Fuensanta Nieto and Enrique Sobejano Win 2015 Alvar Aalto Medal

Spanish architects Fuensanta Nieto and Enrique Sobejano, founders of Nieto Sobejano Arquitectos, have been awarded the 2015 Alvar Aalto Medal, Finnish architecture's most prestigious award. The pair is most commonly known for their temporary Barcel Market in Madrid, as well as various art galleries and museums in Spain, Germany, and Austria.

The Alvar Aalto Medalnamed after Finnish architect Alvar Aalto, who designed the medalis awarded every three years by The Museum of Finnish Architecture, the Finnish Association of Architects SAFA, the Architectural Society, the Alvar Aalto Foundation, and the City of Helsinki. The duo is the 12th winner of the prize and Nieto is the first woman to be presented the award.

"The work of Nieto and Sobejano demonstrates how an architect's cultural background can inspire architecture of outstanding quality and expressive power. Nieto and Sobejano's work has a primal energy ranking it among the world's most compelling statements and groundbreaking achievements in architecture," the jury commented.

In 2008, the architects earned international recognition for the Madinat al Zahra Museum in Crdoba, Spain. They most recently won a competition to design a woodland cultural center for an organization run by Estonian composer Arvo Prt.

"Their portfolio is varied and instantly recognizable, maintaining outstanding standards of creative excellence, informed by a philosophy of respect for human life and the environment," said Finnish architect Rainer Mahlamki, the jury chairman.

The announcement of the winners was made on February 3, 2015, at a seminar marking Architecture Day in Helsinki. An exhibition for the prize is on display at the Museum of Finnish Architecture until March 1, 2015.

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Fuensanta Nieto and Enrique Sobejano Win 2015 Alvar Aalto Medal