Europan judges fail to find a winner
- Published: 17 January 2008 10:13
- Author: Richard Waite
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- Last Updated: 17 January 2008 11:44
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Sheffield finalist Edge Zip, by Sira Warneke, Adrian Truan, Jonathan Crossley, Gael Calvez, Matt Oliver, Tim Saxon, Samira Yacoubi and John Bell
This year's Europan 9 judges have failed to find a scheme good enough for one of the three British competition sites.
The decision to award two runner-up prizes for the Sheffield Skye Edge plot – instead of naming an outright winner – echoes the result in Europan 8 two years ago, when the jury felt none of the entries were good enough for a site in Milton Keynes (AJ 16.02.06).
Despite 'bending over backwards' to pick a victor, the Europan 9 jurors felt all the submitted schemes in Sheffield required more work and have asked the finalists to develop their designs.
Winners were however selected at the two other Europan sites – a plot in Stoke-on-Trent earmarked for 300 homes (within a wider NORD/Urban Splash development), and a 150-home development within the expansion area of Milton Keynes.
The Stoke-on-Trent competition was won by RCKa's City Slipway scheme, and the Milton Keynes competition by Tom Russell Architects' A Forest in the City scheme, described by the judges as 'almost being too beautiful'.
The two Sheffield schemes were submitted by Rob Prewett, of North London-based Prewett Bizley Architects, and a team made up of Sira Warneke, Adrian Truan, Jonathan Crossley, Gael Calvez, Matt Oliver, Tim Saxon, Samira Yacoubi and John Bell.
Judge David Rudlin, of urban designer Urbed, said: 'Sheffield was the best site [of the three Europan plots] yet few schemes really got to grips with it.
'The Skye Edge plot looks out over Sheffield, from behind Park Hill, but the teams failed to get hold of the topography.'
He added: 'After a long debate we decided to make it a two-stage process, because each scheme needed a greater level of detail to allow Sheffield to commit to either – both will need to be worked up significantly.
Stoke-on-Trent runner-up Urban Village, by Jan Schneidewind, Stephanie Tunka, Thomas Bender and Patrice Begin
'What we didn't want to do was say there was no winner – the jury thought this was the fairest way to do it.'
Europan, the Europe-wide housing design contest aimed at designers under 40, has had a torrid time in the UK. Not one winning scheme has ever been built, even though CABE and English Partnerships took over the running of the British contest four years ago with a promise to realise winning proposals.
Architects have had more luck on the continent, where practices such as S333 and Maccreanor Lavington have had projects built.
This year the competition attracted 1,753 entries for 73 sites in 22 European countries.
The biennial competition is run by CABE with partner organisations English Partnerships, the Housing Corporation and Communities and Local Government. Europan 9 UK was judged by a team of experts including architects, urban designers, developers and clients.
