The "Paulo Gouveia" Architecture Prize, created earlier this year by the Government, was not awarded in its first edition by decision of jury, announced the Regional Director for Culture today.

The decision not to distinguish any of the projects in competition was due to the fact that the jury considered that none of the projects met the stipulated criteria.

The members of the jury for this award are as follows: architect Álvaro Siza Vieira, member invited by the Regional Directorate for Culture, who was unable to attend the event due to personal reasons; architect Carlos Marques, representative of the Portuguese Association of Architects - Regional Section; Vanda Oliveira Aguiar, representative of the Association of Municipalities of the Autonomous Region of the Azores; Pedro Marques, representative of the Azores Building Industry and Public Works Association; Ângelo Santos, representative of the Regional Directorate for Culture.

With a cash value of 12 thousand Euros, the "Paulo Gouveia" Architecture Prize is awarded by the Government of the Azores, through the Regional Directorate for Culture, a department under the Regional Secretariat for Education and Culture. This award aims to "intend to distinguish, every two years (even years), the renewal and renovation projects that respect the existing building heritage and favour the use of endogenous materials, without forgetting the use of contemporary language. In addition, the projects in competition should also give special emphasis to the surrounding environs, both formally and functionally.