This archive report was first published on 14 September 2019.
The 2019 Aga Khan Award for Architecture (AKAA) honored six winning projects at a ceremony held at Kazan's Musa Jalil State Academic Opera and Ballet Theatre on Friday, September 13, 2019.
The six projects, spanning six continents, include an urban heritage intervention, a floating school, a national museum, a public spaces program, a university's classrooms and halls, and an ecological centre. Each project shares a $1 million cash prize.
State Counsellor of the Republic of Tatarstan, Mintimer Shaimiev, accompanied His Highness the Aga Khan in presiding over the Award Ceremony. Shaimiev acknowledged the Aga Khan's contribution, saying, "You are implementing the largest charitable, educational and humanitarian projects, support proactive, creative people, regardless of nationality or confession."
His Highness the Aga Khan noted that during his visit to Tatarstan, he had seen how committed people could honor the power of both cultural identity and cultural pluralism. He said, "It is striking to see how churches and mosques, for example, have been built and preserved right next to one another as powerful symbols of a profound inter-cultural dialogue."
The ceremony was attended by government officials, ambassadors, and members of the international diplomatic corps, as well as leading members of the architectural community from around the world.
