Theme 2 — A Intensifying Districts

Theme 2 — A

Intensifying Districts

These sites address the scale of a larger neighbourhood that needs to be requalified and intensify, and has to be enriched with different qualities, such as uses, public space, natural elements, etc. Almendralejo (ES) 106 Barcelona (ES) 110 Biel/Bienne (CH) 114 Levanger (NO) 118 Linz (AT) 124

SCALE — L/S URBAN + ARCHITECTURAL / ARCHITECTURAL LOCATION — SAN JOSÉ DISTRICT, ALMENDRALEJO POPULATION — 33,474 INHAB. STRATEGIC SITE — 75.8 HA / PROJECT SITE — 2.1 HA SITE PROPOSED BY — GENERAL DIRECTION OF ARCHITECTURE, REGIONAL GOVERNMENT OF EXTREMADURA ACTOR(S) INVOLVED — ALMENDRALEJO CITY COUNCIL OWNER(S) OF THE SITE — PUBLIC / PRIVATE

ALFONSO GÓMEZ GOÑI — General Director of Architecture and Edification of the Regional Government of Extremadura. 1/ What are the main questions asked to the competitors for the transformation of the site? The proposed site enjoys a strategic location as it is at the intersection of several main roads. It is located close to important cities such as Badajoz, Merida, Seville, Cordoba and Lisbon. Almendralejo is the fourth most populated municipality in the province of Badajoz. The economic activity is mainly agricultural, so many jobs are created around the grape harvest and the olive harvest. During this season, the seasonal workers can generate a floating population of between 7,000 and 9,000 people, mainly composed of Romanian people of gypsy ethnicity, who are concentrated mainly in the neighbourhood of San José. The selected project area is located in this neighbourhood which comprises 18 blocks and a total of 160 dwellings. In this context, a proposal for urban rehabilitation and regeneration will be designed, for community regeneration, capable of achieving neighbourhood cohesion and providing quality housing.

2/ How is the site linked to the two subtopics of “metabolism” and “inclusivity”? Living metabolisms: The first of these allows us to understand the city as an ecosystem in which it is necessary to encourage reuse, respect for the existing… Inclusivity is the essential social component to confront segregation and the serious inequalities that exist in our cities. Accessibility to the spaces created will be guaranteed at all times, favouring the integration of people with disabilities.

3/ Have you already defined a specific process for the territorial and/or urban and/or architectural development of the site after the Europan competition? Do you expect a proposal of process from the competitors linked to what they proposed in their prize-winning projects? Currently, the municipality of Almendralejo has a grant from the Ministry of Transport, Mobility and Urban Agenda to develop a pilot project of Urban Agenda Plan in the municipality to establish future strategies to improve life in the city.The aim is to make life in cities more comfortable and more complete, working on climate change, sustainable mobility, energy efficiency, low gas emissions, social cohesion and access to housing. Therefore, and within this new framework that is opening in the municipality, and together the local and regional administrations, we are working on landing the winning proposal through a complex citizen participatory process to reach the neighbourhood that is intended with this project, and, above all, that its inhabitants are involved in the germ of the future project. Likewise, it will be necessary to move forward with the drafting of an advance of the Master Plan, so as to start working on a complete and laborious document, and on a long and positive field work.

DANIEL CUETO MONDEJAR (ES) MARTINA ALMELA SENA (ES) JOSE LUIS RAMOS CHIA (ES) MARINA FERNÁNDEZ OÑATE (ES) ARCHITECTS MONOCHROME, MALAGA (ES) +34 676901959 SERGIO@MONOCHROME.ES PROYECTOS@MONOCHROME.ES WWW.MONOCHROME.ES

La increíble historia

del temporero que encontró en Almendralejo su hogar

Team point of view — The project creates an itinerary from the arrival of the seasonal workers to Almendralejo until its consolidation within the town. This materialises in two proposals. The equipped green corridors connect the centre with San José and intensify its complexity with a landscape of Contemporary Chimneys. The Social Condenser Typology recycles the Marques housing by a social management focused on seasonal workers and offers them temporal accommodation and public services in three phases: Arrival, Development and Consolidation. The implementation is based on the renovation of the existing thanks to a modular system of interchangeable housing types with a clean industrial image that combines abstraction from popular architecture and contemporary lattices with multicultural patterns.

Jury point of view — The jury appreciates the depth of the analysis: underlying the well-intentioned image transmitted by the illustrated story is the conviction that such a profound regeneration cannot be undertaken without previously setting the guidelines for a public participation process to facilitate the study of the systemic shortfalls from different perspectives, and address the numerous social, political, spatial and building implications of the project. Good relevance of the time variable for maturing effective solutions, the implementation of an accompaniment process for the gradual integration of the foreign-born population.

BEATRIZ NIETO RODRÍGUEZ (ES) GUILLERMO GONZÁLEZ TOFIÑO (ES) ARCHITECTS HYBRID SCAPES, MADRID (ES) +34 636329962 HYBRIDSCAPESARCHITECTURE@GMAIL.COM WWW.HYBRIDSCAPES.ES

Contemporary Primitivism

Team point of view — Contemporary Primitivism is a proposal which moves away from grand gestures and planning; thus, it gets closer to the most everyday reality by recovering the community as an infrastructure that provides people rights. Following the “decline” key, the project seeks to recover lost romantic realities, which were a guarantee of quality of life. The right to relax in green areas, to celebrate with your neighbours, to share or to enjoy a night in the rooftop, to organise a party in the garden… The project is an ode to the recovery of the already disappeared community spirit by proposing a colony model that imitates a kind of contemporary phalanstery. A series of catalogues evoke a life in common combined with personal individualities within a sustainable present and future.

Jury point of view — This proposal intensifies the coexistence model by means of vertical urban renewal and flexible spaces, raising each building one floor to compensate for the housing lost at street level. The jury appreciates the consistency of this proposal, the multiplicity and interest of the typologies that it contains, and the emergence of small workspaces alongside the circulation cores. The well-thought-out energy renovation strategy in phases and blocks, the improvements to accessibility and the stimulation of neighbourhood cooperation are the basis for urban renewal in the project area.

GONZALO LOPEZ GARRIDO (ES) DIANA CRISTOBAL OLAVE (ES) TANIA ORAMAS DORTA (ES) ARCHITECTS ALFONSO SIMELIO JURADO (ES) HAMZA HAMDEH (US) ARCHITECTS ISABEL CAMPILLO VALENCIA (CO) DESIGNER KNITKNOT ARCHITECTURE, LONDON (UK) +1 6462750860 TEAM@KNITKNOTARCHITECTURE.COM WWW.KNITKNOTARCHITECTURE.COM

Social Scaffolding

Team point of view — “Pisos del Marqués” represent a challenge for Almendralejo, due to their insufficiency to respond to the social conditions of the population and foster neighbourhood relationships, and to the need to rehabilitate a series of obsolete elements, both in their technical and architectural performance. That is why [SOCIAL SCAFFOLDING] starts from a detailed analysis of the architectural scale, to understand which elements of the existing built environment can be recycled and renovated, and which need to be replaced. A series of elements have been classified as problematic, which are proposed to replace; and others as identity, which are intended to reinterpret. After this approach to the architectural scale, the same method expands towards the urban and domestic scales, to define a [PRESERVATION STRATEGY] capable of regenerating while reinterpreting and emphasising the identity of the place.

Almendralejo (ES) — Special mention

AUTHOR(S)

DAVID MORENO (ES) LAURA CUADRILLERO (ES) ARCHITECTS CONTACT

MORENO CUADRILLERO ARQUITECTOS, MADRID (ES) DAVID@MORENOCUADRILLERO.COM LAURA@MORENOCUADRILLERO.COM WWW.MORENOCUADRILLERO.COM

Oraș echilibrat

Team point of view — Oraș echilibrat is an urban regeneration project with several purposes: 1. To reverse the process of urban and social segregation in the project area. 2. To develop support for a local politic that fosters a tolerant and multicultural society. 3. To generate a coherent and suggestive image of the whole. 4.To promote the integration and reuse of existing buildings. The fundamental problem occurs with the immigrant population, especially Romanians of gypsy ethnicity. The project focuses on the idea that the solutions to be adopted do not consist only in the reconstruction of decent housing, but to promote urban strategies that enable the gradual social integration of this population in the neighbourhood of San José. This is the only way to achieve a balanced city in terms of social equity.

SCALE — L URBAN + ARCHITECTURAL LOCATION — TORRENT DE L’ESTADELLA, SANT ANDREU DISTRICT, BARCELONA POPULATION — BARCELONA, 1,620,343 INHAB. SANT ANDREU, 148,232 INHAB. STRATEGIC SITE — 80.5 HA - PROJECT SITE — 29 HA SITE PROPOSED BY — BARCELONA CITY COUNCIL, URBAN ECOLOGY AREA ACTOR(S) INVOLVED — URBAN ECOLOGY AREA OWNER(S) OF THE SITE — PUBLIC / PRIVATE

JAUME BARNADA — Coordinator of International Relations Projects Management. Urban Ecology City Council of Barcelona.

1/ What are the main questions asked to the competitors for the transformation of the site? The most important issue raised by the Torrent de l’Estadella project was how to achieve a living city that includes residence, production and ecology and at the same time, provide urban complexity. Every valid solution requires an assessment of the urban fabric’s composition and its architecture, as well as the proposal of a short-term regeneration project.

2/ How is the site linked to the two subtopics of “metabolism” and “inclusivity”? Including industry in the mix of everyday uses is a question of inclusivity within the definition of the proposal. It also involves innovation in the development of the city’s districts. The projects and processes that derive from this system are a new way of regarding metabolism as a set of actions that accommodate people’s lives in an environment-friendly way.

3/ Have you already defined a specific process for the territorial and/or urban and/or architectural development of the site after the Europan competition? Do you expect a proposal of process from the competitors linked to what they proposed in their prize-winning projects? In the case of Torrent de l’Estadella, the process was defined before the Europan 16 competition because it is a transformation steered by the Barcelona City Council. It has been proposed as a way to regenerate the industrial area on the right bank of the Besòs River and improve the value of the existing productive estates and housing areas. To this end, a development plan and a territorial management office are now being designed. We hope that the winning project will be able to accompany the process and provide an innovative approach. We also hope that it can be developed in the form of a series of plans and projects that generate ideas compatible with an ecological process of urban regeneration.

PEPELACRUZARCH, ONDA (ES) +34 639886368 PEPELACRUZARCH@GMAIL.COM WWW.PEPELACRUZARCH.COM

Industrial Re-Evolution

Team point of view — INDUSTRIAL RE-EVOLUTION is the proposal to develop and transform Torrent de l’Estadella, an industrial estate in the periphery of Barcelona. The main objectives of this scheme are: renature the industrial estate closer to its original condition as an environmental torrent; connect and integrate the industrial area with the adjacent city through a series of public space and infrastructure interventions; and ensure that Torrent de l’Estadella maintains its productive character, proposing a new hybrid-industrial building typology and generating points of reference for the city through icons. The project seeks to implement these objectives on three levels: Territorial, Urban and Building.

Jury point of view — The project approaches the industrial site Torrent de l’Estadella, with a multifaceted strategy addressing three distinct scales: Territorial, Urban, Architectural, determined for a gradual site transformation with preserving the industrial identity at its core to create hybrid living/productive neighbourhood. A careful reading of the existing character and potentials of the site together with its wider territory allows for several decisions. The proposal seeks for gradual but long-lasting impact with strategic incisions, attractions aiming towards some level of selfsufficiency of the area.

URBAN LIVING ROOM The use can be divided by naves or use the entire complex

The new plaza serves as an extension of the Urban Living Room

ECO ENERGY PLANT

Energy Park

New Residents

Eco Plaza

Loading & Unloading Sheltered Plaza

Street Market

Sport Courts

Vertical Farms

Permanent Market

Co-working Space

Energy Park

Cultural Activities

Physical Activities

CHIARA PEPORI (IT), NICOLÒ DE PAOLI (IT) ARCHITECTS FRANCESCA PELIZZARO (IT) ARCHITECT, URBANIST

El Tablero de l’Estadella

Team point of view — The Torrent de l’Estadella is a part of the modern urban history of Barcelona. Its agricultural vocation first, then its industrial one, contributed to form the area which appears very recognisable. The goal is to provide a set of tools that will allow the area to take part in these changes, while maintaining its productive vocation. The transformation of the area has to be intended as a reuse of what is already there combined with a strategy of cautious substitution of necrotic zones, always respecting the historical urban form. The proposal aims at bringing a diversity of usages of the urban space, allowing the area to stay active through time. Breaking the mono-functional character of the area and ensuring the coexistence of new and old activities will make this part of the city resilient.

Jury point of view — The project proposes a set of tools for gradual, incremental area transformation. This bottom-up approach stretches beyond mere phasing as it employs temporary interventions and allows for in-between re-evaluation and response for the next steps of the intervention. The integration of publicness spans several levels, from the radical redefinition of the character of the roads to highlighting existing industrial heritage into cultural attractor or coexistence of industrial facility with public programs. The sensitivity of the transformation strategy aims to create a valuable long-term community, where the mix of production, living, and culture define long lasting identity of the place.

Public facilities The re-use of the existing Facilities The integration of new facilities Mixed-use buildings Integration of the residential function

Road typical section Existing situation Temporary intervention Future scenario

SANDRA GARCIA MORATA (ES) VÍCTOR NAVARRO GUILLEN (ES) ARCHITECTS NAMO, BARCELONA (ES) +34 660128379 NAMOARQUITECTES@GMAIL.COM

Liminal City

Team point of view — The Torrent de l’Estadella is located between two consolidated urban areas and the future park, the Camí Comtal. The Liminal City aims to take advantage of its transitional position between productive areas and urban areas. It means being a link-space that, together with the paradigm shift in the urban industry model, will establish a bridge to a more living city. The transformation involves implementing regeneration strategies for the urban environment, generating a new space in the city that maintains the balance between the reproductive labour and the productive labour, through a mixed system of uses. The new planning aims to provide public spaces of permanence and transit that will embrace the different groups of the community. The whole is proposed as a mutable space, to adapt to future changes and be more resilient.

Barcelona (ES) — Special mention

AUTHOR(S)

JOSÉ SANMARTÍN GONZÁLEZ (ES) ANNAMARIA PISANI (IT) DANIEL MOLAS GUAL (ES) ARCHITECTS CONTACT

PROXIMA 31, AMSTERDAM (NL) PROXIMA31@PROTONMAIL.COM WWW.PROXIMA31.COM @PROXIMA_31

The SEED of a living INDUSTRY

Team point of view — We propose to create a complex, adaptable, diverse and productive neighbourhood based in a strategy of affections and proximities. The dichotomy industry-city is replaced by a strategy based on co-existence and synergy. The reorganisation of the network of public spaces not only nourishes the housing program, but also enhances the value of architectural elements that play a fundamental role as urban hubs. We are talking about the new industrial hubs and around them will gravitate both professional and social life. When we reprogram with a new use, a space that was firstly conceived for a different function, a “spatial surprise” of immense value happens. This, among other qualities, is what will imbue the entire Torrent de l’Estadella neighbourhood with uniqueness and attract new generations eager to participate in its industrial memory.

SCALE — L URBAN + ARCHITECTURAL LOCATION — METT, BIEL/BIENNE POPULATION — 55,000 INHAB. STRATEGIC SITE — 144 HA / PROJECT SITE — 12 HA SITE PROPOSED BY — CITY OF BIEL/BIENNE AND 8 COOPERATIVES ACTOR(S) INVOLVED — CITY OF BIEL/BIENNE AND 8 COOPERATIVES OWNER(S) OF THE SITE — CITY OF BIEL/BIENNE AND 8 COOPERATIVES

SARAH GÄUMANN — Responsible for the Planning and Urban Space Department, Municipality of Bienne

1/ What are the main questions asked to the competitors for the transformation of the site? — How can the neighbourhood best be renewed and densified while at the same time preserving its identity? — How can the current rather one-sided housing supply be renewed and supplemented so that a future-oriented and diverse housing mix is created? — How to respond to the strong division of the Geyisried neighbourhood and noise pollution from the Orpundstrasse motorway feeder road? — How to maintain the dense greenery in the neighbourhood despite densification and how to strengthen the quality of the outdoor spaces as meeting places? — How, despite densification, the volume of traffic and the space required for parking can be limited with clever concepts for mobility and parking, and the interior of the neighbourhood can be kept largely free of motorised traffic?

2/ How is the site linked to the two subtopics of “metabolism” and “inclusivity”? The point of venture of the project to develop the neighbourhood is its existing buildings. Development shall take place within the existing neighbourhood, take into account its existing qualities and the needs of its population.

3/ Have you already defined a specific process for the territorial and/or urban and/or architectural development of the site after the Europan competition? Do you expect a proposal of process from the competitors linked to what they proposed in their prize-winning projects? While the process is not yet fully defined, the objective is to develop a concept for the development of the neighbourhood in a participative process including the cooperatives and their residents, on the basis of the results of Europan. This concept will serve as a basis to adaptation of building regulations as well as renewal projects for the cooperatives. A proposal is not expected by the competitors, but possibilities for their inclusion in the development of the concept will be examined.

My House

MORTEN VESTBERG HANSEN (DK) CHRISTOPHER GALLIANO (DK) CASPER JUHLER-OLSEN (DK) ARCHITECTS FOLK ARKITEKTER, COPENHAGEN (DK) +45 26466964 / MH@FOLKARKITEKTER.DK WWW.FOLKARKITEKTER.DK CASPER JUHLER ARKITEKTUR, COPENHAGEN (DK) +45 41173083 / CASPERJUHLER@GMAIL.COM

Team point of view — My house — In 2050 a home in Geyisried rivals the most mundane and attractive houses in the city of Biel/ Bienne. The resident’s perception of a classical home has changed. Their home extends beyond the walls of a typical apartment, and contains an abundance of high-quality spaces and functions, previously unheard of in cooperative housing. An attractive neighbourhood — Geyisried 2050 is a persistently attractive neighbourhood. By implementing tried and true elements of city-planning, the security and usability of the area is consistently supported. Density & sustainability — Geyisried is densified and transformed with a minimal amount of economy, natural resources and outdoor spaces spent. This is to ensure that the quality of life exists.

Jury point of view — This project focuses on the micro scale. It intervenes in the urban fabric through a process of acupuncture, maintaining the existing structures and hence the overall value recognised by the ISOS perimeter. The jury appreciated the sensitive densification strategy, which adds housing spaces but primarily focuses on intensifying uses by the addition of semi-private or public spaces at gable ends, thereby bringing greater vitality to the district. The phasing is convincing in its scheduling of interventions based on the priorities and of the age of the buildings.

CHARLÉLIE MICHEL (FR), ARCHITECT, URBANIST GAETAN AMOSSÉ (FR), ARTIST SOUKAINA LAABIDA (MA), ARCHITECT ATELIER OBSERVARE, BERN (CH) / SOUVIGNY (FR) +41 774547863 INFO@ATELIEROBSERVARE.COM / WWW.ATELIEROBSERVARE.COM

The City As a Living Organism

Team point of view — A living organism is made up of a skeleton, vital functions and a belonging to a milieu, from which it draws the resources necessary for its life. The project aims to consider the Geyisried neighbourhood as a living organism. By observing the neighbourhood and the territory, simple interventions complete its pre-existing skeleton. The boulevard as a backbone, the Place d’Orpond as the head and the business park as the tail are completed by an exoskeleton: the Geyisried ring is a new soft mobility path, accessible to all. It connects the structuring green spaces and its public facilities. The skeleton reorganises the five vital functions of the neighbourhood: to resource, to create and innovate, to socialise, to make together and to transmit. Now there is room for every generation in Geyisried!

Jury point of view — The project proposal starts with a largescale analysis of the territory and the depth of the fabric. The district is perceived as an element of a larger whole. The proposal brings together the existing elements, linking them through a circular path running across the neighbourhood, thus creating both an internal connection and a connection with the surrounding fabric. It conveys the sense of a circular dynamic with the potential to counterbalance the linearity of the road. the project respects the character of the existing neighbourhood, while offering a phased programme of renewal and refurbishment.

SCALE L — URBAN + ARCHITECTURAL LOCATION — THE WOODEN TOWN, LEVANGER POPULATION — 10,000 INHAB. STRATEGIC SITE — 400 HA / PROJECT SITE — 15 HA SITE PROPOSED BY — LEVANGER MUNICIPALITY ACTOR(S) INVOLVED — LEVANGER MUNICIPALITY, DEPARTMENT OF CULTURAL CERITAGE, TRØNDELAG COUNTY COUNCIL OWNER(S) OF THE SITE — LEVANGER MUNICIPALITY AND PRIVATE LANDOWNERS

CITY OF LEVANGER & EUROPAN NORWAY —

1/ What are the main questions asked to the competitors for the transformation of the site? We had three main questions: — How to deal with the traffic and mobility issues? — How to densify in a historic city? — How to integrate a new library concept into the rejuvenation of the city of Levanger?

2/ How is the site linked to the two subtopics of “metabolism” and “inclusivity”? These are two sides of the same coin, and one cannot talk about one without the other. In Levanger the issue of dealing with traffic, pollution and mobility is closely linked with inclusivity as well as metabolism. Dealing with these issues are paramount in achieving an inclusive city, and without inclusive communities it’s hard to deal with environmental issues. The national heritage status of the entire town adds just another layer on top of these fundamental issues.

3/ Have you already defined a specific process for the territorial and/or urban and/or architectural development of the site after the Europan competition? Do you expect a proposal of process from the competitors linked to what they proposed in their prize-winning projects? Depending on the profile of the winning teams, we will either continue with a larger plan for urban spaces and use of the streets, or commission a more detailed feasibility study of the new library. Either way, process and participation will be key elements of the commission.

JOSE Mª MATEO (ES), VICTOR PÉREZ (ES) J. ANDRÉS RÍOS (EC/ES), FRANCIS ALMONTE (ES) TOMÁS LARIOS (ES), ÁLVARO SÁNCHEZ (ES) ARCHITECTS C/PLAZA CASTELLINI 12 3ºB, 30201 CARTAGENA, MURCIA (ES) +34 646983897 HELLOWOODS.TEAM@GMAIL.COM

Hello, Woods!

Team point of view — Hello, Woods! welcomes a new era for Levanger. The future of the city is circular, accessible and sustainable. A time in which cars are replaced by trees; roads and parking lots by commercial and cultural public spaces; smoke and pollution by fresh air; and you can listen to birdsongs and the river flow instead of the noise of a busy city. Environment and energy are the centrepiece of the proposal, going over the opposition between city and nature. Hello, Woods! enhances every natural ecosystem and cycle in Levanger: the river Levangerelva, Levangersundet or the woods, as well as the parks inside and around the city. In addition, energy consumption and environmental footprint will be reduced by means of solar, wind and geothermal renewable and clean power.

Jury point of view — The authors outline a very comprehensive, multiscale and well-resolved concept for re-vitalising the heritage grid city of Levanger, and its specific geography of being hinged between two waters. The proposal offers an intriguing networked, let’s call it democratic, urban scheme using multiple already given attractions rather than emphasising one only. It surprises by deflecting the obvious town’s centrality from the main park axis into revitalised parallel streets and taking the requested bridge over the train tracks right to a point of green space fuelled by a cultural programme.

LAURA SOLSONA (ES) EDUARD FERNÀNDEZ (ES) ARCHITECTS QUYÊN LÊ (VN) URBAN DESIGNER NGUYỆT TRÂN (VN) LANDSCAPE ARCHITECT SELF-OFFICE, BARCELONA (ES) +34 618393293 / +34 618094105 SELF.SELFOFFICE@GMAIL.COM WWW.SELF-OFFICE.NET

Seednergies

Team point of view — Located between the Sundet and the Levangerelva river, lies the town of Levanger. Car-based development, urban sprawl, and industrial activities have gradually emptied the town of important services, creating pressure on recreational open spaces, important for the quality of life and biodiversity. To shift this paradigm, new synergies between the built environment, local ecosystems, and the use of public space must be established in order to create more resilient cities. Rather than fixed solutions, a series of long-term strategies will establish new living conditions shifting to a more sustainable future for Levanger. Our approach speculates about new ways of living together, which are not only more sustainable but encourage people to share and grow in parallel to their living environment.

Jury point of view — The jury appreciates the imaginative landscape strategy for the urban space in Levanger. The proposal suggests ways to engage and activate the local community. It focuses on the park which is clearly established, introducing the idea of a plant nursery which is seen as an interesting idea for the urban space. The jury considers the suggestions for activating the park in different ways positive, as well as creating layers of vegetation to be planted and for learning from. The focus on enhancing the relationship between culture and biodiversities and the focus on using elements from the native flora and the blue green grid are interesting.

JONIAN SILAJ (GR/AL) ARCHITECT, URBANIST EIRINI XANTHOPOULOU (GR) ARCHITECT IRAKLIS ROMANOPOULOS (GR) IRENE PIGHI (IT) ALESSANDRA BONACCIO (IT) ARCHITECTS IRIX + STUDIO JUAJ ROTTERDAM (NL) STUDIO@JUAJ.NL / WWW.JUAJ.NL INFO@IRIX.CO / WWW.IRIX.CO

Building Up on Values

Team point of view — The city of Levanger is looking for elements to develop into a resilient city while our research showed that those elements are already there. We need to dig into its history and the strengths of everyday relations, starting with its citizens. Permanent residents or students, office workers or people that like to get their hands dirty, people that perform or people that produce can all contribute significantly to the intensification and enrichment of their close environment firstly and eventually of the city and its natural habitat. The theme of metabolic and inclusive vitalities cultivates values and qualities and lets them grow as modern ways of living and sharing spaces create the perfect ground to activate what is sleeping and is waiting to wake up in small cities, such as Levanger. An approach as a process that requires a more complex system of development for one-of-a-kind vision.

Levanger (NO) — Special mention

AUTHOR(S)

LUCIA ANDERICA RECIO (ES) JORGE LOPEZ SACRISTAN (ES) JAVIER ORTIZ TEMPRADO (ES) ARCHITECTS CONTACT

STUDIO.ALT - MADRID (ES) / ZURICH (CH) ARCHITECTURE.SALT@GMAIL.COM WWW.STUDIOALT.EU

Kultur-hub-set!

Team point of view — The real asset of any society in today’s globalised world lies in its cultural heritage and identity. The old town of Levanger has in its own urban and architectural constraints, its greatest value. Our project builds upon these ideals to transform the old town into a future-proof, vibrant and dynamic town. The project understands city dynamics as a whole and identifies the pieces of the puzzle that can have a real impact. This way, a new organisational scheme is laid out, understanding the unique condition of Levanger as a town between two bodies of water, encouraging the relationship towards and along them, limiting the traffic, prioritising pedestrian and bicycles over cars, creating a system of green corridors and focusing development on culture organised around the Park Axis.

FRANCESCO CORONA (IT) ARCHITECT BERNARDO GRILLI DI CORTONA (IT) ARCHITECT, URBANIST CONTRÓRA 67 QUAI DE VALMY, 75010 PARIS (FR) +33 659995374 ATELIERCONTRORA@GMAIL.COM

LS* Levanger — Linking Squares

Team point of view — Levanger is a city suspended between the Trondheimsfjorden and the countryside. Urban countryside is a battleground for demographic, economic, ecological and political challenges. For several years, there has been a reversal of the trend with respect to the post-war flow that brought people from the countryside to the cities. In this context, Levanger can become a new pole of attraction at the regional level. The fulcrum of the project is the axis that starts from Levangersundet and reaches the river. The idea is to create a unique and homogeneous sequence of squares never crossed by a driveway. The organic succession of intimate places with different vocations creates a unique system capable of revitalizing the city and making it once again the cultural and commercial centre it once was.

Levanger (NO) — Special mention

AUTHOR(S)

GUSTAVO FIGUEIRA SERRANO (ES) DIEGO DÍAZ MOSQUEIRA (ES) ÁLVARO ITARTE PÉREZ (ES) ARCHITECTS CONTRIBUTOR(S)

JAVIER POMBAR GUILLÁN (ES) ARCHITECTURAL VISUALIZATION CONTACT

VI17, A CORUÑA (ES) +34 881309548 INFO@VI17.GAL WWW.VI17.GAL

Reveal/Relink/Rebuild

Team point of view — Revealing what was already there is the core concept for the urban revitalisation of the city of Levanger. Revealing the existing nature, heritage, entrepreneurialism and social values; and make them work together for a sustainable common future in 3 scales. First, a Regional-Scale, connecting Levanger with its natural surroundings. Second, an Urban-Scale, improving mobility and public through new walkable and bikeable spaces. Third, an Architectural-Scale, creating a new building for the promotion of culture, society and innovation. Based on an equalitarian, collaborative and productive use of the urban space; and the protection and promotion of land and water biodiversity, the future of Levanger will attract the creation of new businesses, inclusiveness for all and harmony with nature.

SCALE — L / XS URBAN + ARCHITECTURAL / PROTOTYPES LOCATION — LINZ POPULATION — 203,000 INHAB. STRATEGIC SITE — 19.2 HA / PROJECT SITE — 4 PROTOTYPES SITE PROPOSED BY — EBS ACTOR(S) INVOLVED — EBS, CITY OF LINZ, OEBB OWNER(S) OF THE SITE — EBS AND OEBB

MANUEL GATTERMAYR — Project manager at EBS

1/ What are the main questions asked to the competitors for the transformation of the site? The most important question was how to modernise the quarter carefully without removing the qualities such as the green areas or the quiet neighbourhood. We asked them how they will modernise the existing buildings, make them barrier-free, increase the number of private and common gardens and improve the qualities of open spaces. We also asked them how they will increase the floor space in total and for locations for new buildings.

2/ How is the site linked to the two subtopics of “metabolism” and “inclusivity”? Each part of the city plays an important role in the connection to other districts on various levels, such as logistics, social aspects, the ecology, etc. I believe successful developments are only possible if those connections are understood. Froschberg has many critical functions that are important for Linz and its citizens: It is a green oasis, it is a home for many residents, it has a very central location, and it is a well-known part of Linz’s history. And it has a tremendous potential for development. This potential should be used —for current as well as future residents. Inclusivity is a very interesting characteristic in regard to Froschberg, as it is often described as a village inside the city whose residents know each other very well. On the one hand, this inclusivity of the neighbourhood is a strength of the quarter; on the other hand, it reveals the question of how to open this community to new residents.

3/ Have you already defined a specific process for the territorial and/or urban and/or architectural development of the site after the Europan competition? Do you expect a proposal of process from the competitors linked to what they proposed in their prize-winning projects? We do not expect a direct translation of the proposals from the competitors. As regards implementation, it is very important that all the stakeholders are involved. In our case, this means our tenants, the City of Linz and the EBS. In this spirit, we are interested in involving Europan in a strategic process for the development of Froschberg which will lead to a specific implementation approach.

MICHALIS NTOURAKOS RESILIENT.INTUITIVE.ARCHITECTURE, ROTTERDAM (NL) +31 619777950 MNT.ARCH@GMAIL.COM / WWW.NTOURAKOS.COM

Bio-based Idiolect

Team point of view — Bio-based Idiolect ambitiously tackles all the challenges in this special location and suggests a moderate densification where living, working & sharing overlap in a variety of offered units. With collaboration, flexibility and inclusivity as key qualities, the private, public and in-between spaces are consciously re-evaluated and designed to enhance spatial experience with a full spectrum of social ambiances. By enriching the layouts, four replicable prototypes of a distinct and inviting architectural language gracefully, bridge the old with the new and are supported further by a permeable slow mobility network in the accessible extensive green. Bio-based materials and a comprehensive sustainability & circularity strategy strengthen a vibrant revitalized neighbourhood for decades to come.

Jury point of view — The jury particularly appreciates the proposed approach for Types A & C, which formulates the idea of an additional layer positioned at a certain distance from the existing building and hardly changing it. Typologically, the project creates a kind of “micro-courtyard” between the existing and the new building, with the more private spaces to be housed in the existing part. The more public uses, such as living room and kitchen, are placed in the new layer with large openings facing the greenery. The proposal considers a step-by-step implementation which is well imaginable and is easily applicable.