On wednesday 16 December the Prince Claus Award of 100.000 Euro was presented to Simon Velez by HRH Prince Constantijn in the Muziekgebouw aan 't IJ in Amsterdam.
The ceremony was attended by amongst others Her Majesty Queen Beatrix, Prince Willem Alexander, Princess Máxima, Prince Friso and Minister Koenders. Prince Constantijn in his speech praised the innovations Simón Vélez brought which made bamboo into a modern and sustainable building material.
Simón Vélez’s aesthetic and technical innovations in bamboo have enhanced it construction potential and challenged mainstream architectural trends. After completing his studies at Universidad de los Andes, Bogota, Vélez moved away from the predominant international stream to focus on indigenous architectural practices. He invented a new method to build foundations and roofs, which transformed one of the world’s oldest building materials, namely bamboo, into a modern resource that meets the strictest international construction regulations and can even outperform steel.
Simón Vélez gives diverse presentations on his work in the Netherlands from 17 tot 19 December like in the Zuiderkerk (Amsterdam) and at the NAi in Rotterdam.
During the ceremony it was revealed that Simón Vélez will make a design for the stage in the Tolhuistuin in Amsterdam Noord. Simón Vélez wil immediately start to make concepts for design of a bamboo construction. The Dutch Foundation for Visual Arts, Design and Architectecture (Fonds voor Beeldende Kunsten, Vormgeving en Bouwkunst) is supporting the project.
More on the Ceremony
The Omnibus Ensemble from Ubekistan performed and Ramzi Aburedwan, founder of the Al Kamandjâti music centre in Jenin and 2006 Prince Claus Laureate spoke on the impact of the Award.
HRH Prince Constantijn presents the Award to Simón Vélez
Speech by Simón Vélez
Speech by Minister Koenders
Speech by ZKH Prins Constantijn
Speech by Lilian Gonçalves - Ho Kang You
The Committee for the Prince Claus Awards
Since 1997 the Prince Claus Awards are presented annually to artists, thinkers and cultural organisations in Africa, Asia, Latin America and the Caribbean.
Through its Awards programme, the Fund seeks to identify and celebrate artists, cultural groups and organisations in Asia, Africa, Latin America and the Caribbean, who are doing outstanding work to expose, analyse, reduce and resolve conflicts through their innovative cultural actions.
