Prix Versailles

The Prix Versailles is a series of architectural prizes which are discerned annually. It identifies as the world architecture and design award.[1]

Prix Versailles
Prix Versailles 2019
Awarded for	Architecture and design
Presented by	World Prix Versailles Organization
First awarded	2015
Website	prix-versailles.com

History

Since its creation in 2015, the Prix has been presented at UNESCO Headquarters in Paris, acknowledging achievements in various forms of architecture.

Synergies between culture and economics

The Prix initially focused on commercial buildings, with the declared aim of fostering a better mix of the economic and cultural domains.[2] Irina Bokova, Director-General of UNESCO, declared on 19 June 2015, "The Prix Versailles is one of the ways to shine light on the intersection between creation, art and economics".[3]

Expanded scope

After beginning with shops and stores, hotels and restaurants, the Prix expanded to include shopping malls in 2017,[2][4] followed by the categories of university campuses, passenger stations and sports facilities in 2019.[1] Geographically speaking the Prix recognized French projects in 2015 (with four Prix and special prizes awarded)[3][5] and then went international in 2016 (with nine Prix and special prizes).[6][7] Continental editions were created in 2017,[2][4][8] giving rise in some cases to continental awards ceremonies in 2018.[9][10][11][12]

Purpose and process

Values

The Prix Versailles aims to underscore “the role that economic agents of all sectors may play in beautifying and improving our living environment”.[4][8] It means to promote “the creation of quality spaces in every inhabited area”.[1] Its ambition is for “everyday architecture [to] be a tool for a form of sustainable development including its various components: ecology (green economy) and society and culture (purple economy)”.[1][13]

In 2019, the Prix adopted the motto, “Inspiration, Progress and Inclusion”.[1][14]

In 2020, the Prix launched the international appeal, “Towards a cultural renaissance of the economy”,[15] which was published simultaneously in El País,[16] the Corriere della Sera[17] and Le Monde.[18]

Method

Since 2017, the categories of shops & stores, shopping malls, hotels and restaurants have been crowned with continental titles in each of the six Prix regions: Africa and West Asia; Central America, the South and the Caribbean; North America; Central Asia and the Northeast; South Asia and the Pacific; and Europe.[2]

The awards rely on far-reaching calls for submissions and systematic media analyses.[1]

In 2019, the continental editions were supplemented by world selections for the categories of campuses, passenger stations and sports.[1]

Based on continental titles or world selections, an independent judges panel confers the world titles for all the Prix categories. The world results may be announced on different dates by category.[1][19]

The criteria used by the judges include “innovation, creativity, reflection of local, natural and cultural heritage, and ecological efficiency, as well as the values of social interaction and participation which the United Nations holds in high regard”.[1]

	Number of continental winners	Number of selected projects	Number of world winners
Prix Versailles 2015	--	--	--
Prix Versailles 2016	--	--	9
Prix Versailles 2017	70	--	12
Prix Versailles 2018	70	--	12
Prix Versailles 2019	71	18	21

Statistics

Breakdown of continental winners by country[20][21][14]

Rank	Country	Winning projects[22]				Winning architects[23]				Total
		2017	2018	2019	Total	2017	2018	2019	Total
1	United States	9	6	7	22	14	9	9	32	54
2	China	7	7	11	25	7	4	6	17	42
3	France	2	3	5	10	4	8	9	21	31
4	Mexico	3	6	5	14	3	6	5	14	28
5	Brazil	6	5	4	15	5	2	4	11	26
6	United Kingdom	1	2	1	4	1	7	10	18	22
7	Japan	4	4	1	9	6	3	2	11	20
8	Singapore	5	4	1	10	3	2	2	7	17
9	Italy	3	2	2	7	4	1	4	9	16
10	Thailand	3	4	1	8	2	2	3	7	15
11	United Arab Emirates	4	3	7	14	0	0	0	0	14
12	Spain	2	2	0	4	2	4	1	7	11
13	Argentina	1	1	3	5	1	1	3	5	10
13	Australia	1	1	2	4	2	2	2	6	10
13	Chile	2	2	1	5	2	2	1	5	10
16	Iran	1	3	0	4	1	3	0	4	8
16	Netherlands	1	1	0	2	1	3	2	6	8
18	South Africa	1	2	0	3	1	3	0	4	7
19	Austria	1	0	1	2	1	0	1	2	4
19	Malaysia	0	1	2	3	0	1	0	1	4
19	Vietnam	1	0	1	2	1	0	1	2	4
22	Costa Rica	1	0	1	2	1	0	0	1	3
22	Indonesia	0	0	2	2	0	0	1	1	3
22	Morocco	1	0	0	1	2	0	0	2	3
22	Sweden	0	0	1	1	1	0	1	2	3
22	Switzerland	1	0	0	1	0	0	2	2	3
27	Germany	1	0	0	1	1	0	0	1	2
27	South Korea	1	1	0	2	0	0	0	0	2
27	Egypt	0	1	0	1	0	1	0	1	2
27	Greece	0	1	0	1	0	1	0	1	2
27	India	0	0	1	1	0	1	0	1	2
27	Kuwait	0	0	1	1	0	0	1	1	2
27	Malta	0	0	1	1	0	0	1	1	2
27	New Zealand	0	0	1	1	0	0	1	1	2
27	Oman	1	0	1	2	0	0	0	0	2
27	Pakistan	0	1	0	1	0	1	0	1	2
27	Peru	0	1	0	1	0	1	0	1	2
27	Philippines	1	0	0	1	1	0	0	1	2
27	Turkey	0	0	1	1	0	0	1	1	2
40	Algeria	1	0	0	1	0	0	0	0	1
40	Belgium	0	0	1	1	0	0	0	0	1
40	Bhutan	0	0	1	1	0	0	0	0	1
40	Cambodia	1	0	0	1	0	0	0	0	1
40	Colombia	0	0	1	1	0	0	0	0	1
40	Cuba	0	1	0	1	0	0	0	0	1
40	Denmark	0	0	0	0	0	0	1	1	1
40	Ethiopia	1	0	0	1	0	0	0	0	1
40	Guatemala	0	0	0	0	0	0	1	1	1
40	Kenya	0	1	0	1	0	0	0	0	1
40	Lebanon	0	0	0	0	1	0	0	1	1
40	Maldives	1	0	0	1	0	0	0	0	1
40	Mauritius	0	0	0	0	0	1	0	1	1
40	Namibia	0	0	1	1	0	0	0	0	1
40	Panama	0	0	1	1	0	0	0	0	1
40	Portugal	0	0	0	0	1	0	0	1	1
40	Qatar	1	0	0	1	0	0	0	0	1
40	Russia	0	1	0	1	0	0	0	0	1
40	Rwanda	0	1	0	1	0	0	0	0	1
40	São Tomé and Príncipe	0	0	1	1	0	0	0	0	1
40	Seychelles	0	1	0	1	0	0	0	0	1
40	Sri Lanka	0	1	0	1	0	0	0	0	1

See also

• Architecture
• Campus university
• Hospitality industry
• Interior design
• International Union of Architects
• Landscape
• List of architecture prizes
• Retail
• Sports venue
• Sustainable city
• Tourism
• Train station
• UNESCO
• Urban planning

Notes and references

1. "Fifth edition: The Prix Versailles celebrates the world's most beautiful campuses, passenger stations and sports facilities" (PDF). 14 May 2019. Retrieved 24 August 2019.
2. "2016 Prix Versailles at UNESCO, nine winners from around the world" (PDF). 30 May 2016. Retrieved 24 August 2019.
3. "Prix Versailles for Commercial Architecture: four winners recognized for their service to creativity and sustainable cities" (PDF). 22 June 2015. Retrieved 24 August 2019.
4. "Continental selections for the 2017 Prix Versailles, 35 countries in the running to compete in the World Final" (PDF). 26 April 2017. Retrieved 24 August 2019.
5. "Quand l'Unesco s'intéresse à l'architecture commerciale". Le Figaro (in French). 23 June 2015. Retrieved 24 August 2019.
6. "Le Prix Versailles élargi au monde entier" (PDF) (in French). 21 April 2016. Retrieved 24 August 2019.
7. "Alexander McQueen Store Wins Prix Versailles". WWD. 31 May 2016. Retrieved 24 August 2019.
8. "Découvrez les perles mondiales de l'architecture commerciale". Le Figaro (in French). 19 May 2017. Retrieved 24 August 2019.
9. "Continental selections for the Prix Versailles, Santiago de Chile announces the 2018 continental winners for the "North America" and the "Central America, the South and the Caribbean" regions" (PDF). 16 April 2018. Retrieved 24 August 2019.
10. "Continental selections for the Prix Versailles, Beijing announces the 2018 continental winners for the "Central Asia and the Northeast" and the "South Asia and the Pacific" regions" (PDF). 21 April 2018. Retrieved 24 August 2019.
11. "Continental selections for the Prix Versailles, Algiers announces the 2018 winners for the "Africa and West Asia" and the "Europe" regions" (PDF). 27 April 2018. Retrieved 24 August 2019.
12. "Chile será sede de uno de los premios referentes a nivel mundial en arquitectura comercial". Teletrece (in Spanish). 13 April 2018. Retrieved 24 August 2019.
13. "Morpheus becomes first in Macau to win Prix Versailles award". Yahoo! Finance. 20 June 2019. Retrieved 24 August 2019.
14. "Prix Versailles 2019: 71 Continental Titles recognize the best projects around the world" (PDF). 29 May 2019. Retrieved 24 August 2019.
15. Signed by: Ferran Adrià, Massimiliano Alajmo, Elena Arzak, Rafael Aranda, Shigeru Ban, Massimo Bottura, Mariya Gabriel, Jérôme Gouadain, Ángel Gurría, Iris van Herpen, Kengo Kuma, Pascal Lamy, Eric Maskin, Jean Nouvel, Edmund Phelps, Renzo Piano, Anne-Sophie Pic, Carme Pigem, Christopher Pissarides, Zurab Pololikashvili, David Sassoli, Vera Songwe, Jean-Noël Tronc, Ramón Vilalta.
16. "Por un renacimiento cultural de la economía". El País (in Spanish). 7 June 2020. Retrieved 17 June 2020.
17. "Per un rinascimento culturale dell'economia". Corriere della Sera (in Italian). 7 June 2020. Retrieved 17 June 2020.
18. "En dépit de son importance croissante, le culturel n'a pas suffisamment été pensé comme un écosystème". Le Monde (in French). 7 June 2020. Retrieved 17 June 2020.
19. "The most beautiful campuses, passenger stations and sports facilities, as named by the World Judges Panel of the Prix Versailles 2019" (PDF). 16 July 2019. Retrieved 24 August 2019.
20. "Prix Versailles 2017: twelve World Titles awarded at UNESCO Headquarters" (PDF). 15 May 2017. Retrieved 24 August 2019.
21. "World Final of the 2018 Prix Versailles at UNESCO: the most beautiful places of commerce and hospitality Awards" (PDF). 18 May 2018. Retrieved 24 August 2019.
22. Project country.
23. Country of lead architect head offices.

External links

• Official website