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INTERVIEW: ANA MARTÍNEZ, SECRETARY OF THE 11TH ASCER CERAMIC, ARCHITECTURE AND INTERIOR DESIGN PRIZES
"These prizes showcase the infinite possibilities of ceramic materials" TILE INDUSTRY ASSOCIATION ASCER HAS SENT OUT A CALL FOR ENTRIES TO THE 11TH EDITION OF THE CERAMIC, ARCHITECTURE AND INTERIOR DESIGN PRIZES. THE SECRETARY OF THE EVENT, ANA MARTÍNEZ, EXPLAINED ALL THE DETAILS TO US AND WOULD LIKE TO ENCOURAGE PROFESSIONALS TO EXPERIMENT WITH DIFFERENT USES OF CERAMIC AND TAKE PART IN THIS INTERNATIONAL COMPETITION. Laura Pitarch
hat are the requirements for being able to take part in the competition?
How many projects were entered in the last competition? How many entries are you expecting to receive this year?
The only requirement in the three categories, which are Architecture, Interior Design and Degree Project, is that the projects must make significant use of wall and/or floor tiles that have been made in Spain in the formal part of the building. Both students and professionals of any nationality are invited to take part.
A total of about 150 projects were presented in the three categories in the last two years and we are expecting the level of participation to be more or less the same this year.
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What is the prize and what are the deadlines for this edition of the competition? There is a monetary first prize in the two main categories (Architecture and Interior Design) of 18,000 euros each. The prize for the best degree project is 6,000 euros. Projects must be submitted by 23 October 2012. What is the main aim of this competition? The Ceramic Prizes, the 11th edition of which will be held this year, are designed to highlight and diffuse projects that make architectural and innovative use of our products. They are a way of showing the architecture and interior design world the enormous progress that has been made in the sector and the infinite variety of uses that can be made with the material. Can we expect to see anything new at the 11th edition? The dynamics are still the same. This year's jury will work on the same lines as those in the past, and is made up of outstanding professionals of international renown. The competition has seen a lot of new talent grow over its 10-year history. Can you remember any special cases? At the last edition we saw a circle close. The two young architects from the studio responsible for the winning project ("MUCA. Casa de Música en Algueña") had taken part as students in one of the first editions of the conferences for young architects organised by ASCER and had also made contact with the Ceramic Chair at the School of Architecture in Alicante. The architects attended conferences on the material and symbolic buildings using ceramics, visited a factory, etc. The experience left such a mark on them that when they started work they did not hesitate to use ceramic in their projects, which such fantastic results that last year they won the first prize!
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Because of the significant nature of the projects and the professional value of the jury these prizes are very prestigious both in Spain and abroad. Who would you say have been most important people to serve on the jury? Every year we do our utmost to ensure that the jury is made up of top level professionals. Some of the most outstanding of these are Carlos Ferrater, Luis Moreno Mansilla, Patxi Mangado, Eduardo Souto de Moura, Benedetta Tagliabue, Guillermo Vázquez Consuegra, Rafael de La-Hoz, Mathias Klotz, Jacob Van Rijs, João Álvaro Rocha, Ángela García de Paredes, Luís Fernández-Galiano, Carme Pinós, Alberto Campo Baeza, Ignacio Vicens, Juan Herreros, Javier García-Solera, Terence Riley, Tomás Alía, Francesc Rifé, Gerard Sanmartí, Frank Barkow, Mikko Heikkinen, etc. Who will be the chairman of this year's jury and who will the other members be? This year the president of the jury is architect Juan Navarro Baldeweb. The rest of the jury is made up of Francisco Aires Mateus, Luis Martínez Santa-María; manager of Domus magazine, Joseph Grima; architectural critic Anatxu Zabalbeascoa; designer Matali Crasset, and Ramón Monfort, from the Castellón Architects' Association. What type of ceramic products does the jury appreciate? What are the main things they are looking for? They always like to highlight buildings and projects where ceramics have a leading role and which make the most of their numerous qualities and benefits. What would you say to architects and interior designers to encourage them to take part in the competition? I'd say that if they have done any works that make non-conventional use of ceramics, they should enter them in the competition. It doesn't matter how large or important the building is, because over the ten years we have been awarding these prizes to some very different projects: schools, health centres, symbolic buildings such as Universal Exhibition Centres, upgrades, city walkways, residential blocks, etc. What they all do is showcase the versatility of ceramics in any type of project.