How are Europan projects assessed? Didier Rebois (FR) — General Secretary of Europan
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Before discovering the winning projects in this 15th
However, it is also a competition “followed by
session of Europan, it is perhaps worth reminding
implementations”, in which the aim is not only to reward
readers how the proposals submitted for the
innovative ideas, but also to convert those ideas into
competition are assessed.
more developed design processes and ultimately into
In fact, right from the creation of Europan 30 years
real operations.
ago, great importance has been attributed to this
This paradox partly explains the time and effort
phase of assessment, and to the award —through
invested in choosing the teams that will be awarded
the different national juries— of some 100 prizes per
the “Europan label” for their ideas, and in some cases
session (winners and runners-up combined), plus
go on to receive commissions for a second, so-called
special mention projects without prizes, out of the
“operational” phase. The juries have the difficult task
approximately 900 projects submitted. The filtering
of analysing the three panels the teams are required
process in this assessment phase is important and the
to submit, picking out projects that offer an innovative
choice of the winning teams is a strategic issue not only
perspective, an original vision, of the question raised
for the teams themselves, but also for the partners who
by the site, within the framework of a global theme
participate in the competition.
(the session topic), and awarding the Europan “label”.
Indeed, in its founding principle, Europan is called
At the same time, however, the selected projects
a “competition of ideas”, and the primary objective
need to offer a strategy that sets out key orientations
is to reward innovative projects devised by young
for implementing their ideas over time, within a given
European professionals of architectural, urban and
context. The best projects in a session are those that
landscape design.
meet both these requirements.
JURY SESSION IN BELGIUM
JURY SESSION IN FRANCE
JURY SESSION IN NETHERLANDS
JURY SESSION IN NORWAY
JURY SESSION IN SPAIN
JURY SESSION IN SWEDEN
