Announcing Imanol Iparraguirre and Aritz Díez Oronoz as the Winners of the 2019 Award for Emerging Excellence in the Classical Tradition

Architecture team Imanol Iparraguirre and Aritz Díez Oronoz have been named the joint winners of the 2019 Award for Emerging Excellence in the Classical Tradition. The Award, which is now in its third year, is a collaboration between the Institute of Classical Architecture & Art (ICAA), the Prince's Foundation (PF), and the International Network for Traditional Building, Architecture & Urbanism (INTBAU). Open to applicants around the world, the Award aims to shine a light on exceptional talent exhibited by young professionals in classical and traditional architecture, landscape and interior design, building crafts, urban design and planning, and the allied arts.

Imanol studied Architecture at the University of the Basque Country in San Sebastián, and holds a MSc in Conservation of Historic Buildings from the same university, where he has been a teaching assistant of Architectural Design and Conservation since 2015 and is currently pursuing a PhD in Architecture. Aritz Díez Oronoz studied at the School of Architecture of Donostia-San Sebastián and additionally holds a MSc in Conservation at the University of the Basque Country, where he is currently pursuing his PhD alongside Imanol.

Imanol and Aritz began working together in 2015, and their collaborations have earned them first prize in both the 2017 and 2018 Richard H. Driehaus Architecture Competition (for their projects "Main Square and Palace of the Earls of Grajal de Campos", which aimed to recover the urban space and typology of the Plaza Mayor, and "Medieval Walls & Surroundings of the Convent of La Coria in Trujillo", a project in tribute to the historical architectural styles of the city that make it both unique and universal). Their current projects include an ongoing masterplan together with professors Alberto Ustarroz and Manuel Iñiguez that seeks to continue restorations of the historic walls of Hondarribia.

"We are honored and truly grateful to receive the Award for Emerging Excellence in the Classical Tradition," said Imanol and Aritz, who were selected by an international jury comprised of representatives from the ICAA, PF, and INTBAU. "It is for us an enormous impulse that encourages us to continue with our work and also to keep on learning from those architectures of the past—classical or vernacular—which are the best models for any architect willing to reconstruct the European city."

Imanol Iparraguirre and Aritz Díez Oronoz will be honored at a ceremony on Sunday, May 5, 2019 in New York City. They will also be acknowledged before the audience at the Arthur Ross Awards the following evening and will receive a $2,500 cash prize.

The ICAA would like to thank our 2019 Award for Emerging Excellence Sponsor, Robert Bump Construction.

About the ICAA

The Institute of Classical Architecture & Art’s (ICAA) mission is to advance the appreciation and practice of the principles of traditional architecture and its allied arts by engaging educators, professionals, students, and enthusiasts. The ICAA is headquartered in New York City with regional Chapters across the United States. It offers a wide array of programs that are designed to promote the appreciation and practice of classical and traditional design, including classes, travel, lectures, and conferences. It publishes an academic journal called the Classicist as well as the acclaimed book series called the Classical America Series in Art and Architecture. The ICAA’s Arthur Ross Award annually recognizes and celebrates excellence in the classical tradition internationally. The ICAA was honored to bestow an Arthur Ross Award on HRH The Prince of Wales in the Patronage category in 1990.

About INTBAU

INTBAU was established in 2001, and has since gained over 5,500 members worldwide. INTBAU works under the patronage of its founder, HRH The Prince of Wales. INTBAU’s mission is to support traditional building, the maintenance of local character, and the creation of better places to live. This is done through workshops, summer schools, study tours, conferences, awards, and competitions. Their three objectives are to research, educate, and engage as widely as possible on the value and relevance of traditional architecture and urban design. INTBAU is a unique, established resource for global knowledge of traditional architecture and urban design. INTBAU's active network consists of individuals and institutions who design, make, maintain, study, or enjoy traditional buildings and places.

About PF

The Prince's Foundation was created in 2018, as a result of the consolidation of four existing charities, The Prince's Foundation for Building Community, The Prince's Regeneration Trust, The Great Steward of Scotland's Dumfries House Trust, and The Prince's School of Traditional Arts.

The Prince's Foundation by focusing on three core tiers - Education, Projects, and Attractions - delivers work to improve the built environment, save heritage, and promote culture and education. Through education The Prince's Foundation aims to create sustainably planned, built, and maintained communities, championing and celebrating the most important part of any community: its people. The charity continues to train a generation of architects, masterplanners, and placemakers, in order to ensure the continuation of the kind of timeless skills which have been developed over generations.

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