"Traditionally, architecture awards have operated as devices of consecration, recognizing completed works, established careers, and already tested solutions, most often through a retrospective lens. But what would happen if recognition ceased to be an end in itself and instead began to operate as a catalytic agent, investing less in what has already been done and more in what is still yet to unfold?"
"It is from this inflection point that OBEL has come to position itself not simply as an award, but as a foundation dedicated to fostering architecture. In its earlier editions, the OBEL Award played a crucial role in bringing visibility to practices that resist closure, including initiatives such as Power to Renovation (2025), which advocates systemic change in the reuse of existing buildings."
OBEL has shifted from functioning primarily as a retrospective award to operating as a foundation that actively fosters architecture. The foundation invests in initiatives, platforms, and programs that prioritize learning, experimentation, and collective responsibility over one-off prizes. Earlier OBEL initiatives amplified practices that resist closure and promote systemic change, including Power to Renovation (2025), 36×36 (2024), and Living Breakwaters (2023). The approach reframes architecture as a field of action and shared responsibility, reframing the central question from who deserves recognition to what efforts and projects most urgently need support now.
Read at ArchDaily
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