Award Winning Architecture 1998/99

If you’re looking to understand what the architectural world valued and celebrated in the late 1990s, Award Winning Architecture 1998/99 is genuinely essential. When Prestel published this stunning volume in October 1998, they created something far more significant than a simple showcase of buildings—they captured a pivotal moment in design history, right at the threshold between the millennium and a new era of architectural thinking.

What strikes you immediately about this book is its ambition in scope. Frantisek Sedlacek, working in cooperation with Christine Waiblinger-Jens, assembled a comprehensive survey of the year’s most distinguished architectural achievements across the globe. The 216 pages don’t just list projects; they immerse you in them through an absolutely lavish presentation. We’re talking 381 color illustrations paired with 155 black and white photographs—a combination that allows you to see these buildings in both their aspirational, polished glory and their contextual reality.

The real genius here is recognizing that architecture exists in conversation with itself. By gathering award-winning projects from this specific year, Sedlacek created a dialogue between different movements, materials, and philosophies happening simultaneously across continents.

The book’s significance becomes clearer when you consider what 1998 represented architecturally. This was still the era of high modernism’s confident reassertion, yet minimalism and digital influence were beginning to reshape design conversations. Environmental consciousness was growing. Historical preservation debates were intensifying. By presenting such a diverse range of award-winning work, Sedlacek offered readers a kind of architectural temperature check—here’s what we’re celebrating, here’s what we value, here’s where design is actually heading.

What makes this publication particularly valuable for anyone studying late-twentieth-century design:

• Visual literacy: The combination of color and black-and-white photography creates a comprehensive visual language that words alone couldn’t convey
• International scope: This wasn’t a regional survey but a genuinely global perspective on what constituted award-winning work
• Critical documentation: By gathering projects honored by prestigious juries and competitions, the book reflects institutional consensus about design excellence
• Technical presentation: The quality of Prestel’s production values means you’re seeing these buildings represented with the respect and clarity they deserve

One of the book’s enduring strengths is how it functions on multiple levels. Casual readers flip through and simply appreciate beautiful architecture and design. Students and professionals use it as a reference text, studying how different architects solved spatial problems or approached materials. Historians reference it to understand the aesthetic and philosophical currents of late-1990s design. That accessibility across audiences is no accident—it speaks to Sedlacek’s editorial vision.

The late 1990s were a fascinating time to be documenting architecture because the field was genuinely uncertain about its future. Digital tools were becoming more prevalent, but hand-crafted sensibilities still dominated much discourse. Globalization was reshaping urban environments, yet local contexts remained deeply important. By capturing award-winning work from this moment, the book became an unintentional time capsule of a profession in transition.

What really resonated with readers and professionals was the book’s refusal to impose a single narrative. Rather than arguing for one particular direction in architecture, Award Winning Architecture 1998/99 trusts the projects themselves to tell the story. You’ll encounter diverse approaches:

1. Contextual modernism that respects historical neighborhoods while introducing contemporary forms
2. Sustainable design innovations that were still finding their voice in mainstream practice
3. Technological experimentation pushing what was possible with materials and construction
4. Cultural and institutional architecture that shaped public life and identity
5. Residential and private spaces demonstrating how design excellence scales to intimate human needs

The physical object itself matters here. This is a book you want to hold, to return to repeatedly. The hardcover format with its dust jacket (in that first edition state that collectors seek out) signals that this is permanent, authoritative, worth preserving. Prestel understood they were creating something meant to endure, not a disposable annual that would be forgotten next year.

Twenty-plus years later, Award Winning Architecture 1998/99 has become an invaluable historical document. Scholars studying the development of contemporary architecture reference it. Design professionals use it to trace how certain movements and approaches have evolved. And honestly? If you’re simply curious about what beautiful buildings looked like at a specific moment in time, when architects were wrestling with digital possibilities while still maintaining traditional craftsmanship, this book delivers.

The legacy of this publication lies in its straightforward but elegant proposition: let’s look at what we built and celebrated, and let that become our conversation. In an era now flooded with architectural imagery online, there’s something refreshing about returning to this carefully curated, beautifully presented 216-page argument for architectural excellence. It’s a book that proves visual documentation, when done with intelligence and care, can be its own form of criticism and analysis.