Belgian architect Laurent Troost wins the IAI Most Creativity Award of the year

In 2020, Colombian architect Mazantti Giancarlo won the first IAI Most Creativity Award, form then on, this award has increasingly become the focus of the international design community. On June 18, 2021, the 13th IAI Design Award Ceremony was held in the conference center of Xiamen Lohkah Hotel & Spa, the second Most Creativity Award was awarded to Laurent Troost, a Belgian architect from Brazil. When the host announced that the winner of the IAI Most Creativity Award of the year was Belgian architect Laurent Troost, and when Laurent's winning works and his photos were shown on the screens, there was a round of applause from the audience in order to express congratulations to Laurent, the atmosphere reached a climax. Because the COVID19 pandemic is still going on around the whole world during this event, Laurent could not accept the award in person, but our sponsor arranged another guest to accept this trophy for him. Dai Zhiwang, deputy director of the Publicity Department of Xiamen Municipal Committee of the CPC, and Oskar Ho, chairman of IAI, jointly presented the award to the winners.

△On behalf of Laurent Troost, the guest representatives took the stage to receive the IAI Most Creativity Award trophy and certificate

△The picture shows Laurent Troost's award speech video broadcast at the 2021 IAI award ceremony

Nearly 400 guests from the design community,art industries, education, real estate and financial industry at home and abroad attended the event.。

Introduction of Laurent Troost

△2020/2021Winner of the IAI Most Creativity Award

Laurent Troost is a Belgian Architect living in Manaus, Brazil, he’s the founder of Laurent Troost Architectures and co-founder of Labverde, an Art Immersion Programme in the Amazon.

His architectural practice has won several international competitions and awards, such as the Dezeen Award, the World Architecture Award,etc. His works have been widely published and exhibited, including at the São Paulo Architecture Biennial, at the Buenos Aires Biennial, at the Maison du Brésil in Paris and at the Seoul Hall of Urbanism and Architecture. Laurent has taught and lectured at numerous institutions including the Escola da Cidade and the FAU-USP in São Paulo, the UdelaR in Montevideo, the Sociedad Central de Arquitectura in Buenos Aires, the Universidad Caritas in Costa Rica, the Tokyo Development Learning Center in Tokyo, the TISCH in New York and at the University of Virginia in Charlottesville,etc.

Aside from his practice, Laurent has also been the Urban Planning Director for the Municipality of Manaus from 2013 to 2020 and is currently a consultant for the World Bank Group.

Introduction of Representative Works

01 Chalet House

Author: Laurent Troost

Category of work: Public buildings

The Tarumã house is located on the slopes of the pristine rainforest on the outskirts of Manaus, next to the Tarumã River. Based on the same passive sustainability concept and importance as Campinarana House, the boundary between the internal and external spaces of the Tarumã house opens and dissolves towards the green areas at the end and sides of the plot, while the vertical surface of the folding roof ensures privacy And protection from the glare of the afternoon sun. The orientation of the house is considered to ensure that users of this house can enjoy tropical rain as a view without having to close any windows. The shape of the roof allows hot air to be drawn in a natural way, as long as the form of the house forces the airflow to cross-ventilate all spaces. Corten was chosen as the roofing material because of its low maintenance and evolutionary characteristics in harmony with the rain forest and its red clay. The lower concrete elevated floor is the bedroom, and the upper steel structure is the living room, dining room, kitchen, barbecue area, lounge and treetop swimming pool to better enjoy the wind, the surrounding landscape, and the coexistence of common rainforest birds in the area.

02 Cassina Innovation House

Author: Laurent Troost

Category of work: Public buildings

This digital technology and entrepreneurship center is the first landmark in the digital zone of Manaus. It provides digital economy manufacturers with spaces to promote joint offices and meetings: multifunctional areas, lounges, meeting rooms, laboratories, training rooms, and a restaurant on the top floor, where people can enjoy the privilege of overlooking the city center .

The building was originally built in 1896 and has been destroyed since 1960. Its degraded exterior wall covered by vegetation produces a powerful image, which is important in our post-processing. The preservation of the ruin conditions turned the intervention into a manifesto, because it was also the last plaster facade colored with red sandstone dust. The protection of the ruined condition made the intervention a declaration, as this was the last building to have a plaster facade colored with red sandstone powder. In order to make this particularity visible and prevent its degradation, we have carried out extremely meticulous and meticulous restoration work.

There is a lively garden behind the main facade of the Cassina building, which is also related to the image of the ruins. Entering the building through the walkway over the garden, people will think of the inner reason for the existence of Manaus: the Amazon rainforest. This lush tropical garden is related to glass, transparency and reflection. The history of Cassina and the future of the Innovation House are integrated in a space related to technology, virtuality and modernity.

03 Tropical Shed

Author: Laurent Troost
Category of work：Public buildings

Tropical Shed is a leisure space thought of as a lounge area for a small office space located at the back of this small plot (5x27m).

The narrow plot is oriented North South, exposing the leisure space to harshafternoon sun. Rather than waiting for a tree to grow, a steel rod structurehas been proposed to frame the leisure and work while also providing a fasts hading system by creeper and tropical plants. The steel rod structure alsosupport a “flying” roof for the leisure area, since its supports will disappear behind the creeper plants.

This light structure and flying roof close to the entrance also allows to keep there freshing prevailing winds (coming from Northeast) to enter the plot and refresh the area.

The structure is another research of ours to experiment of “architecturizingnature” and is a clear manifest for the neighborhood of the importance of greenery even on tiny plots.

The choice of light bricks pattern façade and walls somehow relate to a hands-made earth notion, cherished by the Archeology company that will be based in the office space. The office space offers cross ventilation to all space and directconnection to light and several gardens on each side.

This work is not complete yet, but we believe the pictures of the work in progress depicts the intentions mentioned above.

04 Comic House

Author: Laurent Troost
Category of work: Public buildings

The Manga Vila Santa Thereza residential building has just been selected by the Brazilian Institute of Architects (IAB) as one of 20 projects, representing Brazil to participate in the third Oscar Niemeyer Latin American Architecture Award. Unlike the 18 studios originally requested by our client, the Manga–Vila Santa The reza building is a building of 12 different types of apartments, 3 studios, 3 1-bedroom apartments, 3 2-bedroom apartments and 3 3-bedrooms. Apartment. This change in the presentation pleased customers with lower investments and higher returns. But the most important takeaway is the city’s value and social mix: students and singles and young couples and their family members live together. In short, the Vila Santa Thereza building tries to present the conditions of passive sustainability and the same spatial quality for all units in order to achieve social equality.

05 Campinalana House

Author: Laurent Troost
Category of work: Public buildings

In Casa campinarana, the room is located on the first floor with the interior living environment, exterior seating and swimming pool on the upper floor. To optimize the relationship between external and internal spaces, and to optimize exposure to climate factors, the house is divided into two blocks: vertical and horizontal. The function of the vertical volume house does not need sunscreen, while the function of the horizontal volume house needs to prevent sunlight an rain.

The main horizontal volume is a contemporary reinterpretation of the colonial roof, with eight slopes on two separate levels and an air mattress in the middle. This climate adapted passive energy strategy allows for very low energy consumption.

On the East and west sides, the roof consists of transverse vertical planes, protecting the living space from the first and last rays of the equatorial sun. The roof can expand under the action of annual temperature changes and sunshine, without affecting the structure of the house.

06 Guapore House

Author: Laurent Troost
Category of work: Public buildings