WOHA, Met Building, Bangkok

RIBA?s panel of judges did not find it easy to choose the winner of the 2011 Lubetkin Prize, for the finalists included 5 truly great projects:
the Masdar Institute in Abu Dhabi and the Boston Museum of Fine Arts by Foster + Partners, Guangzhou Opera House in China by Zaha Hadid Architects,  the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts in Richmond by Rick Mather Architects + SMBW and the Met Building in Bangkok by WOHA.

The judge chairing the panel, Angela Brady, announced the choice of the Met Building, emphasising that it was chosen for the intelligent design solutions adopted in the project to guarantee high residential standards combining design with sustainability. For example, the architects decided to make use of natural ventilation for climate control in the building, an essential concern in a tropical climate. At 66 floors, the skyscraper is so tall that strong natural ventilation can be conveyed, channelled through the structure and distributed on different levels.

(Agnese Bifulco)

Design: WOHA
Location: Bangkok, Thailand
Illustrations: courtesy of RIBA @ Patrick Bingham, @ Kirsten Bucher,

wohadesigns.com
www.architecture.com