ORIS KVADRA AWARD FOR AN EXCEPTIONAL ARCHITECTURAL PROJECT, 2013

HERZOG & DE MEURON, ELBPHILHARMONIE HAMBURG, HAMBURG, GERMANY

Architects from the office Herzog & de Meuron have, for several decades, produced works which display architectural intelligence, experiments in the application of materials and the highest standards of quality. As some of their initial influences, we could mention Basel Modernism in its particular continuity, the ideas (but not the forms) of their teacher Aldo Rossi and the conceptual art of Joseph Beuys. Their method of work is exploratory and within their every project they aim to establish rules which will provide its own identity and enable its physical and sensuous presence. Herzog & de Meuron believe in the energy of the architect’s thought but in the perceptive energy of the perceiver as well. They consider the building to be an urban magnet and of an iconic quality, essential for the urban architecture. Elbphilharmonie Hamburg is an architectural achievement which completely confirms the aforementioned values and the process of work which results in their famous author signature. According to the editorial board of Oris magazine, it is even slightly more expressed in this project.