Fourteen outstanding developments have been selected as finalists in the Urban Land Institute's (ULI) Awards for Excellence: Europe, Middle East, and Africa (EMEA) competition, widely recognized as the land use industry's most prestigious recognition program.
The competition is part of the Institute's Awards for Excellence program, established in 1979, which is based on ULI's guiding principle that the achievement of excellence in land use practice should be recognized and rewarded. ULI's Awards for Excellence recognize the full development process of a project, not just its architecture or design. The criteria for the awards include leadership, contribution to the community, innovations, public/private partnership, environmental protection and enhancement, response to societal needs, and financial viability.
Over the years, the Awards for Excellence program has evolved from recognition of one development in North America to an international competition with multiple winners. The ULI Awards for Excellence: Europe (now EMEA) was added in 2004, followed by the ULI Awards for Excellence: Asia Pacific and the Global Awards in 2005. Throughout the program's history, all types of projects have been recognized for their excellence, including office, residential, recreational, urban/mixed-use, industrial/office park, commercial/retail, new community, rehabilitation, and public projects and programs.
The 2010 finalists were selected from 43 entries from 17 countries. The winners of the competition will be announced June 28 at ULI Europe's Trends Conference in London, United Kingdom.
The finalists (developers in parentheses) are:
Beursplein (Multi Vastgoed) Rotterdam, The Netherlands
Beursplein is a large-scale, multi-use urban development in the heart of Rotterdam with a below-ground pedestrian concourse, the Promenade, a 300 m sunken shopping gallery with more than 60 new shops; connecting existing but distinct shopping and market districts on either side of the city's main thoroughfare, the Coolsingel, and improving the area around the busy Beursplein Metro station.
Cabot Circus, (Bristol Alliance, a joint venture between Land Securities and Hammerson), Bristol, United Kingdom
Aiming to re-establish the city of Bristol as the regional capital of South-West Britain, this retail-led mixed use project was completed in collaboration with the City Council to deliver new public realm spaces and 140 new shops across a 16-hectare site, integrated into the city streets.
Citilab (Fundació per la promoció de la societat del coneixement) Barcelona, Spain
Citilab is a center for social digital innovation near Barcelona, based in what was a textile factory abandoned after the last industrial crisis. The 5000 m² development is in the middle of a neighbourhood undergoing major urban renewal and leases 1000 m² to local start-up companies and a further 1000 m² to local entrepreneurs and community associations. Citilab operates as a mix of a training center, research center and business and social incubator.
Dickens Heath Village Centre, (Parkridge Holdings), Solihull, UK
A 4.5-hectare mixed-use development in the heart of the Solihull countryside designed to be a living village rather than 'just' a housing estate. Dickens Heath features residential, commercial, community and leisure uses in a development sensitive to its rural surroundings and incorporating a nature reserve and village green.
ENER[GIE]NGER (Wilhelm Gienger Verwaltungs GmbH) Munich, Germany
A one-of-a-kind retail showroom, the geometry of a 'band-spiral' creates a unique tunnel-like area. The spiral begins at the entrance of the Fa. GIENGER showroom at the east of the building by means of a wide open projecting roof. The core of the retail exhibition hall includes an 'educational energy trail' an exhibition of current installations and equipment belonging to the energy-saving sector.
Eos Generali, (Bouygues Immobilier), Paris, France
This stand-out office building, which combines innovat
