Honest minimalism came out on top at the 2011 World Architecture News (WAN) Interior Design awards announced earlier this week, with a house at the Girona district of Catalonia, Spain, winning the top award at the residential category.
Other shortlisted spaces were known for investigating ideas about materiality and ratio (California), contrasting inner worlds (Little Venice, London), combining drama and functionality (Mayfair, London) and composed architecture (Indonesia).
“Residential was undoubtedly the hardest category to select a winner,” says jury member Terence Conran, who adds that the winning space by Anna Noguera “might have easily been overdone but [was] created at a controlled and thoughtful way.”
World Architecture News (WAN)
Winner: Alemanys 5 House, Girona, Spain
Architect: Anna Noguera
The jury was especially impressed by how Noguera’s work dialogues with the older and how the intrinsic characteristics in the original structure were attracted out — not so much from a historic perspective but during their architectural qualities.
World Architecture News (WAN)
The home’s staircase sits at the distance between the building’s two arms, acting as a pivot point where the rest of the layout is created.
World Architecture News (WAN)
Shortlisted: Home at Mayfair, London
Architect: Steak and Candy Architects
The client’s wish was to make the room swing again as it had done in the ’60s. Dark and moody interiors, industrial substances and atmospheric lighting give the impression of a masculine entertainment space — fitting for your customer, a nightclub owner who wanted both the home and also an abysmal venue to amuse his friends.
World Architecture News (WAN)
Shortlisted: Home at Little Venice, London
Architect: Wells Mackereth Architects
After a derelict warehouse wedged between Victorian mansions at a posh London neighborhood, this house in Little Venice has a split personality: part urban, part traditional. It’s a deliberate duality of contrasting moods during.
World Architecture News (WAN)
Shortlisted: Home at Indonesia
Architect: PlusDesign
The collected, composed architecture is reflected in the home’s insides. A touch of blue looks throughout in the soft furnishings and the wall paint.
World Architecture News (WAN)
The antiques and modern art collection of PlusDesign’s customers add a personal, lived-in touch.
World Architecture News (WAN)
Shortlisted: Home at Los Angeles
Architect: Marmol Radziner
Clean lines, ratio and a lack of embellishment define this house, which was designed to get an architect and his family in the Venice area of Los Angeles. The color palette of grays, greens and browns reflects the home’s surrounding landscape, and also the use of concrete and walnut further blur the distinction between inside and out.
World Architecture News (WAN)
A massive glass piece to the east of the house provides a visual and spatial link to the pool area and the interior living space.
More:
Interview: Master of Modernist Minimalism
Mini Guide to Minimalism
Should You Love: Minimalism