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篇首语

《世界建筑》的读者朋友：

本期《世界建筑》关注2014年度的维那博艮砖建筑奖。

由大建材厂商设立的建筑奖项是世界建筑多样化图景的重要组成部分。这些奖项不仅为建筑的实践与探索提供了良好的交流平台，也反过来影响着当今建筑的价值观与理念，其中不乏广受关注的例子，如关注建筑学生创意的IVA威卢克斯奖，关注非建成作品可持续性的豪瑞可持续建筑奖，和关注建成的砖建筑作品的维那博艮砖建筑奖等。

维那博艮砖筑奖由久负盛名的奥地利造砖企业维那博艮公司创立。该奖的与众不同之处在于，除了关注当今世界的共同价值，如可持续性、社会公平、城市公共性、技术实验等以外，它还特别关注砖在建筑中的应用。这可谓是这个百年企业令人尊重的“固执”的直接反应——他们相信通过砖所表达的工艺与情感是建筑文明中最好的一部分，也将是最长久的一部分。

尽管如此，我们仍然不难发现这一奖项所传递出的信息远远不止于砖，而是对建造活动改良人工空间环境的勇气与乐观主义精神。如果有什么特殊的话，那就是砖这一独特的载体可能携带更多的人性痕迹。

让我们为这种对特定建筑材料的迷恋，以及由这种迷恋而来的对建造的好奇与激情喝彩。

《世界建筑》主编（2013-）

清华大学建筑学院教授

Dear Reader,

In this issue of World Architecture we focus on Wienerberger Brick Award 14.

Today, architectural awards set up by building material companies constitute a vibrant part of the panorama of world architecture. Not only do they provide competitive platforms for practices and experiments, they also have direct influence on architectural values and ideas of our time. Some of these awards are remarkably successful and impactful, such as International VELUX Award for Students of Architecture, Holcim Awards for Sustainable Construction, and of course, the subject of this issue, Wienerberger Brick Award.

Founded by the renowned Austrian brick manufacturer Wienerberger, Wienerberger Brick Award is unique in its primary focus on the use of brick in buildings, along with other contemporary concerns like sustainability, social equity, urban public life and experiments in technique. This uniqueness is a direct outcome of the respectable "obstinacy" of this century-old firm, namely the deep love of brick. To everyone in Wienerberger, the belief that brick has formed some of the best part of architectural story in human civilization, and will continue to do so is unshakable.

Nevertheless, through Wienerberger Brick Award, we do find a message beyond bricks. It is the courage and the optimism of improving the man-made environment through the practice of building. A minor argument in this message though, is that brick is one of the most capable materials of carrying traces of human nature.

Let's give a round applause to this obsession with one material, and all the curiosity and passion delivered through it.

Li (Brian) Zhang

Editor-in-Chief (2013-), World Architecture

Professor of Architecture, School of Architecture, Tsinghua University