The State Prize for Building Culture 2025 in Schleswig-Holstein has been officially announced. This prestigious award recognizes outstanding achievements in the field of building culture that demonstrate innovative strength and high design quality. The award aims to honor projects that combine resource-conserving and affordable construction with high building quality.

Design authors are eligible to participate together with the respective clients. Projects can be submitted in five categories:

1. Public buildings, services of general interest, education
2. Conversion and existing buildings
3. Programs and participation
4. Civil engineering and infrastructure
5. Housing

There is also a main prize “Building culture with responsibility – simple, resource-conserving and affordable construction” and a special prize for young applicants. It is particularly noteworthy that projects from the fields of urban planning as well as landscape and open space planning can also be submitted.

The application deadline is April 1, 2025, and buildings, structures and ensembles that have been completed in the last three years (deadline: January 1, 2022) will be considered. This includes new buildings, conversions and renovations.

The Baukultur symposium, which took place on November 12, 2024, marked the official start of the submission phase for the state prize. Frederik Hogrefe emphasized the challenges of the construction sector in building sustainably, affordably and in a climate-friendly way.

The award aims to give visibility to projects that offer innovative solutions to current challenges. These include

• Use of modern and traditional materials such as wood, clay or thatch
• Application of standard E to reduce construction costs
• Consideration of local adaptations for sustainable building

The award ceremony is planned for fall 2025. The State Prize for Building Culture offers a unique opportunity to present and honor pioneering building projects in Schleswig-Holstein. It underlines the importance of building culture for the quality of life and sustainable development of the region.

Further information on the State Prize for Baukultur 2025 and how to submit projects can be found on the official websites of the state of Schleswig-Holstein.

In 2020, the small village of Susch in Switzerland gained a new attraction: the “Tuor per Susch” tower by artist Not Vital.

The small village of Susch in Switzerland is remotely located between Scuol-Tarasp and St. Moritz. Since the Muszeum Susch openedthere in 2019 , it has been attracting more and more visitors interested in architecture and art. A new attraction was added in 2020: a tower by Swiss artist Not Vital.

To the side of the country road between Scuol-Tarasp and St. Moritz, the small village of Susch nestles alongside the River Inn on the meadow slopes at the foot of the nearby mountains. It is home to the newly established Muzeum Susch, which was created by Polish patron Grazyna Kulczyk and exhibits mainly contemporary artists alongside permanent installations in temporary exhibitions. It extends over several historic houses with modern applications.

Until now, the village in the Swiss Lower Engadine had three historic towers: the Romanesque tower of the village church, the residential tower “Tuor La Praschun” from the 12th/13th century and the “Tuor Planta” – the foundations of the latter only dating back to the 13th century. A fourth, gleaming white, modern tower has recently been added to the three existing towers in the village. It was created by the internationally renowned artist Not Vital, who was born in Switzerland in 1948 and has already caused a sensation elsewhere with towers and art installations in the landscape; his sculptural architecture in a landscape context is well-known: “Makaranta”, Niger 2003; “Not Ona”, Chile 2008-14; “The Chapel “Philippines 2016; “House to watch the 3 volcanoes”, Indonesia 2017; “House to watch the wunset” at Tarasp Castle, very close to the tower in Susch.

The “Tuor per Susch” (Tower for Susch) 2020 is hollow inside up to the gable and can be entered – but not climbed – via a rectangular opening in the stone. It was made from a block of marble by Gabriele and Umberto Togni from Pietrasanta, Italy, and was erected after two years of work at the special scenic location on a meadow above the museum. The tower is ten meters high and fascinates with its simplicity, its high design quality
– The perfectly crafted and polished surface – in the setting of the old Engadine houses, the surrounding landscape and the modern museum architecture of Susch.

The tower seems to mediate between the landscape and the village architecture. It changes the landscape and enhances it at the same time. Architecture and sculpture merge into one another.
The museum’s exhibition catalog states: “Its open form, the imposing sense of space [author’s note: the “sound of the interior”] that the viewer feels and the time spent on its creation are linked to the frightening surroundings of this remote location at over 1,400 meters above sea level. Vital says ‘Ars una est. It is all one. I don’t like order, but I like harmony.'” (p. 70, exhibition catalog of the Muzeum Susch, Art Stations Foundation CH)

Here you can read an article about the observation tower on Lake Seljord in Norway.