The Royal Architectural Institute of Canada (RAIC) is inviting submissions for the 2019 edition of the RAIC International Prize.
This unique international award, formerly known as the Moriyama RAIC International Prize, recognizes the power of great architecture to transform society. In keeping with a focus on the social relevance of architecture, jurors will visit all finalist projects to see the buildings in use and appreciate their impact on society and human well-being.
The mandate and criteria for this open, juried competition remain the same. The $100,000 prize is open to architects from anywhere in the world and is awarded every two years for great transformative architecture that aids society and community by demonstrating the humanistic values of equality, respect and inclusiveness.
“Now that the uniqueness and importance of the International Prize is widely recognized, and that the name of the RAIC has gained weight in the international world of architecture, Sachi and I happily return the torch back to the RAIC to manage the International Prize,” says distinguished Canadian architect Raymond Moriyama. “We welcome the renaming of the Moriyama RAIC International Prize to the RAIC International Prize.”
The RAIC, the RAIC Foundation and Moriyama created the prize in 2013. Their goal was to share Canadian architectural values with an international audience and to celebrate architecture that is socially transformative.
The RAIC is accepting entries from architects anywhere in the world, of any nationality, until April 26, 2019. The buildings should be “inspired as well as inspiring” and reflect humanistic values of equality, respect, and inclusiveness. Projects should have been completed and in use for at least two years. The two previous winners, in 2014 and 2017, were a library near Beijing and a kindergarten in Tokyo, Japan.
The most recent competition garnered submissions from 17 countries across six continents, and organizers hope for entries from even more countries. In addition to the main Prize, three students from a Canadian university architecture program will each receive scholarships of $5,000. They will be chosen on the basis of a written essay.
