Graphisoft, developer of the award winning ArchiCAD system, has announced the winners of the 1999 Graphisoft Prize at a special gala for internationally renowned architects and artists held in Paris . Company President Gábor Bojár congratulated all of the winners and commented that, “The Sixth Annual International Design Competition has continued to expand awareness of the Graphisoft Virtual Building™ concept throughout architectural design and practice.”

A record number of registrations were received following the challenge issued to architecture students and professionals earlier this year. Contestants were required to use ArchiCAD in the creation of virtual architecture and inspiration was provided in the form of a list of a dozen cultural themes including such thought provoking subjects as Rick’s American Café from the film “ Casablanca ” and Bob Dylan’s “Maggie’s Farm”.  

The short-listed submissions were judged by a panel including Jean-Pierre Cousin, editor of Architecture d’Aujourd’hui (France); Sarah Amelar, senior editor at Architectural Record (USA); Cathy Slessor managing editor of The Architectural Review (GB); Christian Schittich, editor-in-chief of Detail (Germany) and Ken Aoki, senior editor at Nikkei Architecture (Japan). Jury President was French architect Francis Soler who commented, “The first two student winners this year marked a turning point in the way that we perceive space. Their work merges with the machine, without losing anything of their dreams or their spirit.”

The winners were:

1^st Prize

Student category:

Ms Erin Colgrave, University of Tasmania , Australia . Theme - “The Blue Sky Mine” from the song of the same title by Midnight Oil

“The Blue Sky Mine” by Erin Colgrave

Professional category:

Mr Peter Bach, Architect Instructor, Technical University of Budapest , Hungary . Theme - “The Cheap Hotel”, from William Gibson’s sci-fi novel, “Neuromancer”.  

“The Cheap Hotel” by Peter Bach

2^nd Prize

Student category:

Ms Adriana Stepanov, FH Aargau , Switzerland . Theme - “The Planet of the Businessman”, from Antoine De Saint Exupéry’s “Little Prince”.

Professional category:

The team of Mr István Pölös and Ms Marianna Ilyés, NANA Architects, Budapest , Hungary .

Theme - “The Pharaoh’s Palace”, from Thomas Mann’s “Joseph and his Brothers”.

“The Pharaoh’s Palace” by István Pölös and Marianna Ilyés  

3^rd Prize

Student category:

Mr Yun Hun NG, University of Tasmania , Australia . Theme - “The Cheap Hotel”, from William Gibson’s sci-fi novel, “Neuromancer”.

“The Cheap Hotel” by Yun Hun NG

Professional category: Not awarded.  

Detailed results and images are now available on the Graphisoft website, www.gsprize.com and a CD-ROM catalogue of winning entries will be published shortly.  

Graphisoft, developer of the Virtual Building^® concept and acknowledged technological leader of the 3D architectural design software market, has also announced that the UK version of ArchiCAD 6.5 is to be released here on the 3^rd of January 2000. The upgrade for the new millennium builds upon the company’s 15-year leadership in 3D building modelling, and confirms a total commitment to advancing the industry's adoption of object-based, 3D architectural design.  

Graphisoft is a leading provider of computer-aided design (CAD) software solutions for the architectural profession and the building industry. Founded in 1982 in Budapest , Hungary , Graphisoft is ranked today among the largest AEC CAD software developers in the world with offices in Budapest , Munich , San Francisco , Tokyo , Hong Kong, London , Madrid , Sao Paulo and Santiago . Graphisoft's flagship product, ArchiCAD, is used by more than 65,000 architects worldwide and distributed in 25 languages and 80 countries. Shares of Graphisoft are traded on the Frankfurt Stock Exchange Neuer Markt under the symbol GPH.