GAGA winners 2016

The prestigious Galvanizers Association Annual Awards took place at the end of June 2016. So who won the coveted ‘Galvanized Watering Cans’, and what projects did they win awards for?

The annual GAGA awards, hosted by the Galvanizers Association, took place at the end of June 2016, at an elegant London hotel. For architects, steel fabricators and galvanizers alike, this is the must-attend event of the year and many people were in attendance.

Back in June we listed the winners as well as the awards they received, but as the projects were exemplary, we thought we’d share a few of the success stories in more detail below. 

Special Innovation Award

The GAGAs Special Innovation Award went to Kiwi & Pom, a Clerkenwell based design agency, who created a new identity for ‘Coffee Ground’, an artisan cafe within various Wyevale Garden Centres. The project included an interior design, brand identity, art direction and graphic design. The centrepiece of the design is a galvanized steel free-standing ‘shed’ clad with timber lapped boards – a concept which is close to the heart of every gardener. Designed to be as flexible as possible, the shed structure is modular allowing it to flex in length. The configuration also uses the rear of the shed to create a pleasant environment to sit – with a backdrop of weatherboard, plants, books and coffee. Kiwi & Pom also designed mobile galvanized plant screens to enclose the cafe space. For more information about the design click here.

Galvanizing in Detail Award

The GAGAs Galvanizing in Detail Award went to Hudson Architects for The Gunton’s Atrium on the existing campus of Norwich’s University of the Arts. The project was recognised for its glimmering, folded galvanized sheet staircase, which encourages greater interaction across the various disciplines taught within the building. The use of a rich palette of robust materials reflects the building’s semi-industrial character while creating an elegant and contemporary space at the heart of the building. For more information about the design click here.

Highly Commended Detail Award

The GAGAs awarded three ‘Highly Commended’ awards, but the stand-out went to Crossrail Place, which was recognised for interlacing a timber latticed roof which cantilevers out over the waters Of Canary Wharf. The project included 564 galvanized nodes, many of them unique, enabling 1418 glulam beams to be connected to form a 30m arched roof. The architects were Foster + Partners. For more information about the project, click here.

Other winners included:

• Duplex Award – DunnettCraven for Almere Windhinders in The Netherlands
• Galvanizing in Engineering Award – TSP for Suffolk Energy from Waste Facility
• Highly Commended Architecture Award – Hugh Strange Architects for Architecture Archive in Somerset
• Galvanizing in Architecture Award – Sutherland Hussey Harris, Edinburgh Sculpture Workshop: Creative Labs
• Highly Commended Engineering Award – Spatial Structures for the Football Training Academy in Wolverhampton.

Look out for more profiles of the winners in future articles on this website.