The Royal Architectural Institute of Canada (RAIC) has selected two internationally renowned architects to receive its 2014 Honorary Fellowships. New Mexico-based Antoine Predock is the architect behind the Canadian Museum for Human Rights in Winnipeg, set to open in September 2014. Bjarke Ingels, the leading force behind Copenhagen- and New York-based firm BIG is the 39-year-old responsible for two unusual skyscrapers in Western Canada – the Beach & Howe Tower in Vancouver and Telus Sky in Calgary. In 2011, the Wall Street Journal named him Innovator of the Year for architecture.
Born in 1936, Predock first gained attention with the La Luz Community in Albuquerque, New Mexico, an unusual group of townhouses in a semi-arid climate. He has completed work ranging from the famed Turtle Creek House, built in 1993 for bird enthusiasts in Texas to the Tang Teaching Museum and Art Gallery at Skidmore College in Saratoga Springs, New York. The ballpark for the San Diego Padres goes beyond the usual sports complex with spaces for socializing and views that take advantage of the mild climate. A motorcycle collector, Predock’s influence extends to international sites such as the National Palace Museum Southern Branch in Southern Taiwan. The Canadian Museum for Human Rights is the first national museum outside the national capital region.
Predock said, “My life in architecture has been an extraordinary adventure, culminating in the privilege of being selected to design the Canadian Museum for Human Rights. Becoming an Honorary Fellow further cements my special relationship to your country and to all my Canadian colleagues.”
Bjarke Ingels started BIG (Bjarke Ingels Group) in 2005. His projects include the National Library of Kazakhstan and the Danish pavilion at EXPO 2010 which incorporated a spiral cycle path. The 8 House in Copenhagen is a bow-tie shaped building that mixes housing and business and provides a continuous promenade and cycle path up to the 10th floor. A waste-to-energy plant in Copenhagen will be wrapped in a steel hill designed for skiing. He has taught at Harvard University and spoken in venues such as TED, and the World Economic Forum. The Beach & Howe Tower beside the Granville Island Bridge in Vancouver is a 52-storey cantilevered building, and Telus Sky in Calgary is a 58-storey tower with a twist.
“Canada has been incredibly hospitable to us,” said Ingels. “The social and environmental concern that seems ingrained in Canadian culture resonates well with our Scandinavian roots. “I am very honoured by this fellowship and hope it will strengthen our involvement in the exciting urban development that Canada is currently going through.”
Honorary fellowship recognizes extraordinary achievement. Predock and Ingels will be inducted into the RAIC College of Fellows during this year’s RAIC Festival of Architecture in Winnipeg, taking place from May 28-31, 2014.
“This year, the College is proud to have the opportunity of celebrating both a senior member of the profession (Predock) a younger, dynamic architect, (Ingels),” says Barry Johns, Chancellor of the College of Fellows. “Predock is known for his very sculptural work around North America, while Ingels’ innovative and sustainable design work has captured the imagination of clients and the profession everywhere.”