With 90+ categories and 300+ jurors, the Architizer A+Awards is the world’s definitive architectural awards program. In anticipation of the Awards Gala and Phaidon book launch on May 14, we are pleased to share the stories behind the winners of the 2015 Awards program — see all of them here.
Gerber Architekten won the 2015 A+Awards, Jury Choice, for the Architecture+Materials Category with King Fahad National Library. Sited on a large public square, this library features a distinctive textile façade system, which acts as a sunshade and interprets the Arabian tent structure tradition in a modern, technological way.
Your name: Prof. Dipl.-Ing. Eckhard Gerber
Firm name: Gerber Architekten
Location: Dortmund – Hamburg – Berlin – Riyadh – Shanghai
Education: Dipl.-Ing. Architect
© Gerber Architekten
When did you decide that you wanted to be an architect?
From a very early age I was really attracted to become an architect and have always stayed faithful to this goal. Another choice was not an option for me.
First architecture/design job:
Before I finished my diploma in architecture, I participated with my former partner in an architectural competition, which we won. With this project I founded the office “werkgemeinschaft_66,” which became Gerber Architekten in 1979.
Design hero and/or favorite building (and why):
My designing is influenced by many role models. The theoretical thinking of great architects of the past as well as contemporary architects inspires me to seek out new architectural concepts, to scrutinize them critically and develop them further.
© Gerber Architekten
What do you find exciting about architecture and design right now?
Contemporary architecture distinguishes itself, as in all aspects of art and culture, by multilingualism. A unique design can be generated for each new building project.
Tell us something that people might not know about your A+Award submission:
The King Fahad National Library represents the modern cultural identity of Saudi Arabia. Gerber Architekten designed a building which responds to a sense of place and traditional building and which includes elements of the Arab culture and transforms them into a modern building. All areas of the library can be used by both women and men.
© Gerber Architekten
Among your fellow A+Award winners, what is/are your favorite(s)?
The ORIGAMI stair made by Maretti Stairs serves as a unique art room installation and also fulfills the requirements of a functional stairway.
Other than your computer (or phone), what is your most important tool?
The most important tools of an architect are his head and his hands. The software of the head creates continuously new and multilingual products using the hardware of the hands.