Ortega Diago, winner of the Peña Ganchegui Prize for Young Basque Architecture 2023

2023 October 20

• The jury highlights the exercise of spatial synthesis, the delicacy in the treatment of materials and the concern for fluidity in the circulations.
• The prize comes with a cash prize of 6,000 euros and is aimed at architects with less than 10 years' experience who have graduated or are working in the Basque Country.
• Both winners and finalists and mentions will share an exhibition at the Basque Institute of Architecture from 2 November, as part of the Mugak/ Biennial.

The San Sebastian practice Ortega Diago, formed by Gonzalo Sánchez Ortega and Armando Diago, has won the fourth edition of the Peña Ganchegui Prize to Young Basque Architecture.

The jury, formed by María Langarita, Fernando Márquez Cecilia and Antonio Ortiz, has valued in the work of the prize-winners the exercise of spatial synthesis, the delicacy in the treatment of the materials, the singular programmatic solutions, the concern for fluidity in the circulations and the accent on transparencies.

In addition to the prize, the jury had selected as finalists the candidatures submitted by Anarte, Eloi Landia, Equi Studio, Amaia Arana, Gurea, and Mugara, with the last three receiving a special mention.

The prize-giving ceremony took place at the Basque Institute of Architecture, as part of the Mugak/ Biennial. The gala, designed and coordinated by the winners of the previous edition, Ocamica Tudanca Arquitectos, gave way to the Fiesta of Young Basque Architecture, with the participation of institutional representatives and professionals from the culture and architecture of the Basque Country.

The director of Housing, Land and Architecture of the Basque Government, Pablo García Astrain, highlighted "the commitment and rigour with quality architecture" of the winners and emphasised that the Vice-Ministry of Housing promotes the award with the aim of "promoting Basque architecture, more specifically young architecture, which preconfigures the trends in the field of design, architecture and urban planning and outlines the future of our cities for the coming years and decades".

Rocío Peña, director of the Peña Ganchegui Archive, in turn, expressed her satisfaction "at the consolidation that the fourth edition of this award represents, having even increased the number of entries with regard to the previous one", and celebrated that "for the first time, the female representation in the candidatures is close to the male one, reflecting a balance that, despite being present for years in the schools, is not yet reflected in other areas of representation, including the award itself until this edition".

The seven shortlisted candidates will have their work exhibited at the Basque Institute of Architecture, as part of the programme of the fourth edition of Mugak/, the International Architecture Biennial of the Basque Country, starting on 2 November.

More information about the Peña Ganchegui Award.