Altogether, 91 works were entered in the program, which judges projects on aesthetics, quality of life, durability and cost-effectiveness -- all achieved through the use of natural stone. According to organizers of the event, judges look at “the partnership between the creativity of the architects and the capability of the natural stone contractor, which offers the knowledge and technical equipment to professionally implement the many possible applications of natural stone.”
The German Natural Stone Award 2007 was presented to the Galeria Kaufhof department store at Alexanderplatz in Berlin, Germany, whose reconstruction and extension was carried out by consultant architects Kleihues + Kleihues in Berlin.
“The new building, which fits in outstandingly well with its surroundings due to the special choice and design of the natural stone facade and the exemplary design and technical use of natural stone, was erected during operation of the department store,” read a statement issued by the award organizers.
In addition to the German Natural Stone Award 2007 (worth over $20,000), four works were awarded special merits (each worth over $4,000 in prize money) and 11 were highly commended. These 16 works, which were on display at Stone+tec 2007, are as follows.
MainForum office, residential and business building, Frankfurt, Germany
German Natural Stone Award 2007
Galeria Kaufhof department store, Berlin, GermanyArchitect: Prof. Josef Paul Kleihues, Kleihues + Kleihues, Berlin
Project Description: The generous, classically proportioned facades become convincingly the yardstick of the urban situation at the Alexanderplatz. The character of the building is determined by the bright travertine, which offers classical elegance. The careful utilization of stone continues in the accurately arranged details of the entrances, bases and many other elements.
Special Merit
Main Synagogue of Jewish Centre, Munich, GermanyArchitect: Wandel Hoefer Lorch, Saarbruecken
Project Description: The Jewish Center must be regarded in its complexity and multilayered style. The strength of the work lies in its total concept. The basic idea to weave the center within the urban structure appears in all aspects of this work.
Special Merit
MainForum office, residential and business building, Frankfurt, GermanyArchitect: Gruber + Kleine-Kraneburg Architekten, Frankfurt
Project Description: Designed within the Frankfurt context, the building subordinates itself equally to the skyline as well as the direct environment. The reddish stone is less articulated and also not “celebrated.” Rather, it is a modest reference that blends in its context with detailing that has been scaled back.
Special Merit
Maritim Congress Hotel,Berlin, Germany
Architect: Prof. Josef Paul Kleihues, Kleihues + Kleihues, Berlin
Project Description: The project showcases the elegance, durability and organization possibilities of the material.
Special Merit
Diocesan Library and administrative buildings, Muenster, GermanyArchitect: Max Dudler Architekt, Berlin
Project Description: The extension buildings of Max Dudler complete not only the existing buildings, but also the surrounding urban space. The architecture is reduced to a minimum of formal expression and creates an interrelation of the old and new one -- as well as front and background.
Highly Commended
Muenster Arcades,Muenster, Germany
Architect: Prof. Josef Paul Kleihues, Kleihues + Kleihues, Berlin
Project Description: The clear stylistic idiom of the building is simple and disciplined and creates surprising spatial variety.
Highly Commended
Bavarian Forest Granite Centre, Hauzenberg, GermanyArchitect: Brueckner & Brueckner Architekten, Tirschenreuth
Project Description: The building of the granite center in Hauzenberg answers the challenge of developing in a “quarry landscape” with a thematically corresponding museum.
Highly Commended
Leipziger Platz 1-3,Berlin, Germany
Architect: Thomas Mueller and Ivan Reimann Architekten with Torsten Glasenapp, Berlin
Project Description: The three buildings form a whole differentiated in material and detail. The details include substantial, vertically arranged profiles in fossilized limestone.
Highly Commended
Alter Hof,Munich, Germany
Architect:Auer+Weber+Architekten, Munich
Project Description: The use of limestone as cladding is sensitive to its historical location in terms of color, surface texture and scale.
Highly Commended
Museum Ritter, Waldenbuch near Stuttgart, GermanyArchitect: Max Dudler Architekt, Berlin
Project Description: The Museum Ritter was designed by the Berlin architectural office Max Dudler and is located directly next to the Ritter Sport chocolate factory. Facades in light, warmly toned limestone and large windows lend the architecture a quiet, monolithic character.
Highly Commended
Frauenkirche,Dresden, Germany
Architect: IPRO Dresden - Buero Boehme + Schoenfeld, Dresden
Project Description: By mean of the reconstruction, the city once again can enjoy this building. Without it, the townscape appeared incomplete since the destruction.
Highly Commended
Shopping Center,Maastricht, Netherlands
Architect: Arn Meijs Architekten, Maastricht
Project Description: A 1970s-era department store was transformed into an attractive city component within Maastrichts. Natural stone creates an urban atmosphere.
Highly Commended
Minneapolis Institute of Arts, Minneapolis, MNArchitect: Michael Graves & Associates, Inc., Princeton, NJ
Project Description: The topic of this project is frequently found in the museum sector. The project is not a first addition to the building, but rather the extension of an extension.
Highly Commended
Stuttgart Art Museum,Stuttgart, Germany
Architect: Hascher Jehle Architektur, Berlin
Project Description: The new art museum in Stuttgart is an example of how a formerly deserted, inhospitable place can be developed into an area that can be enjoyed by people.
Highly Commended
Residence with self-contained flat, Sondershausen, GermanyArchitect: Schettler & Wittenberg Architekten, Weimar
Project Description: This single-family residence with flat appears to be a building that has been sculpted into the sloping hillside. Its volume is expressed in the stonework.
Highly Commended
Hotel Concorde,Berlin, Germany
Architect: Jan Kleihues, Kleihues + Kleihues, Berlin
Project Description: An outstanding unique architectural piece, which succeeds in representing a strong outside appearance that is stylistic in detail.
