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Jun Murata, an architect with Takashi Yamaguchi & Associates, explains that the firm selected laminated glass for several reasons.

"The first is that laminated glass provides the best safety solution for the extensive overhead glazing we wanted, preventing broken glass from falling into the temple beneath.

Murata continues: "Second, we aimed to achieve the color of deep water by tinting one of the lights blue and building up this effect by using two more layers of glass, only possible in a laminated construction."

"In traditional Japanese karesansu rock gardens, architects used an expanse of white gravel to express the concept of water. We wanted to revive the ancient Zen architectural tradition of 'Expressing water without using actual water' in a contemporary way, using an expanse of laminated glass." The laminated glass also provides insulation, keeping the underground space at an average temperature of 60 degrees Fahrenheit (15 degrees Celsius).

The competition's judges declared: "Yamaguchi's work has the magic of pure architecture; it combines simplicity of form and management of light. This project demonstrates that it is possible to build a link to a previous culture and still speak in your own voice. Laminated glass makes a strong contribution here to spirituality and space."

Exceptional Merit Awards

One of several other winners, Werner Sobek Ingenieure & Lamm, Weber, Donath, of Stuttgart, Germany created a glazed cable net structure to provide a covered link between medical clinic buildings in Bad Neustadt.

The goal was to be spacious, transparent and unobtrusive. The innovative solution was a made possible by a new method of mounting glass plates. The resulting structure is a wide, sun-lit hood that protects against wind and rain, but still allows fresh air and sunlight to filter through.

The structure is very stable; the glass plates are so strong they may be walked on and the net structure can carry huge loads of snow. At the same time, the structure is very light and uses little building material relative to its size.

Roman architects Massimo d'Alessandro e Associati were awarded for their glass telephone booths in a historic plaza. The booths achieved the goal of allowing the surrounding historic buildings to be seen without any visual impediment while providing acoustical integrity and security for telephone users.

The judges commented: "The booths are very respectful and make quite a witty statement. It is possible to celebrate a contemporary life in a city without turning the past into a theme park. It has its own personality and speaks very well with the antiquities. Rather than try to integrate with the buildings, the architect chose something very important — a nonstatement through transparency."

Auer + Weber, of Stuttgart, Germany designed a glass canopy over the tram and bus station in Heilbronn, Baden-Wurttemberg. The structure became the first of its kind in Germany.

The goal was to provide shelter in the most transparent and safe way. The 210 glass panels, each 6.4 feet (1.96 meters) by 6.1 feet (1.87 meters) form a continuous, slightly curved, smooth roof surface. The large "sheet" of glass is suspended from a set of stainless steel cables and is stabilized only by its dead weight.

The glass panels are made up of three layers, each 0.4 inches (10 millimeters) thick. Stainless steel sections cover all exposed edges. An expansive testing program was established to verify the integration of glass, nodes, and support pads under maximum load conditions.

Extensive wind tunnel testing also was conducted to assure the aerodynamic behavior of the roof. The result is a canopy that guarantees a high load bearing capacity even for partially damaged glass and sufficient weight to counteract uplift forces even by the strongest wind.

Special Recognition Awards

Foster and Partners of London were awarded for their work over the Queen Elizabeth II Great Court at the British Museum in London. This project was featured in ArchitectureWeek.

TEN Arcquitectos, Cuernavaca, Mexico gave a new identity to the 1950s-vintage Hotel Habita in Mexico City by wrapping the exterior in frosted glass. The jury noted: "This illustrates an important principle — conservation of resources. Buildings, while not distinguished, may contain potential to be adapted to new uses and personality with laminated glass."

Architekten Petry + Wittfoht, Stuttgart, Germany designed a multilevel, automatic car-stacking structure in Sindelfingen, Germany. The transparent skin exposes the mechanical activities of the building, which, in turn, animates the building facade. The glass skin is sound absorbing to control the machinery's noise while protecting the interior from the elements.

Bernardo Gomez-Pimienta and Enrique Norten of TEN Arquitectos designed the Gomez-Pimienta house in Valle de Bravo, Mexico, as a crystal prism over an existing stone wall, literally opening to a commanding view of the lake.

Americans Vincent James Associates and James Carpenter Design developed a virtually invisible line between inside and out in the Dayton residence in Minneapolis, Minnesota. To combat the extreme cold of Minnesota winters, four layers of glass were laminated to create a barrier against heat loss and to secure the art collection inside.

There were also student winners of Benedictus awards from Oklahoma State University, United States; Tianjin and Tongji Universities, People's Republic of China; and the National University of Singapore.

Architectural Sponsors for the Dupont Benedictus Awards are the American Institute of Architects (AIA) and the International Union of Architects (UIA), a federation of the national associations of architecture in more than 100 countries

The international panel of architect/judges included Henry N. Cobb, FAIA, of Pei Cobb Freed & Partners Architects, New York; Odile Decq, of Odile Decq Benoit Cornette Architectes Urbanistes, Paris, France; and Vassilis Sgoutas, principal of Vassilis Sgoutas Architects, Athens, and president of UIA.

The competition is named for Edouard Benedictus, a French chemist who developed the process for laminating glass early in the 20th century.

Looking out through a hallway of the temple through the skylight, the sky and trees connect the temple with nature. Photo: Takashi Yamaguchi & Associates View from inside of the cable net structure by Werner Sobek Ingenieure. It is supported by wood columns and creates a passageway that lets in fresh air and sunlight but blocks inclement weather. Photo: Werner Sobek A detail of the glass glazing system in the cable net structure looking from the ground up. Photo: Werner Sobek The glass telephone booths by Massimo d'Alessandro blend with the surrounding environment in a historic plaza in Rome. Photo: Antonio Las Casas View from inside the glass telephone booths. Photo: Antonio Las Casas Auer + Weber's canopy at Heilbronn Main Station, view from the south. Photo: Fleur Keller Closeup of the Heilbronn Main Station canopy. Photo: Fleur Keller TEN Arcquitectos wrapped the exterior of a 1950s-vintage Mexico City hotel in frosted glass. The night view displays a checkerboard effect. Photo: Luis Gordoa   Click on thumbnail images to view full-size pictures.