transformative, inspired as well as inspiring, and emblematic of the human values of respect and inclusiveness.” The prize is open to all architects, irrespective of nationality and location. It recognizes a single work of architecture, as opposed to a life’s work, and celebrates buildings in use (rather than buildings that have just been built or are in development).

This year, the prize received applications for projects located in nine countries: Canada, China, France, Germany, Israel, Japan, South Korea, the United Kingdom and Tajikistan.

Architect Li Xiaodong’s winning library project was funded by a rural-development grant from the Lu Qianshou Trust in Hong Kong. The construction budget for the 175-square-metre library was $185,000.

“This project is about the relationship of a building to its surroundings and its role in serving the community, rather than a building as a discrete object,” Li wrote in his submission statement.

The six-member prize jury included Edward Cullinan of Cullinan Studio in London, UK; Maxime-Alexis Frappier of acdf* architecture-urbanisme-intérieur in Montreal, Quebec; Barry Johns of Barry Johns Architecture Ltd. in Edmonton, Alberta; Brian MacKay-Lyons of MacKay-Lyons Sweetapple Architects in Halifax, Nova Scotia; Patricia Patkau of Patkau Architects in Vancouver, British Columbia; and Bing Thom of Bing Thom Architects in Vancouver, British Columbia.

In addition to the prize, three students in Canadian architecture schools each received a $5,000 BMO Financial Group Scholarship on Saturday evening. They are Loïc Jasmin, Université de Montréal; Benny Kwok, Dalhousie University; and Shu Yin Wu, University of Waterloo.