European Prize for Urban Public Space 2010
The Architecture Foundation is the London partner for the European-wide prize, organised by the CCCB in Barcelona.
Given the reductionism and programmatic simplicity of some of the large-scale urban projects implemented in Europe in recent years, and the risks of homogenisation and impoverishment of the urban landscape, we believe that promoting public space and making known the diversity of functions it can embrace and its intense, rich and plural character, is an ideal way of stimulating urban projects that aim to reinvent and enhance the structural role that public space has always played in European cities.
The European Prize for Urban Public Space is a biennial competition that aims to highlight the importance of public space as a catalyst of urban life, and to recognise and foster investment by public administrations in its creation, conservation and improvement, while also understanding the state of public space as a clear indicator of the civic and collective health of our cities.
The ten year catalogue for the Prize is available for purchase here.
The 2010 award was won jointly by:
- Open-Air-Library in Magdeburg, Germany
(pictured above)
KARO* WITH ARCHITEKTUR+NETZWERK Architekten, architects
Department of Urban Planning in the Magdeburg Council, client
- New Norwegian National Opera and Ballet in Oslo, Norway
(view AF lecture by Snohetta)
Snøhetta studio, architects
Statsbygg (government agency), client
Photo (c) Anja Schlamann