The 34th edition of the Premios Macael was awarded, as usual, in 10 categories, 4 of which were architectural projects with Engineered Stones Dekton and Silestone, respectively. The prize is awarded by the Association of Marble Companies in Andalusia (Asociación de Empresarios del Marmól de Andalucía, AEMA).
According to the press release, there were 450 guests at the awards gala, including 40 architects or buyers who visited companies or seminars after the event, as well as representatives of the Latin American Chambers of Commerce of USA (CAMACOL). Also present were the President of the Andalusian Regional Government, Juanma Moreno, and the Minister of Industry of Spain, Reyes Maroto, who in turn were honored with an award or a special mention, respectively.
In his speech, Aema President Jesús Posadas wished for more support from politicians, especially to strengthen the industry in Andalusia after Corona. He cited “innovation, reindustrialization, international marketing, know-how, and competitiveness“ as the key. He urged that the stone sector of Andalusia be included in actions such as “Andalucía trade“, the “Crece Industria 2022 Action Plan“ and the “Internationalization 2021-2027“.
He saw research collaborations between the mostly small or medium-sized companies and domestic universities as an effective means on the way to more innovation. He also complained that regulations made life difficult for quarries.
Sponsors this time were: Cosentino, Diputación de Almería, Smallglass-Itaca, Sacmi, Omar Coatings, Cajasur, Colorobbia, Cajamar, Unicaja Banco, Caixa Bank, Santander, GMM, Comandulli, Itadiamant, Vincent, Nicolai Nest, Turismo de Andalucía, Bankinter, BBVA, Sabadell, Suimasa, Olucarpa, Focus Piedra, Breton, Bancarmarch and Smalticeram.
We present the awarded projects. The descriptions come from the organizer.
Asociación de Empresarios del Marmól de Andalucía (Aema)
Online-Magazine: Englisch, Spanisch (the February 2022 issue will report about the awards)
Fotos: Aema
The Jury grants the International Award for Asia to the VISION PAVILION, installed at Expo 2020 in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, which is a singular work that is made up of 3 galleries and pays tribute to the leadership of Her Royal Highness, Sheikh Mohammed Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Sheikh of Dubai. The exhibition shows his early years and his dedication to learning, his main passions and values, and the representation of the evolution of the city of Dubai in the last 30 years through the eyes of its inhabitants -from the desert sand to the tallest building in the world-. The exhibition, curated by Marjan Faraidooni on behalf of Expo 2020 Dubai, has been executed by ALEC Fitout based on a design by the Sevillian company Icaria Atelier. Inside of the pavilion, two monumental sculptures located in two of the rooms stand out, both are accompanied by their respective cladding and flooring. On the one hand, a gigantic horse torso of about 6 m. high and 6 m. long has been made, made up of 41 solid pieces of gray marble, which develop over 37 cbm in total. In this sculpture, every detail of the animal is perfectly appreciated: mane, nostrils, snout, ears, and even veins, neck folds, posture, and musculature. This room is completed by a large-format flooring and cladding also made of gray marble, highlighting the engraving, on one of the walls, of a herd of horses galloping. Another of the rooms contains an imposing relief of a falcon with open wings occupying three of the walls of the room. The falcon carving has been carried out in large limestone pieces, some reaching thicknesses of more than 30 cm. In total, this space and the rest of the other two rooms, which also include limestone in flooring and cladding, total 790 sqm in different finishes.
The Jury grants the International Award for North America to KINDREE CHESCOE and its design studio KLC KREATIV, for the residential project developed in the city of Langley, Canada, in combination with the McClean Design studio in California. It is a house made, mainly, with Dekton and that includes Silestone in the kitchen, bathroom, and bar countertops. More than 10,000 square meters of Dekton, in the colors Ventus Portobello (customized), Marquina Fossil (customized), Korus and Helena, are distributed between its interior spaces (cladding, flooring, fireplaces and countertop) and exterior (facade, floors with access vehicles, garage entrance, reception stairs, steps, patios, and garden area). Obtaining Dekton’s custom colors had the objective of achieving a smooth design, which could be used in large quantities, but without impacting or saturating the spaces. The material manages to break the division between interior and exterior spaces, and makes them flow towards the natural environment where it is located at. The accent in this spectacular work of minimalist aesthetics is provided by the countertops in the main kitchen in Silestone Ocean Jasper; the bar counter, in Silestone Ocean Storm; and finally the baths, at Silestone Iconic White and Corktown.
The Jury grants the International Award for Latin America to the building of the LEGISLATIVE ASSEMBLY OF COSTA RICA, a representative building for the legislative power of the Republic of Costa Rica, carried out in collaboration with SQ Grupo and where the architect managed to express, through of an imposing volume, the power that is exerted within its walls. The Dekton by Cosentino surface, born in the Macael Marble Region, in its Blanc Concrete color, is the cladding of the four pillars where this work stands, carried out by the construction company EDICA, the architect Javier Salinas, and the engineer Franklin Amén. In its architectural and aesthetic concept, history, sustainability, and nature play a fundamental role. The work has been conceived under an exhaustive research work and a careful selection of materials to become a true green building.
The Jury grants the International Award for Africa to Steyn City – City Center Residential Apartments, located in Johannesburg, South Africa, which is a 284 apartments complex, where, approximately, 13,400 square meters of Dekton Natura, Kreta (customized), Greta, Glacier, and Valterra colors have been used in for a wide variety of applications. In collaboration with SCAD Architects (Steyn City Architecture & Design) this is the first large development to take place in the country, entirely made in Dekton. In addition, although the material has been installed in all its available thickness varieties, a large quantity of Dekton Slim predominates (4 mm). Applications include kitchen countertops and cladding, bathroom vanity countertops, shower and bathtub cladding, bathroom vanity fronts, and WC cistern cladding. Due to its resistance to scratching, staining, temperature changes, and low maintenance, together with the fact that it has been installed in a large format, which reduces the number of joints and increases the design possibilities, Dekton has become the ideal option for all the applications of this high standing project, which also houses an 18-hole golf course, a world-class equestrian school, a 300-meter lagoon, and a commercial office park.
The Jury grants the International Award for Europe to LOENEN PAVILION, the pavilion designed by the KAAN Architecture studio which, has been recently completed in Loenen, near Apeldoorn, the Netherlands, and it is a commemorative building in memory of the Dutch fallen in the Second World War and recent international conflicts. One of the objectives of the project was to create a construction harmoniously integrated between the nature that surrounds. For this 2500 square meters of Sierra Elvira in honed finish have been used, which is a variety of limestone with a grayish surface with minimal grooves in beige and earth tones. In pieces of three centimeters thick and measures of approximately 1.60 x 1.60 meters, it complements the success of this work based on the unconventional open spatial configuration, the abundant natural light, and the elegant choice of materials.
The Jury grants the National Award to the HOTEL LOPESAN COSTA MELONERAS, owned by the Lopesan Group, located in Meloneras, Las Palmas, where a comprehensive reform has been undertaken and more than 7,000 square meters of marble, granite, and Dekton ultra-compact surface have been installed. The renovation project, which pursued, at an architectural and design level, the integration of landscaping, architecture of the place and adaptation to the environment with the interior project, has been carried out in gardens, swimming pools, restaurants, exteriors, rooms, and common areas. Crema Marfil, Negro Marquina and Negro Eclipse marbles have been used for cladding of columns, reception flooring and cladding of bathrooms in rooms. Negro Zimbabwe and Negro Tezal granites have been the choice to make flooring and steps. And Dekton Zenith, Domoos, Opera, Kelya, Sirius, and Orix wear countertops, bathroom and bathtub linings, buffets, table tops, bathroom countertops and common areas and stools for pools at this 4-star Resort & Spa, which is considered one of the largest hotels in Spain.
The Jury grants the Design Award to SADO VILLA, which is a luxurious and imposing private residence of more than 5,000 square meters, located in Quinta do Lago, Portugal. In it, more than 1,500 square meters of different types of natural stone have been installed: travertine, marble, limestone, quartzite, onyx and granite, to carry out numerous and diverse design elements. From stairs with raised steps covered in marble, to cladding with combined grain made of exclusive marbles, passing through large-format flooring cut to size, shower trays with an innovative design, backlit onyx bars, textured limestone cladding, marble countertops. thick kitchen, covers window rails made of travertine, and even monolithic benches with a custom design, which preside over the center of the hammam that the house has.
The Jury grants the Award for the work in Blanco Macael Marble to the construction of the GOVERNMENT PAVILION, PARANINFO AND FREE SPACES in the extension of the Teatinos Campus of the UNIVERSITY OF MÁLAGA, SPAIN. The architects Roberto Ercilla, Rubén A. Alcolea and Jorge Tárrago, together with the construction company UTE Sando-Conacon and Tomás Lanzón, as execution director, among a great team of professionals and collaborators, are responsible for this work that, from now, it stands as a reference regarding the use, application and benefits of White Macael Marble. Almost 16,000 square meters of the material born in the Canteras de Macael, have been installed in flooring, ventilated façade and ceilings, stairs, cladding and benches. The project, in line with the goals of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDG), approaching the objective of a sustainable and efficient campus, sought a simple architecture, expressive containment and reminiscent of the elementary types of architecture, but forceful and elegant through the almost exclusive use of a single material.
The Jury grants the Institution Award to Junta de Andalucía (Andalusian Government, Spain), for the bidding commitment fulfillment of the last section works, which will allow the definitive connection of the highways ‘Autovía del Almanzora’ (A-334) with the ‘Autovía del Mediterráneo’ (A- 7). For their firm and determined support for the implementation of Dual Vocational Training, promoting their consultation with companies in the Marble Region to tackle the high level of unemployment among young people and connect with the specific needs of the company, in terms of certain Job positions. For the promotion of the Macael Marble Brand, through the eight sculptures made in ‘Blanco Macael’ Marble, which have been installed in each of the provincial capitals of Andalusia, honoring the priceless work carried out by all the health professionals during the Covid19 pandemic. And for its support for the internationalization of companies, specifically, through the Extenda Agency, which has organized and financed the Reverse Commercial Mission and the Event of the Macael Marble Brand in the Alhambra of Granada, with the presence of forty international natural stone prescribers.
The Jury grants the Communication Award, to the #ESTONOTIENEQUEPARAR (This Must Not Stop Now) # EACTÍVATE (And: Go) initiatives. #EstoNOtienequePARAR is the initiative that was born in March 2020, at the beginning of the Spanish State of Alarm, from the proliferation of videos of companies, showing how they continue to work ensuring that products and services were not lacking in society. In this way, it became a transversal movement that sought to prevent the economy sttopage and achieve economic recovery as soon as possible. When the State of Alarm ends, #EstoNOtienequePARAR evolves into #EActíVate, which started on May 24, 2020 to become the movement and meeting point for companies of all sizes, their workers and their entrepreneurs, as well as the self-employed, and professionals of the country. With #EActíVate they want to offer valuable and useful information and tools to companies to help them accelerate their recovery, as well as give visibility to the best ideas and business reconversions. Currently, the initiative has more than 5,500 member companies, who offer FACTS, advice and inspiration on how they have adapted to the current times, whose purpose is to serve as a stimulus to reactivate, together, the country’s economy.
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(24.01.2022, USA: 01.24.2022)
