Contestants are welcome to submit their applications up to September 15.
The 6th International Golden Trezzini Awards has opened application in St. Petersburg. This was announced on Wednesday, February 15, by Pavel Chernyakov, the Chairman of the Organizing Committee for the Awards, at the press conference of TASS (Russian News Agency).
‘The Awards are held under the auspices of the Worldwide St. Petersburg Club. The motto of the Awards is “Architecture as Art”’, Pavel Chernyakov explained. ‘The point is that our winning projects are acknowledged to be of museum value and are included into the museum collection because of that. We add the most artistically valuable architectural, design, restoration, scenography, and exhibition projects to the museum collection.’
Mr. Chernyakov mentioned that the Jury includes 204 experts from 32 countries. The Honorary Chairman of the International Council for the Golden Trezzini Awards is Mikhail Piotrovsky, Chairman of the Board of the Worldwide St. Petersburg Club and Director of the State Hermitage. The works by the competition winners are added to the collection of Museum of St. Petersburg History and showcased at the annual exhibition in the Peter and Paul Fortress. The main prize is a gilded figurine of Domenico Trezzini, the first architect of St. Petersburg.
During Season 6 of the Golden Trezzini, winners of 18 major and 3 special categories will be decided. As outlined by Natalia Sidorkevich, the Chairlady of the Board of the World St. Petersburg Club, for the third time in a row the winner of a special prize will be selected — Genius Petropolis Medal, named after Valentina Orlova (1946—2021), the 1st Chairlady of the Board of the World St. Petersburg Club. This medal will be presented to an architectural or restoration project that complies best with the spirit and traditions of St. Petersburg.
Another special award — the Lazar Khidekel Prize — will be released to the author of the best innovative architectural project. This award is established by the Golden Trezzini together with the Lazar Khidekel Society (USA). Moreover, there will be the Premio del Pubblico (People's Choice), its winner decided by the visitors of the Awards web-site.
As stated by Vladimir Zapevalov, Representative of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Russian Federation in St. Petersburg, the Awards taking place for the 6th proves that the Golden Trezzini has really become a serious international event, participated by many of our foreign colleagues.
‘I am so grateful to our International Council and representatives of the diplomatic corps for their contribution in scouting for nominees in different countries across the globe. The mission of the Awards is architectural diplomacy, which today has become national diplomacy to a large extent,’ explained Pavel Chernyakov. At the press conference, the head of the Golden Trezzini Organizing Committee announced that the International Council of the Awards has recently been joined by Nazih El Naggary, Ambassador of the Arab Republic of Egypt to the Russian Federation.
Mr. El Naggary is quoted to have said that architecture becomes an integral part of culture and people’s lives. According to him, architecture has been opening hearts and minds towards mutual understandings across different cultures. That’s the inspiration that ancient Egyptian architecture is still having on people all over the world, proving that architecture is also a story teller, history witness, and a legacy of communities. ‘The Golden Trezzini Awards is a diplomatic means of international cultural interaction, rendering an opportunity for the best minds to express their uniqueness and their amazing achievements,’ the Ambassador of Egypt to Russia said.
Uri Resnick, Consul General of the State of Israel in St. Petersburg, who joined the International Council for the Golden Trezzini Awards in 2022, congratulated the competition organizers with launching the new season. ‘For us, taking part in this event along with our friends and colleagues from Egypt is a special honor,’ Mr. Resnick emphasized. ‘There’s no secret that peace between Egypt and Israel is an impressive example of how a conflict can be replaced with collaboration and friendship. As one great thinker put it, “We build too many walls, and not enough bridges.” We’re proud to be a part of the project that intends to use architecture for putting up bridges between cities, countries, and people,’ Consul General said.
According to Vladimir Gronsky, Director General of the National Library of Russia, the largest Russian library supports the Golden Trezzini Awards, as its historic building visualizes the motto of the competition ‘Architecture as Art’ and is ready to host the professional discussion about development of the new libraries.
Pavel Chernyakov added that this year several special events are planned at the margins of the Awards, including a conference in the National Library of Russia, dedicated to library architecture and design, as well as the student competition of design projects for public libraries throughout the Leningrad Region. The Awards will be held in collaboration with the Leningrad Region Universal Academic Library and the St. Petersburg State University of Architecture and Engineering, as specified by Mr. Chernyakov.
Larisa Kanunnikova, Deputy Head of the Committee for Urban Beautification in St. Petersburg explained that one of the key categories at the Golden Trezzini Awards is the Best Implemented Landscape Architecture Project, which covers landmark gardens and parks along with contemporary public venues. According to her, the Awards is a perfect international platform to share experience and present accomplishments related to landscaping and town-planning strategies.
Right now, the Organizing Committee is developing a new category that will comprise religious buildings and facilities. ‘We are collaborating with the St. Petersburg Inter-Ministerial Council for Church Architecture on this matter, and the category hasn’t been announced yet. I believe we will announce it later, as soon as all the approvals are obtained,’ Pavel Chernyakov assured the audience.
Sergey Bychkov, Minister for Culture and Tourism of the Penza Region, welcomed the participants and hearers of the press-conference on behalf of Oleg Melnichenko, the Governor of the Penza Region. According to Mr. Bychkov, taking part in the Golden Trezzini 2022 and winning there was quite symbolic for the Penza Region. In fact, the implemented reconstruction project of the Spassky Cathedral, which won the Premio del Pubblico prize, is as important for Penza as the Peter and Paul Cathedral designed by Domenico Trezzini is for St. Petersburg.
Alexey Komov, Deputy Mayor and Senior Architect of Kaluga thanked the Jury for awarding in 2022 the Golden Certificate to the memorial commemorating Nikolay Lyubimov, an outstanding Soviet belles lettres translator, who lived in an old town of Peremyshl in the Kaluga Region. The project was submitted for the Best Art in Outdoor Public Space category. Mr. Komov believes that introduction of this category in 2022 was a good thing, as it is about the fellowship of architects and sculptors, whose works often become symbols of cities. ‘I would like to address my colleagues from other cities and regions — please submit projects to the Awards!’ the Senior Architect of Kaluga urged.
At the end of the conference, Pavel Chernyakov once again pointed out that participation in the Award has always been free of charge and remains so. Applications from companies and individuals from any country of the world will be accepted at the official web-site of the Golden Trezzini till September 15. After that, the Jury will start its voting procedures. The Awarding Gala Ceremony is scheduled for November 15, 2023, in the Hermitage Theatre.
About the Awards
The Golden Trezzini Awards for Architecture and Design, established in 2018, are named after Domenico Trezzini (1670—1734), Russian architect of Swiss origin, the first architect of St. Petersburg, author of the Peter and Paul Cathedral, Twelve Collegia Building and other masterpieces of Petrine Baroque. In five years, the Awards has seen 3.3 thousand projects, and works designed in 22 countries have won the prizes. In 2022, the Golden Trezzini was participated by 1,123 nominees from 74 countries.
Photos by Vladislav Kuznetsov.
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