For the second time, after the successful premiere in 2009, Frankfurt Book fair and Deutsches Architekturmuseum (DAM) bestowed the Architectural Book Award 2010. All art and architectural book publishers worldwide were invited to take part. A jury comprising DAM internal jurors as well as external experts judged the submissions according to design, concept, quality in terms of material and finishing, level of innovation and timeliness. Even in this era of growing competition through new media and communication methods books on architecture still remain the basic architectural medium. Identifying the best architectural books published in the current year by way of this competition and presenting them to architecture enthusiasts is thus a fundamental task of the 2010 DAM Architectural Book Award. As an honorary award it does not involve any award money.

Die Begrünung der Jury zum DAM Architekturpreis 2010:

“Der Sehnsuchtsort Venedig – am Kreuzungspunkt dreier Korridore der Migration – als europäische Frontstadt und exemplarischer Prototyp für die Eskalation der globalisierten Stadt. Globalisierung und Migration anhand des urbanen Territoriums Venedigs, des Sehnsuchtsorts schlechthin, durchzudeklinieren, ist eine ungemein spannende urbanistische Spurensuche, durchgeführt von Wolfgang Scheppe und seinen Studenten an der IAUV Universität in Venedig. Über einen Zeitraum von drei Jahren entwickelt sich die außerordentlich materialreiche, enorm ausdifferenzierte, stadtsoziologische Fallstudie zu einem „gigantischen Archiv aus tausenden Fotos, Bewegungsprofilen und statistischen Daten“ (Klappentext). Das allein wäre schon preiswürdig, endgültig überzeugt waren die Juroren jedoch von der Art und Weise wie der „Untersuchungsgegenstand“ visualisiert und personalisiert wird - die eigentlichen Akteure, die Immigranten, deren Leben von den Mechanismen der Globalisierung bestimmt wird, nehmen in einfühlsamen Interviews Gestalt an, haben Gesicht und Stimme. Die hervorragend gelungenen Porträts der hinter den Kulissen des Touristenmagneten lebenden und arbeitenden Immigranten machen „Migropolis“ zu einer einzigartigen Publikation.”

The jury’s verdict:

“Venice, the epitome of longing ?– located at the intersection of three migration corridors ?– seen as a European frontier town and a representative prototype of the escalation of the globalized city. Examining every angle of globalization and migration using as an example Venice, an urban territory and the very epitome of longing, make an unusually exciting search for clues in the urban sphere. This search is conducted by Wolfgang Scheppe and his students at the IAUV University in Venice. Assembled over a period of three years, the resulting case study in urban sociology, which is extraordinarily rich in material and highly sophisticated, develops into a ?“gigantic archive consisting of thousands of photos, movement profiles and statistical data?” (blurb). All this alone would merit a prize, but what finally decided the jurors was the way that the ?“object under investigation?” was illustrated and personalized — the real actors, the immigrants, whose lives are determined by the mechanisms of globalization assume contours in sensitive interviews, they have faces and voices. The outstandingly successful portraits of the immigrants living and working behind the scenes at this tourist magnet make ?“Migropolis?” a unique publication.”