We are delighted to announce the winner of our Rocco Forte Hotels Architecture Prize for 2019, selected by Rocco Forte Hotels’ Director of Design and a member of the Summer Exhibition Judges’ Panel, Olga Polizzi.
This year’s Summer Exhibition theme, chosen by Spencer de Grey RA, is A Sustainable World, with entries exploring the possibilities for an environmentally sustainable agenda in creative design. Our £5,000 prize was dedicated to an ‘outstanding work of architectural design’ within this category, and has been awarded to:
Threefold Architects, FROM FOREST TO FAÇADE, A WOODLANDS SURVEY
Of the work, Olga Polizzi says, “This beautiful, expressive drawing clearly displays a thought process for sustainable building based on research and innovation. From the sketch of the proposed house, to the site survey drawings and calculations of the relationship between forestry, trees and building materials, it demonstrates an inspiring, holistic design approach by an emerging architectural practice.”
A key influencer in sustainable design and architecture, Olga Polizzi designed Verdura Resort together with acclaimed Italian architect Flavio Albanese. Featuring handicrafts by local artisans, including kiln-fired ceramic tiles and mosaics, and authentic Sicilian materials such as natural stone and locally sourced bamboo, their designs were informed by a sound eco-conscious ethos. They included solar panels to provide electricity and power the water recycling facilities, which are key in the relatively dry Sicilian climate. Verdura Resort also implemented a no-car policy to protect the natural landscape and ecosystem. For its superlative design and ecological practices, Verdura Resort was awarded the EHMA Sustainability Award shortly after its completion.
To view the Summer Exhibition 2019 as part of a stay at Brown’s, please call +44 207 493 6020 or email reservations.browns@roccofortehotels.com
The Grand Tour has had its day, in the most fortunate way. What was once a rite of years is now within reach of anyone with the curiosity to make it. The prescribed list of sights has loosened too, leaving the traveller free to follow Goethe's original instinct, to stand where the present is being made as well as where the past is preserved. Today, our journey through Milan, Florence and Rome begins, as it always did, in the north…
In the 17th century, Artemisia Gentileschi emerged as one of the most compelling painters of her time. Her unflinching clarity and business acumen allowed her to flourish in a world dominated by men. In her hands, familiar subjects were transformed: heroines once cast as victims emerged instead as warriors. Her work gave voice to women too often silenced, not only on the canvas but in life.
Much like the island, the resort’s Rocco Forte Private Villas encourage a slower, more considered way of living. Designed by Olga Polizzi, each villa is thoughtfully arranged to bring loved ones together, while still allowing space for solitude
