The 2024 Obel Award has just been announced, crowning 36x36 by Colectivo C733 in Mexico its winner. A true collective formed by the offices of architects Gabriela Carrillo (Taller Gabriela Carrillo), Carlos Facio y José Amozurrutia (TO), Eric Valdez (Labg) and Israel Espin, Colectivo C733 sits at the forefront of community work in their country. Their winning scheme is, in fact, 36 projects – a grouping of public works designed with the community, instead of simply for them, the jury points out.
2024 Obel Award winner: 36x36 by Colectivo C733, Mexico
The collective's joint efforts were hailed as important and innovative in challenging conventional mindsets by the Obel Award's panel of judges, which was formed by architects and specialists in the field, including Sumayya Vally of Counterspace, Kjetil Trædal Thorsen of Snøhetta and DNA Design and Architecture's Xu Tiantian.
The jury said, 'The strength of the collective partly lay in the fact that, by designing together, “with” a constantly fluctuating roster of stakeholders, and while utilising shared skills and resources, they were able to bring together 30 architects and a multidisciplinary team of consultants, learning to compress a process that previously could have taken years into just a few months — something practically unheard of by today’s industry standards.'
Last year's 2023 Obel Award went to landscape studio Scape and its founder Kate Orff for their Living Breakwaters project – an inspiring ecosystems-driven piece of green infrastructure design off the shore of Staten Island in New York.
This year, the jury wrote in its statement: 'Colectivo C733 exemplifies the power of collective action and collaborative design to rapidly respond to urgent urban needs. Their ability to transform 36 communities through thoughtful, resource-efficient, and dignified architectural interventions is a blueprint for future public works projects worldwide.'
-
Robert Therrien's largest-ever museum show in Los Angeles is enduringly appealing'This is a Story' at The Broad unites 120 of Robert Therrien's sculptures, paintings and works on paper
-
The Wallpaper* style team recall their personal style moments of 2025In a landmark year for fashion, the Wallpaper* style editors found joy in the new – from Matthieu Blazy’s Chanel debut to a clean slate at Jil Sander
-
Tokyo’s most cinematic stay reopens as an exercise in architectural self-controlPark Hyatt Tokyo and Studio Jouin Manku demonstrate how design can evolve without erasing memory, balancing modernist heritage with contemporary comfort
-
The RIBA Asia Pacific Awards reward impactful, mindful architecture – here are the winnersThe 2025 RIBA Asia Pacific Awards mark the accolade’s first year – and span from sustainable mixed-use towers to masterplanning and housing
-
RIBA House of the Year 2025 is a ‘rare mixture of sensitivity and boldness’Topping the list of seven shortlisted homes, Izat Arundell’s Hebridean self-build – named Caochan na Creige – is announced as the RIBA House of the Year 2025
-
A revived public space in Aberdeen is named Scotland’s building of the yearAberdeen's Union Terrace Gardens by Stallan-Brand Architecture + Design and LDA Design wins the 2025 Andrew Doolan Best Building in Scotland Award
-
At the Holcim Foundation Forum and its Grand Prizes, sustainability is both urgent and hopefulThe Holcim Foundation Forum just took place in Venice, culminating in the announcement of the organisation's Grand Prizes, the projects especially honoured among 20 previously announced winning designs
-
Archiboo Awards 2025 revealed, including prizes for architecture activism and use of AIArchiboo Awards 2025 are announced, highlighting Narrative Practice as winners of the Activism in architecture category this year, among several other accolades
-
RIBA launches new awards – and for the first winners, we look to the Middle EastThe RIBA Middle East Award winners are announced today. The first of the organisation's two new territory awards series honours a women-only mosque, a luxury hotel, a city park and more
-
RIBA Stirling Prize 2025 winner is ‘a radical reimagining of later living’Appleby Blue Almshouse wins the RIBA Stirling Prize 2025, crowning the social housing complex for over-65s by Witherford Watson Mann Architects, the best building of the year
-
Are these the best brick and ceramic buildings in the world?The biannual Brick Award is back. Discover the shortlist of innovative buildings across the world, designed by architects thinking outside the box
