British architect Sir Norman Foster and his Chinese-American colleague, I.M. Pei, were selected among the winners of the 22nd Marble Architectural Awards (MAA 2006), the prestigious international award that is given to designers who use Italian marble and other stones in their work - and to their stone suppliers. The official announcement was made in Carrara, Italy, and the awards were presented at CarraraMarmotec 2006, which took place from May 31 to June 3.

The awards are promoted by Internazionale Marmi e Macchine (IMM) in conjunction with the Italian Trade Commission, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Toscana Promozione. The international jury, chaired by Giancarlo Tonini, President of IMM, met in Berlin at the Deutsche Architektur Zentrum, and other jurors were Marco Cimini, the director of the ICE branch to Berlin; Romano Viviani, professor at the Faculty of Architecture in Florence; Martin Seelinger from the Academy of Fine Arts of Carrara, and Bernd Blaufelder from the German Architects' Society (BDA).

According to organizers of the program, a total of 135 projects (61 for interior design, 35 for external facings and 29 for urban landscape) from 32 countries were sent in for the 2006 Awards, which this year focused on projects completed within Europe.

Foster and Pei both won the “External Facings Section” of the award - Foster for the design of the Great Court at the British Museum of London, England, and Pei for the Deutsches Historisches Museum in Berlin, Germany.

The Great Court at the British Museum of London, completed in 2000, exploits an unused area of the British Museum that is as large as a football field and is now the largest indoor surface in Europe - due to an innovative steel and glass covering. The materials used by Foster - French and Spanish limestone- were supplied by Savema of Pietrasanta, Italy.

The Deutsches Historisches Museum (German History Museum) - located between Museum Island and the legendary Unter den Linden Avenue - stands out as a solitary figure enclosed between stone walls. Large blocks of beige limestone were molded into shapes that reference existing buildings and glazed surfaces, “which frame, like an art gallery, the surrounding historical buildings,” according to the judges.

The prize for the “Interior Design Section” was won by Belgian architect Binst Crepain, for his design of a private home in Humbeeck, Belgium. White Carrara marble was the distinctive feature of Crepain's winning design.

Meanwhile, in the “Urban Landscape Section,” the prize was shared equally. Skidmore, Owings and Merrill's U.K. office was honored for the restoration of the Broadgate Public Space in London, England. The materials selected by Skidmore, Owings and Merrill included Pedro Sardo and travertine, and they were supplied by Campolonghi Italia of Massa, Italy.

The other honor in the “Urban Landscape Section” went to the Croatian, Nenad Fabijanic for an outdoor seafront square. A special mention also went to Bosnian Nihad Babovic, the designer of Sarajevo's new cemetery. In acknowledging the cemetery of Sarajevo, the jury praised the use of White Carrara marble - supplied by Carrara-based La Facciata -which “created a place of memory with a powerful emotional feel.”

Special mentions also went to the Christ Pavilion in Hanover, Germany; the Hotel Concorde in Berlin, Germany; and the Law Faculty of Girona, Spain, designed by RCR Aranda Pigem Vilata Arquitectes.