Aga Khan Award for Architecture

The Bibliotheca Alexandrina is a revival of the legendary ancient library built in classical Greek times. The rebuilding of the library has returned Alexandria to its former status as a centre for learning and exchange and provided the city with a landmark building. The spirit of international cooperation in which the library was conceived, funded, designed and implemented has been maintained in its management to create an institution that is truly global in its outlook. At the same time, the building is technically outstanding.
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Gando Primary School, Gando, Burkina Faso

Client
The community of Gando Village, Burkina Faso

Architect
Diébédo Francis Kéré, Burkina Faso

Completed in October 2001

This school is the result of one man’s mission to improve conditions in his village. Not only did he design the school and raise the funds to build it; he also secured government support to train people in building with local materials, and drew on the strong tradition of community solidarity to engage all of the villagers in the construction of this school for their children.
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Sandbag Shelter Prototypes, various locations

Timetable
First development, 1992

Architect
Cal-Earth Institute, Nader Khalili, US

The global need for housing includes millions refugees and displaced persons - victims of natural disasters and wars. Iranian architect Nader Khalili believes that this need can be addressed only by using the potential of earth construction.
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Restoration of Al-Abbas Mosque, Near Asnaf, Yemen

Client
General Organization for Antiquities, Manuscripts and Museums and the French Centre for Yemeni Studies, Yemen

Conservators
Marylène Barret, France, with assistance from
Abdullah al-Hadrami, Yemen

Completed in May 1996

Intended to preserve and celebrate Nubian culture, the museum includes display areas, educational and training facilities, and extensive outdoor spaces for community use, all set within city of Aswan along the River Nile.
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Old City Revitalization Programme Old City, Jerusalem

Sponsor
Welfare Association, Switzerland

Conservation
OCJRP Technical Office, Jerusalem

Completion
Ongoing since 1996

Completed in 1991

Jerusalem has an extraordinarily long and varied history, but the urban fabric of the old city is threatened by overcrowding, lack of maintenance and poor services. The Old City of Jerusalem Revitalization Programme aims to rehabilitate the city, to preserve its heritage and to create a better quality of life for its inhabitants. It is a comprehensive project aimed at every aspect of human life, with several components, including restoration, training, education and raising public awareness.
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B2 House Canakkale, Turkey

Clients
Selman and Suha Bilal, Turkey

Architect
Han Tümertekin, Turkey

Completed in 1999

Two Turkish brothers, Selman and Suha Bilal, wanted to build a house on Turkey’s north Aegean coast as a place to spend weekends in a spot where they could find beauty, tranquillity and seclusion without travelling long distances from their homes in Istanbul.
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Petronas Towers Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia

Clients
Kuala Lumpur City Centre Holdings Sdn Bhd., Malaysia

Architect
Cesar Pelli & Associates, US

Completed in 1997

The Petronas Towers are the centrepiece of the mixed-use Kuala Lumpur City Centre complex, set in the heart of the commercial district of the city. Rising 452 metres, the towers were certified the world’s tallest buildings by the Council of Tall Buildings and Urban Habitat in 1996. They are connected by a sky bridge at the forty-first and forty-second floors to facilitate inter-tower communication and circulation, while a multi-storey shopping and entertainment galleria connects the office towers at their bases.
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