Now celebrating its 18th year, the prestigious ABB LEAF Awards returned to Germany to celebrate the outstanding projects and personalities that have made the biggest impact upon the built environment, and the international architectural community.

Highlights of the inspirational awards ceremony, held in Berlin, included MOZHAO ARCHITECTS ‘Zishe·Planting Pavilion and Planting Terrace’, Shenzhen, China receiving the honour of Overall Winner 2019. Diller Scofidio + Renfro was also honoured with the Lifetime Achievement Award.

The awards included winners of the two new categories Best Arts & Culture Building Project OPEN Architecture ‘UCCA Dune Art Museum’, Qinhuangdao, China and Best New Start Up Practice Project Nathanael Dorent + Lily Jencks ‘Ruins Studio’, Dumfries, Scotland, UK. Other winning categories included Best Future Building Under Construction Project ODA New York ‘Postkantoor’, Rotterdam, The Netherlands, with Marcy Wong Donn Logan Architects receiving three honours with ‘Ford Point Revitalization’, Richmond, California, US winning Best Regenerative Impact Project, ‘Centre Street Parking Garage’, Berkeley, California, US, Best Façade Design & Engineering Project and ‘Uber Advanced Technologies Group R&D Centre’, San Francisco, California US, Best Refurbishment Project.

Commenting on the awards, Katrin Förster, Global Key Account Manager for Architects at ABB, said:

“The most impressive aspect about this year’s awards was the diversity of entries on show from all over the world. We saw everything from the renovation of a hut on the outskirts of Scotland, to a coffee shop in Korea, a super modern hotel in Macau, an arena in Senegal, a vinegar museum in China, an exclusive shopping mall in Hamburg to a R&D centre in San Francisco. How unique to have such a brilliant array of projects for the judges to choose from! It motivates us, as technology innovators, to work closer with architects and develop solutions that truly help to create the best buildings of the future.”