EAE Awards 2023/2024 nominees & winners

Rosalind, Bulevar Margarita Salas, Parque Tecnológico de Andalucía, Campanillas, Málaga, Spain
Picture: © estudio Gonzalez arquitectos

The building has been designed with high standards of sustainability and efficiency. Among other strategies, concrete slabs have been lightened with empty spheres of recycled materials, which provide thermal inertia to the building. Green roofs with plant species which require little maintenance, rainwater collection for irrigation, cross-ventilation, ventilated inner patios, solar protection gallery, very low consumption taps, and material origin control. For all these reasons, the building has a LEED gold rating.

The facade design incorporates External Thermal Insulation Composite Systems (ETICS), strategically combined with expansive glass surfaces to optimize both aesthetics and functionality. Additionally, a secondary layer featuring multiple rows of fixed and adjustable slats is introduced to effectively regulate sun radiation, a crucial consideration in a climate such as Malaga's. This dual-layer approach not only enhances insulation and thermal efficiency but also allows for flexible control over natural light and heat, culminating in a dynamic, visually captivating facade when viewed from the exterior, and a comfortable façade for the users of the building.

Villa Kameleon, Monnikendreef 3, 2980 Zoersel, Belgium
Picture: © Willco Products

Villa Kameleon is a newly built care home with permanent living accommodation for 9 adults with disabilities. When a grandfather was struggling to find a warm and comfortable home for his granddaughter, he commissioned the design of an accessible and modern building where care and quality of life were central. Villa Kameleon was built a stone's throw from the Monnikenheide- Spektrum – vzw Emmaüs estate in a wooded area in the green zone around Antwerp.

The building is hexagonal and accommodates 9 adult residents who live there under supervision. They each have a modern private studio of 30 m² and share a large communal dining and living area. Living takes precedence over care, and as a result Villa Kameleon in no way resembles a classic care centre. There are no long corridors or rectangular rooms here: each room is located in one of the six corners of the building, so that each resident has two different views of the surrounding landscape. Thanks to the central skylight, there is plenty of natural light throughout the building. Because of the building's hexagonal shape, it deliberately appears smaller than it is. Its location in an open space in the wooded surroundings makes Villa Kameleon almost camouflage itself as the animal of the same name. Green ceramic tiles in 3 shades are interspersed with a bright, fine-grained decorative plaster.

Verbandsschule Volkach, Jahnstrasse 1, 97332 Volkach, Germany
Picture: © Baumit

The primary and secondary school were rehabilitated while in use. An invitation to tender was made for a highly efficient building envelope. A special stencil technique which runs over the entire coherent facade surface of 1,100 m² (insulation and felted surface) was used. This technique required specific skills of the craftsmen executing the work within a tight schedule.

A foil was bonded to the felted surface and pressed on at an elevated pressure and was partially even blow-dried. To achieve sharp edges of the ornament, the edges were sealed with paint after the application of the foil to avoid the ornament paint from running under the foil. The ornament paint was then injected with a low-pressure gun. The foils were removed immediately after a short drying time. The desired pattern remained on the facade surface. Since a lot of small individual foil pieces were concerned here, the complete facade surface of 1,100 m² was reworked again in a time-consuming process to achieve an impressive overall picture.

Special challenge for the design: the ornament was not to be interrupted. To this effect, a special foil, the so-called "Aslan stencil foil", was produced. It was thus possible to work within a width of 1 m and within a length of up to 24 m. The foils and the samples were correspondingly calculated before. To this effect, a special graphic file, which was systematically determined over the entire facade surface, was designed. All facade surfaces were digitised with ornaments for a release by the principal. Foils ran even around the corners with the same pattern and were not interrupted. Having run around the entire facade surface, the application of the connecting foil without any displacement was another challenge.

Unite Students - Hayloft Point, 4-6 and 16, 22 Middlesex St, London E1 7JH, United Kingdom
Picture: © Aliva

Hayloft Point is located on the site of a former 16th Century Shakespearean-era playhouse. It features 920 purpose-built homes for much needed student accommodation in the heart of the UK’s capital. It is an L-shaped building with a mix of 24-storey, 16-storey and 8-storey elements. The 29,000 square foot development completed in Sept 2022. The installation of the ETICS with a clay brick slip system took around 60 weeks.

Unite Students is committed to the sustainability agenda, designing, constructing and managing buildings to be sustainable, support nature and to provide a healthy, inspiring environment for those who live and work there. As part of its sustainability strategy, it is committed to becoming net zero carbon across its operations and developments by 2030. Hayloft Point has been designed to BREEAM Excellent Rating. The Gold Standard of Secure by Design accreditation was achieved in the construction of Hayloft Point.

The design required the use of various thicknesses of mineral wool insulation. Due to the Shakespearean era playhouse context to the site, close collaboration took place with the Museum of London Archaeology (MOLA) to preserve archaeological remains which are of significant historical interest e.g. the finding of the Boar’s Head playhouse dating to 1598. Unite Students has preserved the remains of the playhouse in their original place within the footprint of the development.

Neues Rathaus, Bürgermeisterstraße 25, 16321 Bernau, Germany
Picture: © Knauf/Stephan Klonk

The New City Hall in Bernau in Berlin is a cubic building with a clear formal language. It surprises with a plaster in broom finish technique, which runs through the entire facade up to the top edge of the terrain. With its three-dimensional effect, the city coat of arms next to the main entrance, executed in sgraffito technique, draws the eye.

The new building is located on the market square in the historic city center near St. Mary's Church. To integrate the building into the overall urban concept of downtown Bernau, aspects of monument protection had to be taken into account in the planning and execution. Next to the entrance, the town coat of arms was to be carved out of the plaster in the historic sgraffito technique.

The entire facade was to be provided with a mineral ETICS and designed with the historic broom brush technique in horizontal alignment. A particular challenge was to carry out the broom finish all the way down to the top edge of the site. Special craftsmanship was required for the historic sgraffito technique. The city coat of arms was worked into the two-layer top coat as a relief. The bottom layer of plaster is dark gray, with a light gray layer above it - so that when the plaster is scraped out, the darker layer emerges and a spatial effect is created. "The surface treatment gives the facade surface a special handcrafted imprint," says architect Francesca Saetti.

Egbert-Gymnasium Münsterschwarzach, Schweinfurter Str. 40, 97359 Schwarzach am Main, Germany
Picture: © Knauf/Stefan Ernst

Modernization and energy refurbishment of a four-story school building of the private Egbert Grammar School in Münsterschwarzach near Würzburg. Since 2018, the entire school complex has been undergoing general renovation, both inside and out. In 2021, part of the plaster facade of a four-story school building was renovated. The school complex consists of six different building types of various construction years, which are closely related to the abbey buildings with brick rubble walls such as the monastery church of the well-known Münsterschwarzach Abbey. One goal is to improve energy efficiency by optimizing thermal insulation whilst considering the cultural heritage.

In a cost-benefit analysis, the architect and client decided to use an ETICS. The non-combustible insulation material has a good insulating value and offers maximum fire protection. It also has very good sound insulation and water vapor diffusion properties. The highlight in terms of craftsmanship is the plaster surface in broom finish structure, which visually connects the different buildings of the school complex and perfectly matches the quarry stone facades of the neighboring abbey buildings. The aim was to visually unite the various buildings into a single unit. This is achieved on the one hand by a uniform color scheme and on the other hand by the uniform broom finish. The broom finish gives the facade a handcrafted appearance. The surface structure of the plaster with the broom finish gives the facade a lively appearance. The appearance changes depending on the incidence of light.

Ospedale Madonna del Soccorso, Via Luciano Manara, 8, 63074 San Benedetto del Tronto AP, Italien, Italy
Picture: © Stiferite

Deep renovation and energy efficiency improvement of a large hospital complex. Works on walls (around 15.500 square meters), roofs (around 7.200 square meters), windows, heating and cooling systems. All measures together achieved a significant improvement in energy performance class rating from G to A1 with a reduction of approximately 50% in CO2 emissions.

A major part of the thermal renovation of external walls was made with ETICS with EPS insulation of different thicknesses. ETICS was used in combination with ventilated facade system applicated to external walls to the East, towards the sea.

Watmos Community Homes, Walsall, West Midlands, United Kingdom
Picture: © Surefire Management Services/Watmos Community Homes/Solotherm

As a non-profit entity providing social housing, Watmos constantly focuses on the needs and well-being of its residents, a principle vividly showcased in this transformative initiative that has significantly enriched community life. This project began with a detailed analysis of various options, through which Watmos identified an opportunity to upgrade 1074 homes located in 21 tower blocks across four estates in Walsall. Situated in some of the most deprived areas in England, these residences were urgently in need of modernisation to offer better living conditions, more affordable heating for their occupants and to mitigate energy poverty.

Collaborating with Surefire Management Services, Watmos was able to secure vital SHDF funding to facilitate this ambitious venture. Initiated in 2021 and concluding in 2023, the project improved the thermal efficiency of each home, reducing energy usage and minimising the risk of dampness and mould. This effort has not only enhanced the comfort and well-being of the residents but also positively impacted their overall health and quality of life. The project's success is clearly reflected in the high satisfaction scores received from Watmos residents.

The estates bear a rich historical imprint, with the block's origins tracing back to the 1960s. Despite constrained external investments over successive years, the necessity to align these local landmarks with contemporary living standards emerged as both a remarkable challenge and a critical undertaking. The project serves as a testament to their unwavering dedication to promote sustainability. Through concerted efforts, they have notably managed to decrease energy costs, exceed the Decent Homes Standards, prolong the lifespan of the buildings by an additional 30 years, and curtail carbon emissions. The project involved ETICS with brick slips at the ground floor and rendering above, improving the external appearance whilst significantly enhancing the thermal efficiency, directly benefiting over 1,500 residents.

Favorite Spring, Quellenstraße 22, 1100 Vienna, Austria
Picture: © Christian Henninger

Favoriten has always been a popular district among migrants because of its central location and low rents. After World War II, much-needed workers flocked to Austria via special agreements, and many of them settled in Favoriten. Many Viennese left Favoriten over the decades and the district was increasingly labeled as a "problem district”. Due to the City of Vienna’s efforts a positive change has already taken place to which architecture also made an important contribution. Through high-quality buildings that strive for a social mix, the area has become more attractive for other segments of the population.

The ambition was to further contribute to this social mixing with the project "Favorite Spring". The building - which was constructed around 1900 - was completely run down after more than 100 years of neglect. The entire house was renovated from top to bottom whilst taking care of former residents and focusing on the conservation of the historical building. An attic extension of three new floors was added to create highly needed new usable floor space and to ensure densification without consuming more space in an already densely built area. With the addition of the top floors, focus was not only on luxurious penthouse apartments, but also on renovating the core of the entire building and creating affordable apartments for students, families and senior citizens whilst making the visual design concept tangible throughout the building.

An important core theme was to incorporate the large green space, which is located across the street of the property, into the project. However, only one side of the corner building faced the green space, which is why the attic extension was turned towards the park and the sun. This allows for unobstructed views of the greenery and more natural daylight from every apartment on the top floors. High-quality construction materials were used, the façade was newly insulated with ETICS, new windows, doors and central district heating were installed. All measures ensure low energy requirements and resulted in a reduction of heating demand by 81 % and a carbon dioxide (CO2) saving of 65 tons per year.

Johann-Hoffmann-Platz 10-15 and Wittmayergasse 10, 1120 Vienna, Austria
Picture: © GSD Ges.m.b.H.

The listed Johann-Hoffmann-Platz was built in 1912 and renovated between 2018 and 2021. In addition, an attic extension was realized with 26 high-quality, affordable apartments with open spaces. The facade on the courtyard side received thermal renovation with ETICS. Due to monument protection, only a partial insulating plaster of 3 cm could be applied to the street-side facade. Together with other measures the heating demand was reduced from an average of 179.46 kWh/m²a to 30.78 kWh/m²a.

The stucco was repaired, visual defects were eliminated, and the coloring was returned to the historical original. The house was connected to the district heating network. By installing the courtyard niches, the addition of seven through-loader elevators and apartment extensions were possible. The creation of a direct connection to the courtyard and the connections to the inner courtyards while simultaneously lowering the courtyard levels enabled barrier-free access to the staircases/elevators.

To improve the lighting conditions in the inner courtyards, one floor was removed from each cross wing. As a further measure, French windows were installed in the empty apartments and where desired by the tenants. The communal terraces are located on the demolished floors. The basement apartments were abandoned and converted into bicycle and stroller rooms, garbage rooms, magazines, a central laundry room and a common room.

Apartment building, Hlavná 35-41 in Orlská 1 Trnava, Slovak Republic
Picture: © Tomas Manina eye one s.r.o./eye two s.r.

The apartment building is a five-section sectional with 6 above-ground floors, basement. It consists of one building system and is free-standing, integrated into the development of multifunctional buildings in the central urban zone of the city of Trnava. The project was developed in 2018; implementation took place in the summer of 2020.

In its original state, the building fully complemented the terraced buildings in the central city zone of Trnava with its architectural design. When designing the renovation, care was taken to preserve the architecture in terms of the physical appearance of the building, as well as the color and structure of the surface treatment of the facade. ETICS renovation of the entire façade area (app. 6,200 m²) played a key role. Together with complementing measures the energy efficiency of the building could remarkably be improves by 43% - from primary energy demand 97.57 kWh/m²/year (class B) to 55.14 kWh/m²/year (class A1). Furthermore, the refurbishment helped extending the lifespan of the existing building stock and increasing the standard of living or use of the premises of the building.

Social housing project ‘Menslievendheid’, Menslievendheidsstraat, Brussels, Belgium
Picture: © ABSCIS Architecten

Project 'Menslievendheid' (Philantropie) is a social housing project in Menslievendheidsstraat in the Brussels Marolles neighbourhood. According to the architects, the BGHM (Brussels Regional Housing Company) raised the demand for the realisation of affordable and high-quality flats in the heart of Brussels. A timber frame structure was chosen as building principle, to limit the impact on the environment. The building has 8 levels with 15 different residential units and is constructed with a solid plinth and a light demountable timber structure on top of it. Total floorspace is 2.059 m².

The construction of the prefabricated timber structure is highly optimised to the lifecycle of all materials used, as well as to their dismountable and reusable nature. Around 75% of the built construction is in timber construction. An ETICS system with a high-quality decorative render was chosen as the finish. Arthur Van Cauwenberghe (Architect at Abscis Architecten): “All materials and techniques for this project were chosen according to the life cycle of the building and are planned to be reused afterwards. The long life expectancy of ETICS also fits in perfectly with this concept.” Circularity was already considered during the design phase. The entire building was worked out in detail in BIM, so that a digital twin of it will always be available.

The study for the project took place from 2016 to 2019, the realisation from 2021 to 2022. Project ‘Menslievendheid’ has a particularly low energy demand because of the high level of insulation, compact volume, external solar shading and so on. The building is classified as a passive building.

Single family home, Waasmunster, Belgium
Picture: © INZICHT architecten

The single-family home built from 01/2020 to 08/2022 with a total of 420 m² living area has an energy demand of only 38kWh/year. Basically, it is self-sufficient thanks to a combination of PV-panels, heat pumps, ventilation, passive and active cooling. The building structure comprises a combination of traditional concrete blocks on the ground floor and cross laminated timber (CLT) on the first floor. It has been designed to achieve maximum re-use of rainwater; thoroughly filtered groundwater so it can be used as well.

The modern design is clear. The use of ETICS enables precise cubic shapes and rectangular surfaces without interruptions and a smooth and clean finishing coat. Two enable and support this appearance, two details are to be mentioned: invisible eaves were enabled by a BS attika system. Furthermore, to get a thinner roof package vacuum insulation was used in combination with high-performing EPS at the ceilings.

Single family home, located in Huesca, Spain
Picture: © Josema Cutillas

Contemporary (singular, avant-garde and modern), Passive (high energy efficiency / EECN) and Ecodesigned single-family house, which is implanted in the ground on a single floor, integrating into the environment and which development on the plot responds to the study of the guidelines for an optimal use of solar catchment, as well as criteria of functionality and distribution of spaces, that generate a harmonious relationship between interior and exterior. This house also has an outstanding avant-garde aspect thanks to the rotundity of its geometric shapes and the materiality of its finishes, with textures and variation effect before the solar incidence.

With regard to environmental aspects, the development of the project is carried out according to Ecodesign criteria and betting on a design based on the basic principles of passive architecture aimed at a building of "almost zero" energy consumption, through continuous thermal insulation of high performance in the envelope, elimination of thermal bridges, control of air infiltrations, Controlled ventilation with heat recovery, high performance carpentry, optimization of solar gains (indoor temperature) and energy modeling.

The envelope is materialized in a reduced number of materials, colors and textures in order to seek a high level of visual harmony and allow its peaceful integration into the environment. To solve the vertical envelope of the project, a façade system of cross-laminated wood panels covered on the outside and with an interior self-supporting cladding is used. For the insulation of the façade, a solution of insulation system ETICS is proposed for the exterior of high thickness (180 mm). In this case, the metallic contributes to the extraordinary appearance. The ETICS contributes to the sustainability of the project thanks to great durability and quality, reduced environmental impact in its manufacturing, packaging, use, waste, and energy consumption.