Brick manufacturer Wienerberger holds its Brick Awards bi-annually, celebrating modern, innovative architecture with clay materials.

Almost 600 projects from 44 countries were submitted for this year’s awards. An independent pre-jury narrowed down this number to the top 50, and then an expert jury of five internationally renowned architects was selected to whittle down these nominees and choose the final winners. Jonathan Sergison, architect and founding partner of Sergison Bates Architects, represented the UK on the panel.

The awards were held in the Albert Hall in Vienna, Austria. Seven global projects were honoured with a Wienerberger Brick Award and received prize money totaling just under £30,000.

This year, two projects were awarded the celebrated Grand Prize. The first winning project was Westkaai Towers 5 and 6 by UK-based practice Tony Fretton Architects. Situated in Antwerp, Belgium, the towers are part of a larger residential project within a new mixed-used development. The project was also the winner in the “Living together” category.

The second Grand Prize winner was the Kunstmuseum Basel Extension project by Christ & Gantenbein, Switzerland. This grey brick structure is connected through an underground hall with the listed main building. LED lights are integrated in the grooves made of moulded bricks in the façade. This project also won the the “Sharing public spaces” category.

Heimo Scheuch, CEO of Wienerberger AG, said: “The projects submitted this year impressed the jury with their innovative spirit and quality. They represent bold and creative architectural concepts for sustainable and forward-looking living spaces.”