Six Finalists for 2023 MCHAP

The 2023 MCHAP jury selected the finalists from the 38 “Outstanding Projects” announced in June of last year, culled from the more than 250 works nominated a few months earlier. All projects were completed between December 2018 and June 2021.

​The six finalists, highlighted below with photos (descriptions courtesy of IIT):

• Anahuacalli Museum remodeling and expansion, Taller | Mauricio Rocha, Mexico City, Mexico: “A sensitive dialogue with an existing museum in an ecological reserve, forging a new public space that extends Diego Rivera’s vision for the site.”
• Guadalupe Market, Colectivo C733, Tapachula, Mexico: “A framework for everyday exchanges that leverages prefabricated and local materials to prioritize comfort, safety, and a fluid connection with landscape.”
• The Menil Drawing Institute, Johnston Marklee, Houston, USA: “An addition to a historic arts campus that meets strict conservation requirements while offering intimate, direct encounters with works on paper.”
• Park in the Prado neighborhood, Mayor’s Office of Medellín – Secretary of Infrastructure, Medellín, Colombia: “A succession of terraces that thoughtfully engage the activities of animals, qualities of soil, and existing materials to shape a living urban landscape.”
• The Polygon Gallery, Patkau Architects, North Vancouver, Canada: A studio-like exhibition space that reestablishes a relationship between city residents and a dynamic, independent arts center 
• Valois Housing Building, José Cubilla, Asuncion, Paraguay: “An apartment building that explores the urban possibilities of rammed-earth construction, integrating vegetation and ventilation without imposing on the surrounding neighborhood.”

The jury is chaired by Sandra Barclay (chair and recipient of MCHAP 2018) and includes Mónica Bertolino, Dirk Denison (ex officio), Alejandro Echeverri, Julie Eizenberg, and Philip Kafka. Barclay said in a statement:

“In the 21,000 kilometers we have traveled, we have witnessed the potential of architecture to transform places and offer new dynamics with society. This group of projects reflects and represents the concerns and investigations that are critical to architectural production at this time.” 

The winning project will be announced at a symposium on March 24 at IIT. The architects of the winning project will be recognized with the MCHAP Award, the MCHAP Chair in IIT’s College of Architecture, and $50,000 to fund research and a publication.

Winners of the previous MCHAP Awards include Álvaro Siza's Iberê Camargo Foundation and Herzog & de Meuron's 1111 Lincoln Road in the inaugural cycle, SANAA's River Building at Grace Farms in the second cycle, and Barclay & Crousse Architecture's Edificio E at the University of Piura in the previous cycle, in 2018.