International. On May 17, 2017, the chemical specialty company Lanxess presented its third Prize for Colored Concrete Works in Berlin to a distinguished architect who has achieved something unique in the use of colored concrete.
This year's prize was awarded to Rudy Ricciotti for his project "Museum of European and Mediterranean Civilizations" (MuCEM) in Marseille, in the south of France. The building is constructed with a total of 1,100 cubic meters of concrete – in the form of prefabricated concrete slabs – and 250 cubic meters of concrete in situ. The dark gray shade was provided by the pigments Lanxess Bayferrox 330 and Bayferrox 318.
Jörg Hellwig, head of Lanxess' Inorganic Pigments (IPG) business unit, presented the award at the offices of the specialist chemical company in Berlin. He praised the project to an audience of guests representing politics, construction and business communities: "Ricciotti's elegant and contemporary structure blends seamlessly into its historic setting in the port of Marseille. Therefore, the "Museum of the Civilizations of Europe and the Mediterranean" is a symbol of the symbiosis between the traditional and the modern. At the same time, it unites aesthetics with functionality. Through our Colored Concrete initiative, we want to honor unique works of architecture like this, while underscoring the importance of colored concrete."
The Inorganic Pigments business unit launched the award worldwide in November 2016. Developers and architects were invited to submit completed construction projects from around the world until March 10, 2017. They were eligible to participate if the building was no more than 5 years old and incorporated concrete colored with inorganic iron oxide or chromium oxide pigments.
