One of the world’s best buildings are a “radical” timber-framed apartment complex based on a 3.6m x 3.6m grid inspired by traditional Japanese houses. That is according to the Royal Institute of British Architects (RIBA) – one of the world’s oldest bodies for architects, who yesterday awarded its 2024 International Prize to Modulus Matrix, an 85-unit social housing development in Cornellà, near Barcelona.
Designed by Peris + Toral Arquitectes, the future-focused social housing project was praised for its focus on a modular timber framework intended to promote flexibility for its residents. A project which, according to the RIBA jury, “is both aspirational as well as demonstrating genuine change.”
Featuring cross-laminated timber floors and ceilings, which ensure future adaptability while reducing carbon footprint and construction time, the 85-apartment complex was praised by Lu Wenyu, Amateur Architecture Studio founder and jury chair, as a “worthy winner” for its role in setting “a precedent for future developments.”
“Through this innovative approach to social housing, Peris + Toral Arquitectes has responded to the shifting demands of societal groupings by crafting an adaptive, inclusive and sustainable housing project,” Ms Wenyu said. “Not defined by stereotypes or fixed assumptions of what constitutes ‘family’, the intelligent organization of space encourages lively interaction and connection within the community, ensuring that the architecture functions on different scales – from the discrete dwelling to the collective space.”
The RIBA International prize is awarded every two years to a building that “demonstrates visionary thinking, originality, excellence of execution, and makes a distinct contribution to its users, surrounding environment and communities”—beating out a competitive field, the timber project was selected ahead of Jacoby Studios office by David Chipperfield Architects in Germany and the Lianzhou Museum of Photography in China by O-office Architects.
Muyiwa Oki, RIBA’s current president, said the winning project offers a “strong example of how architects can create new and implementable solutions to the common challenge of creating housing for all.”
“Peris + Toral Arquitectes’ inspiring housing project in Spain embodies the kind of transformational spirit that is both aspirational and demonstrates genuine change,” Ms Oki said. “This visionary scheme allows for new and future ideas of what constitutes a family and should be seen as a blueprint for delivering sustainable, quality housing worldwide at scale.”
Previous winners of the RIBA International prize include a rural hospital in Bangladesh by Kashef Chowdhury/URBANA, which won in 2022, and a boarding school in Brazil by Aleph Zero and Rosenbaum, which won in 2018. The RIBA also recently announced the winner of the prestigious Stirling Prize for 2024. The Elizabeth Line in London was awarded the prize by architecture studios Grimshaw, Maynard, Equation, and AtkinsRéalis.
