Autodesk Congratulates 2009 Young Architect of the Year

For the second year, Autodesk has been the exclusive sponsor of this most prestigious competition. The YAYA is organised by leading architectural weekly, Building Design, to recognise and reward promising young architectural talent from around the UK and Ireland. Now in its 12th year, the YAYA award draws entries from the most dynamic architects aged under 40, who are successfully challenging architectural design traditions in new and exciting ways.

The unique judging process involves internationally renowned architects and critics and results in one of the most rigorous and stimulating competitions of the year. Unusually, the organisers are looking for architects with a strong design philosophy even though they may not have the back-up of much built work.

North London-based David Kohn Architects was announced as the winner of the 2009 Architect of the Year Awards, held on 5 November at the Intercontinental Hotel, London, in the presence of over 800 clients, architects and construction professionals. In addition to the prestige, the David Kohn also received a prize of £5,000.

“We’re delighted! It’s exactly the kind of support that might get us to the next stage,” said 37 year old principal, David Kohn. “It’s really the beginning of a process to move up a scale, to work with other clients and present our work to a new audience,” he added.

Last year’s unanimous winner, Belfast-based Hackett Hall McKnight, impressed judges with its determination to re-energise building culture in a city not traditionally receptive to modern architecture. The practice is in the process of creating its first public building – the £14.2 million MAC, an Arts Centre in Belfast’s Cathedral Quarter – construction of which is about to commence.

“Winning YAYA helped us to broaden our international connections in 2008, and it indirectly helped us win two commissions outside Northern Ireland,” says Mark Hackett, partner at Hackett Hall McKnight. “2009 has been a busy year for us and we recently won an open competition for Civic offices in Meath, Ireland, which will be by far our biggest building to date” he added.

Pete Baxter, Autodesk senior director, Northern Europe says: “We are delighted to sponsor YAYA again this year. At Autodesk, we believe in fostering new architectural talent – we never forget that today’s young architects will be the creators of tomorrow’s built environment. By providing them with industry-leading design solutions, we’re hoping to encourage inspiration and innovation in building design.”

The competition always attracts a large number of entries and YAYA is the only award of its kind in the UK that recognises young architectural talent. We look forward to working with Autodesk to find this year's winner.”