European Prize for Urban Public Spaces

Public space is the wealth of our cities. It is the origin of bustling urbanity, of a city’s unique character and of its inhabitant’s contentedness. The European Prize for Urban Public Space is a biennial competition with the aim to recognize and encourage the recovery and defence of public space in our cities. The winners of this year’s seventh edition had to be selected from 347 projects from 36 European countries.

Public space is the wealth of our cities. It is the origin of bustling urbanity, of a city’s unique character and of its inhabitant’s contentedness. The European Prize for Urban Public Space is a biennial competition with the aim to recognize and encourage the recovery and defence of public space in our cities. It is organised by seven European architectural oriented institutions, the Centre de Cultura Contemporània de Barcelona (CCCB), the Cité de l’Architecture et du Patrimoine (CAP, Paris) the Nederlands Architectuurinstituut (NAi, Rotterdam), the Architekturzentrum Wien (AzW, Vienna), the Architecture Foundation (AF, London), the Museum of Finish Architecture (MFA, Helsinki) and the Deutsches Architekturmuseum (DAM, Frankfurt). Awarded can be any project with the aim to improve the quality of urban life, from the renovation of a discrete crossroads zone to the transformation of a set of collective spaces throughout a neighbourhood.

The winners of this year’s seventh edition had to be selected from 347 projects from 36 European countries. The first prize was given jointly to two projects:

The renovation of the River Ljubljanica, Ljubljana, Slovenia, 2011. Authors: Boris Podrecca, ATELIER arhitekti, URBI, BB ARHITEKTI, ATELJE VOZLIČ, DANS arhitekti, TRIJE arhitekti and MEDPROSTOR. The banks of the River Ljubljanica were renovated where the river flowns through the old city centre.

Landscaping of the peaks of the Turó de la Rovira, Barcelona, Spain, 2011. Authors: JANSANA, DE LA VILLA, DE PAAUW, ARQUITECTES SLP and AAUP. Jordi Romero i associats SLP. At the Turó de la Rovira the remains of an anti-aircraft gun emplacement combine with those of a shanty village that was later constructed here. The project provided landscaping and improved accessibility to the lookout that can be found here.

The jury also awarded a Special Mention to these three works:

Exhibition Road, London, United Kingdom, 2011. Author: Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea. A main road in one of London’s cultural districts has been repaved and cleared of architectural barriers, and vehicular traffic has been regulated by means of a “shared surface” system that creates a balance of consensus between vehicles and pedestrians.

Memorial to the abolition of slavery, Nantes, France, 2011. Authors: Krzysztof Wodiczko & Julian Bonder, Wodiczko+Bonder, Architecture, Art & Design. A wharf on the Loire River where slave ships once docked has been renovated with a new riverside walk that replaces a car park, while a memorial space commemorates the slave trade.

Annorstädes / Elsewhere / Ailleurs, Malmö, Sweden, 2010. Author: Tania Ruiz. A permanent installation projects moving images onto the platforms of an underground railway station to make the wait more enjoyable for passengers.