Nov 6
2024

Award „Best Use of Stone“ at the World Architecture Festival 2024.

The aim is to establish the “Turkish Stones” brand among architects and interior designers

The Turkish natural stone companies want to make their stones a real brand among architects and interior designers that resonates with the target group. To this end, the Istanbul Mineral Exporters Association (İMİB), Aegean Exporters Associations (EİB), and West Mediterranean Exporters Association (BAİB) have signed a sponsorship agreement with the annual World Architecture Festival (November 6th to 8th, 2024). This year, the “Best Use of Stone” award will be presented there for the first time, with the Turkish Stones brand as the sole sponsor.

Until now, architects had not really thought of stones from Turkey as prominent, explained Ms. Funda Bekişoğlu from the IMIB board on numerous occasions in the run-up: Turkey has so far been seen primarily as a supplier of raw materials, essentially of raw blocks that are processed elsewhere and then installed elsewhere, without anyone noticing that they come from Turkey. “In future, the label Turkish Stones should be a well-known and valued address for architects, for major projects all over the world,“ we are paraphrasing Ms. Bekişoğlu’s statements in the Turkish press.

The country’s stone sector has long complained that its average price per ton is not doing well compared to the rest of the world. Italy, with its Made in Italy brand, is by far the world leader in this area.

The prehistory of the appearance at the World Architecture Festival is long:
* For several years, the Turkish stone sector has been trying to make the leap to value-added with design initiatives. The IMIB and EIB associations, as well as the Izmir trade fair, have been holding annual competitions for product design with natural stone. They are characterized positively by the fact that they produce useful everyday objects – but they have not yet been noticed as part of a brand;
* The IMIB association made three appearances around 2013 as part of the Milan Design Week with elaborate artistic presentations;
* In 2017, IMIB appeared at the Fashion Week in Monte Carlo with clothing that looked like natural stone.
See our reports below: See also.

A lot of (state) money was invested. It did attract attention and significantly increased the total amount of stone exported. But it did not really come close to creating a brand image.

Now Turkey wants to break into the ranks of the makers of architecture, and not just with stone slabs at construction and architecture trade fairs. Among the many prizes at the festival, it has bought its own – the entries for all the other prizes are also at the same time, submissions for the “Best Use of Stone“ award are accepted, without the applicants having to pay any fees.

The shortlist for the first edition of the natural stone award contains eight projects. They come from Malta, the UAE, Turkey, China, India and Brazil. The winner will be announced at the gala dinner on the last day of the show at the Marina Bay Sands Hotel in Singapore.

The World Architecture Festival was launched in 2008. It took place in Barcelona for the first time and stayed there for four years. Since then, its venue was Singapore, Berlin, Amsterdam, and Lisbon. “1000’s of architects, designers and suppliers come together,“ the festival organizers inform on their website. Representatives of mostly well-known architectural firms are invited as speakers in the program.

An addition: At home, the Turkish stone associations have now managed to get into the government Turquality® program. It promotes the creation of brands, among others. Considerable financial resources are available for this.

Shortlist „Best Use of Stone“ Award

See also:

(06.11.2024, 11.06.2024)