Design that Educates Awards Reveals Winners of 2020 Edition

Written by Christele Harrouk
Published on March 17, 2020

Highlighting and promoting architecture and design that impacts the educational field, the Design that Educates Awards revealed its list of winners for 2020. A collaboration between Laka Foundation and Solarlux GmbH, this year’s competition theme was inspired by the “Educating Buildings” research paper of Dr. Peter Kuczia.

Laureates of the Design that Educates 2020 have been selected in 4 categories: architectural design, product design, universal design, and responsive design, a newly introduced section that is the outcome of a collaboration between the Design that Educates Awards and Architecture that Reacts Competition. The main winners of this year are:

Architectural design: Copenhill / Amager Bakke by BIG - Bjarke Ingels Group and SLA

Product design: Alma - Therapy Dolls by Yaara Nusboim

Universal design: Acoustic Mirrors by LAX laboratory for architectural experiments

Responsive design: The Shed by Diller Scofidio + Renfro

Read on for the full list of laureates, special recognitions and honorable mentions in the architectural design category 2020.

Winner for the year 2020 in architectural design

Copenhill / Amager Bakke - BIG - Bjarke Ingels Group

“The project - also known as ‘Amager Bakke’ - is a waste-to-energy plant with an urban recreation center comprising a lush nature park, ski slope, hiking trail, the world’s tallest climbing wall as well as an environmental education hub. Copenhill is a 41,000 m 2 waste-to-energy plant that turns social infrastructure into an architectural landmark with new nature activities and high biodiversity. Copenhill is conceived as a public infrastructure with intended social side-effects from day one.”

Gold Prize in architectural design + Emerging Designers

Guga S’Thebe Theater - Georgia Institute of Technology; RWTH; PBSA; CS Studio

Design that Educates Awards Reveals Winners of 2020 Edition - Image 3 of 23 — Gold Prize in architectural design + Emerging Designers | Guga S’Thebe Theater. Image © RWTH / PBSA/ GATECH,Germany

“While the Guga S’Thebe Children’s Theatre is located in Langa, the oldest township in Cape Town, South Africa, its design roots span three continents, a multitude of universities and countless hands. […] Focused on sustainability, this self-initiated design + build project was developed alongside the local community to meet their diverse needs for a place to hold theatric productions, concerts, church services, marriages and most importantly festivals with a focus on impacting the younger members of the community; in the aim of preparing and nourishing the community for the future.”

Silver Prize in architectural design

Book House- Shulin Architectural Design

“The book house is located in an ancient village in Wuyi and was developed by a local tourism real estate company as a part of the development and construction. Before the development, only a few elderly residents lived in this empty village. It was hoped that this book house could change the situation by bringing more visitors to it. […] As an icon for culture, the book house also invites people in and brings vigor and value to the old village.”

Bronze Prize in architectural design

Ecohouse V01- MAEB Students

Design that Educates Awards Reveals Winners of 2020 Edition - Image 22 of 23 — Bronze Prize in architectural design | Ecohouse V01. Image © Adrià Goula, Chelsea Sherman

“The Ecohouse V01 Prototype showcases many inclusive, innovative, environmentally aware and self-sufficient solutions, including an integrative design synthesizing inputs; a fully traceable primary structure fabricated of 0km pine; translation of a low-tech, universal shingling system into a morphologically responsive, materially optimized envelope; entirely off-grid metabolic utilities; a water system which captures rain and re-uses grey-water to irrigate a small garden; and a toilet that obviates any septic installations.”