WOHA's The Met Building in Bangkok wins prestigious RIBA Lubetkin Prize 2011

Date:

01 October 2011

Press office contact:

Mina Vadon
T: +44 (0)207 307 3761
E: mina.vadon@riba.org

The Met in Bangkok, Thailand by WOHA has scooped the Royal Institute of British Architects' (RIBA) prestigious RIBA Lubetkin Prize for the most outstanding work of international architecture by a member of the RIBA.

A residential skyscraper incorporating outdoor spaces, balconies and gardens, The Met is a 66 storey perforate tower which uses the power of nature to cool the apartments. Wind speeds at that height are considerable, so by punching holes through the building and drawing air up vertical voids in the structure, the architects have been able to introduce natural ventilation to flats at all levels. Some of these floors are kept open to provide communal spaces, which include a garden, a gym, a 50 metre swimming pool and other leisure facilities, such as barbecue and seating areas.

The winner of the RIBA Lubetkin Prize was announced at the RIBA Stirling Prize 2011 Dinner in association with The Architects' Journal and Benchmark on Saturday 1 October 2011 at Magna Science Adventure Centre in Rotherham, and will be featured in a special edition of BBC Two's The Culture Show on Sunday 2 October.

The four other outstanding buildings competing for this year’s title were:

Masdar Institute, Masdar City, Abu Dhabi by Foster + Partners
Guangzhou Opera House, Guangzhou, China by Zaha Hadid Architects
Boston Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, USA by Foster + Partners
Virginia Museum of Fine Arts, Richmond, USA by Rick Mather Architects +SMBW

Speaking about the building, the RIBA Lubetkin Prize jury chair and RIBA President, Angela Brady said:

‘This year's shortlist for the RIBA Lubetkin Prize was of an exceptionally high standard, really representing some of most innovative and unique pieces of architecture of the decade. WOHA’s The Met Building is a highly deserving winner; the building combines beautiful design with sustainable credentials, creating a high specification residential complex and an intelligent alternative to the sleek, air-conditioned box in a tropical environment. Congratulations to WOHA for their creation of a delightful and unique building.'

The shortlisted buildings were seen by a visiting jury comprising architects Deborah Saunt, Jim Eyre and Peter Clegg, and RIBA Head of Awards Tony Chapman.

The Lubetkin Prize was established in 2006 and is given to the best international building outside the EU. It is named after the world-renowned architect Berthold Lubetkin (1901 - 1990). The winner will be presented with a unique cast concrete plaque, based loosely on Lubetkin’s design for the Penguin Pool at London Zoo, commissioned by the RIBA and designed and made by the artist Petr Weigl.

Notes to editors

1. For further information and images contact Mina Vadon in the RIBA Press Office, 020 7307 3761 or mina.vadon@riba.org|.

2. Link to image download site: http://www.box.net/shared/g0szupvh756em91lzxy7/1/91804309|

3. The Lubetkin Prize was established in 2006 and is given to the best international building outside the EU. It is named after the world-renowned architect Berthold Lubetkin (1901-1990). The winner will be presented with a unique cast concrete plaque, based loosely on Lubetkin’s design for the Penguin Pool at London Zoo, commissioned by the RIBA and designed and made by the artist Petr Weigl.

4. The citation for the winning building follows:

The Met
Bangkok, Thailand

Architect: WOHA with Tandem Architects 2001
Client: Pebble Bay Thailand
Contractor: Bouygues Thai
Landscape consultant: Cicada
Contract value: $132m
Gross internal area: 113,000 sq m

WOHA is a firm of Singaporean architects who have been transforming architectural thinking in south east Asia with a series of houses, apartment buildings, hotels, schools and stations. The Met is a 66 storey perforate tower which uses the power of nature to cool the apartments. Wind speeds at that height are considerable, so by punching holes through the building and drawing air up vertical voids in the structure, the architects have been able to introduce natural ventilation to flats at all levels. Residents also enjoy improved security, less noise and dust, and great views.

Green creeper screens create living walls all the way up the building to help shade the occupants and further cool the building through transpiration. Just as their projects straddle the private and public sectors, The Met provides public as well as private spaces. The building’s strength derives from the fact that, like a lighthouse, it is wider at the bottom than at the top. It is tied together by U shaped braces every six floors.

Some of these floors are kept open and provide communal spaces: gardens, a gym and other leisure facilities, barbecue and seating areas. On top of the nine storey podium building is a 50 metre swimming pool. Such generous provision in an apartment building could generally only be provided underground.

Apartments are accessed directly by lift, rather than corridors, and the standard of finishing in the flats is extremely high. It takes clever architecture to pull this off and WOHA have proved themselves to be very intelligent architects. The Met shows that an alternative to the sleek, air-conditioned box can work in the tropics and this has implications everywhere.