Bijoy Jain. Studio Mumbai – Alvar Aalto Medal 2020
small exhibition hall
The fourteenth Alvar Aalto Medal has been awarded to the Indian architectural office Studio Mumbai and its director Bijoy Jain. The Studio Mumbai exhibition showcases the work of an office where architecture and craftsmanship are seamlessly intertwined in ways that pay exemplary attention to the local conditions. Studio Mumbai has created for the Museum of Finnish Architecture a vivid impression of their architectural practice. On display in the exhibition are artifacts and handmade prototypes made from local materials. The studies in form provide an enlightening example of the office’s work process, where they serve as the artistic starting point for the buildings under construction.
Bijoy Jain and Studio Mumbai
Born in Mumbai in 1965, Bijoy Jain graduated as an architect from the University of Washington in St. Louis, USA, in 1990. He worked in Los Angeles and London before returning to India. Bijoy Jain founded the architectural practice Studio Mumbai Architects in 1995, and nowadays it operates internationally, in India, Japan and Europe. The studio employs a multidisciplinary team of architects, engineers, craftsmen and master builders.
Alvar Aalto Medal
Alvar Aalto Medal, carrying the name of the architect and designed by Aalto himself, was founded in 1967 in order to honor creative architectural work. Nowadays the medal is given out every three years by the Alvar Aalto Foundation, the Museum of Finnish Architecture, the Finnish Association of Architects SAFA, the Finnish Architectural Society and the City of Helsinki. The medal can be given to persons who have gained merit in the field of creative architecture in a very significant way. The award was scheduled to be handed out in 2020, but due to the global pandemic, the ceremony was postponed until this year.
The jury members 2020 were architect Enrique Sobejano from Spain, the civil engineer and urban planner Gunnar Heipp from Switzerland, and the architects Pia Ilonen and Anu Puustinen from Finland. Architect Jan Utzon from Denmark was the jury chair.
The award was presented to the medallist in February at the Finnish Embassy in New Delhi, India.
Alvar Aalto Medalists 1967–2017
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Image: Copper House © Studio Mumbai