Architecture

From 1912 until 1924 the architecture category was decided in one open event. Very little is known about the participants of the first two events. From the 10 participants in 1912, two have still not been identified. Only gold was awarded, to the Swiss architects Alphonse Laverrière and Eugène-Édouard Monod. And for 1920, only the Norwegian silver medallist, Holger Sinding-Larsen, is known, and again, only one medal was awarded. Even in 1924, the number of entries (16) was modest. Silver was won by the Hungarians Alfréd Hajós and Dezső Lauber. Hajós had been previously been decorated with two golds in swimming in 1896.

In 1928, the number of artists (66) and works (81) increased, including the first two “out of competition“ or “hors concours” in architecture, although the Dutch architects boycotted the event except for the designer of the Olympic Stadium in Amsterdam, who received gold for his architectural design. From then on, two sets of medals were awarded, one for “Designs for Town Planning” and one for “Architectural Designs”. All exhibits were judged separately for both categories, which allowed Jacques Lambert to win medals in both categories with the same project. As in 1928, two complete sets of medals were awarded in 1932 and, for the first time, “Honourable Mentions” were determined. Not surprisingly, the 1936 events were dominated by German and Austrian architects. The so-called ”Reichssportfeld“, the venue of the 1936 Olympics, received gold (in town planning) and silver (in architectural designs). In architecture, the Berlin Olympics reached the all-time high in participation with 87 artists and 94 works.

In 1948, the number of entries dropped considerably. Nevertheless, again all medals were awarded. In architectural designs, Austria succeeded again, while in town planning Finland represented a new Scandinavian style and won two medals. The exhibition of 1952 included works of 25 architects presenting some interesting newcomers like Brazil, Portugal and Spain.

Of approximately 300 architects and architectural offices competing, only three were females, the lowest percentage in any art discipline. Nine gold, ten silver and nine bronze medals were awarded in the 11 events contested. With 16 the number of Honourable Mentions was about half of that in the fine arts (painting and sculpturing). Of 29 countries represented, 15 took at least one medal. Germany and Austria both won two golds, but Germany exceeded Austria in the number of total medals (six vs. four). With gold and silver for the “Reichssportfeld” in 1936, Werner March was the most successful individual architect. Among the most prominent architects were Walter Gropius, founder of the Bauhaus school of architecture, and Alvar Aalto, a pioneer of the organic modernist style. Six of the competing architects were also Olympians in sports events. In addition to Alfred Hajós, only Einari Teräsvirta also won a medal in gymnastics.