VMZinc Announces Winners Of The Archizinc Trophy Awards

Reflecting the concept "Zinc at the Heart of Architectural Creativity." End Quote

Raleigh-Durham-Chapel Hill, NC (1888PressRelease) June 27, 2012 - The 10 winners of the fifth VMZINC® Archizinc Trophy awards program, sponsored by the Umicore Group, were unveiled this month at the Terrass Kardinal in Paris.

This bi-annual competition for architects requires that the submitted designs use VMZINC solutions in original projects. VMZINC is the international rolled zinc products brand manufactured and marketed by Umicore Building Products USA, headquartered in Raleigh, North Carolina. Winners included six projects in the categories "Private Housing," "Commercial Buildings," and "Public Buildings.

Four special honors were also named for "Sustainable Building," "Daring," Internet Users Choice" (in which the public cast votes), and "Jury's Special Award."

Representing 19 different countries, architects submitted 118 projects that were assessed by a jury comprised of 11 international professionals (architects, journalists and an engineer). Nicola Leonardi, editor-in-chief of The Plan magazine, chaired the jury.

The jury used three fundamental criteria to determine the winners:

1. Architectural quality -- the original expression of each project and the emotion generated

2. Integration into the site -- the suitability of the project in terms of environment, urban planning, topography and climate

3. Innovation -- highlighting zinc, its functionalities and performances.

The Archizinc Trophy winners were, by category:

· Individual Housing: Winner -- Fabien Chavignaud Architecte for a Private House in Carquefou (France); Special Mention -- Brian Bell - BLDGS for the Ansley Glass House in Atlanta, Georgia (USA)

· Commercial Buildings: Winner - Dean Marchetto/Marchetto Higgins Stieve Architects, for the Extension, Architecture Studio, Hoboken, New Jersey (USA).

· Public Buildings: Winner - Ulrich Junk/Junk & Reich Architecten for Historical Library, Augustinian Monastery, Erfurt (Germany); Special Mention 1 - Cheng Dapeng/Beijing New Era Architectural Design Ltd., for Yungang Grottoes Museum, Datong (China); Special Mention 2 - David Mackay & Francisco Gual Trajine/MBM Arquitectes for Casa Dels Xuklis, Llars Mundet (Spain).

· Sustainable Building: Jean-Philippe Thomas Architectes for Luis Ortiz Secondary School, Saint Dizier (France)

· Daring: Steve Woodland, Cabinet Cox Howlett & Bailey Woodland for Entertainment Centre, Albany (Australia)

· Internet Award: Diego Garcia Munoz Vaquero/Prieto + Vaquero Arquitectos y MCCL Arquitectos for Centro Sociocultural, Agron (Spain)

· Jury's Special Award: John Ronan Architects for the Poetry Foundation, Chicago, Illinois (USA).

"The diversity of countries, types of buildings, and architectural styles confirmed yet again the role of zinc in contemporary architecture," said Daniel Nicely, managing director of Umicore Building Products USA. "This noble material is natural, recyclable, requires very little maintenance and provides a lasting environmental solution. It features excellent mechanical properties that make it suitable for almost all climatic conditions. VMZINC systems offer a broad diversity of applications, provide the perfect response to current architectural trends, and rise to the technical challenges of our time."

The winners, representatives from the Umicore Group, and all members of the awards jury attended the presentation ceremony. Each winner received an Archizinc Trophy, an actual work of art in zinc.

The winning projects will be published next October in a special issue of FOCUS ON ZINC magazine. Approximately 65,000 copies of the magazine are distributed over 10 countries, offering winners the opportunity to have their work published worldwide.

For more information on the Archizinz Trophy, visit www.trophee-archizinc.com. For more information on Umicore Building Products and VMZINC, go to www.vmzinc-us.com.

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