The FGMF architects office, under the command of the young architects Fernando Forte, Lourenço Gimenes and Rodrigo Marcondes Ferraz and placed in São Paulo, Brazil, has just won one more international award: “The international award Dedalo Minosse”-“Prêmio Internazionale Dedalo Minosse”, delivered in Vicenza, Italy, on June 24th 2011, at CISA (Andrea Palladio Centro Internacional de Estudos de Arquitetura – Andrea Palladio International Center for architecture studies). This is one of many awards received by FGMF, being the most awarded architecture Office in Brazil in the year of 2010. More information on their award after the break.
In Italy, the three architects brought with them one of the most 4 important awards, the ‘Under 40’, for young architects with buildings, according to the organization, the one that can be called “good practice about of the contemporary architecture”. In the selection, only completed buildings attended of the process. Among the winners of the principal awards of the night was Coop(l)himmelblau, a world known office, with a project for the BMW museum. Other winners are also internationally known names, such as Eric Owen Moss and I.M. Pei. According to the architect Fernando Forte, partner and director of FGMF, the Brazilian three architects are very happy for the conquest, mainly to have won this award together to big names of the architecture.
In its 8th edition, the award Dedalo Minosse, with the participation of projects of 52 countries, such as Italy, France and England, as well as Lebanon, Algeria, Ecuador, Liberia, Thailand, attended for the first time in the process. It was 340 projects pre-selected by the jury, using as criteria of choice themes like sustainability, design for all, the use of natural light, sustainability land use, and energy recourses enhancing of the environment and architectural asset. According to the organization of the award, a growing number of attendants come from Brazil, and moreover from South America.
This is one more recognition of the academy to the work of the Brazilian office. In 2010, FGMF was the most awarded Office of the Country. For AsBEA (Associação Brasileira de Escritórios de Arquitetura – Brazilian association of architecture), FGMF won 5 awards, in the categories Corporative Architecture (BGPM), houses-residencies (Casa Grelha), Institutional (SESC Barra – co-author with Índio da Costa AUDT). Honorable Mention at service buildings (KAZE Paulista) and Honorable Mention at Institutional buildings (Projeto Viver). By IAB 2010, it won two Honorable Mention at the commercial categories (KAZE Paulista) and Design (BPGM). Over these ones, the projects of Casa Natura, with especially for being the first commercial Project to rely on the certification AQUA (Alta Qualidade Ambiental – High environmental quality ) of Vanzolini Foundation, the Casa Tron and the Casa Grelha won other awards over the year. In 2009, the Office won great visibility when chosen by the British magazine Wallpaper* for the annual Architects Directory as being one of the 30 most promising young offices of the world. In 2010, the American Architectural Record pointed FGMF for being the “Emerging Practices”.
In one area around the mountains to the North of São Paulo (Brazil), the residential project signed by FGMF had as premises the challenge to dialogue with the Natural environment, an unexplored green area, and the project itself. The hardest task, according to the architects, was not to resolve the functional issues, but not to impose the house to what its surrounds. The client was concerned with the relationship that it should have with the space. All had an important role in the important decisions, such as the place of the house. The clients were able not only to believe in the work of the three Brazilian architects and their ideas, but agreed to take the inherent risks to an innovative architecture. It was a great partnership between the client and the architecture office. The house is formed by moments and not for the space only. Moments being changed as long as the trees grow, get older, or when the sun attracts different shades during the day. It is not static, it is part of a dynamic environment.
Placed in São Paulo, in Vila Madalena, the office of the three architects Fernando Forte, Lourenço Gimenes and Rodrigo Marcondes Ferraz was founded 11 ars ago, and in 2009, the British magazine Wallpaper*, considered the leading publication in the area of the global trends and design, highlighted the FGMF Architects in its Directory. The directory brought relation of the 30 young offices of architecture considered by Wallpaper* as the most promising and vanguard of the world, and FGMF the first and only Brazilian office in the directory. In Brazil, the Office has already won several awards in projects from residential to institutional and planning, from premier institutions such as Architects Institute of Brazil, Prefeitura de São Paulo ( São Paulo City hall ) and Editora Abril, among others. Internationally, it had the projects published in Countries such as the United States, Germany, China, Italy, India, Korea and Spain. In 2009, the Office represented Brazil at the 1st Biennial of Latin American Architecture, held in Pamplona, and won, at the 8th International architecture biennial of São Paulo, the second award for best concluded project.
