Winners of the 13th Architectural Natural Stone Competition are announced

The awards have been announced for the 13th Architectural Natural Stone Competition, organised this year for the 13th time by the Istanbul Mineral Exporters’ Association (İMİB), which has been revamped with a focus on architecture and spatial design. The competition was organised into two main categories: the “Category Awards”, which evaluate completed projects utilising natural stone, and the “Best Stand Design Award”, which assesses exhibition-focused design proposals developed specifically for the competition.

In the competition, the Category Awards were judged on the basis of projects completed on or after 1 January 2023 within the fields of architecture and design. Projects utilising Turkish natural stone that have been realised were included in the competition scope across the categories of Architecture, Interior Architecture, Urban Design / Public Space Design, Landscape Design, and Conservation / Restoration and Re-purposing.

In the Conservation / Restoration and Adaptive Re-use category, the first prize was awarded to the Seddülbahir Castle Restoration in Çanakkale, by KOOP Architecture and AOMTD’s Arzu Özsavaşçı. In the same category, the jury’s special award was presented to the Üzülmez Cultural Valley in Zonguldak, designed by BUDA Architecture.

Photo: Üzülmez Cultural Valley in Zonguldak, designed by BUDA Architecture

Architectural Natural Stone Competition, which encourages the integration of Turkey’s rich natural stone heritage—boasting over 650 varieties of colours and patterns—into projects spanning architecture, interior design, urban design, landscape architecture, conservation and restoration, focuses on completed projects that treat natural stone not merely as a building material, but as a defining element of design. In this vein, the competition aims to reward high-quality designs that contribute to building culture and address the use of natural stone in a holistic manner, both aesthetically and functionally.