German Urban Development Award 2020 goes toBerlin

The prize is awarded every two years by the German Academy for Urban Development and Regional Planning (DASL) with significant support from the Wüstenrot Foundation. Urban Development Award in the DSP 2020 competition goes to the project Quarter at the former Blumengroßmark in Berlin. With 81 applications, a particularly large number of projects were submitted for the Urban Design Award. The spectrum was very broad: urban-structural-geographical, thematic, structural-spatial. From the new town hall in the urban planning context of a small municipality to the large conversion project of a metropolitan region, the interdisciplinary jury (urban planning, architecture, open space planning, preservation of historical monuments, economics, sociology) was faced with a very difficult decision in many cases.

"The quarter at the former flower wholesale market in Berlin Kreuzberg is exemplary for a co-creative urban redevelopment that focuses on living and working together and pursues long-term sustainable development strategies in the neighbourhood. The project sets orientation and standards for socially oriented urban development supported by diverse actors and is particularly exemplary in the sense of the German Urban Development Award. [...]" emphasizes the jury chairperson Prof. Dr. Christina Simon-Philipp, HFT Stuttgart.

The Special price on the topic "Urban development revisited: Prices - Practice - Perspectives" was given to the project Urban development area Stuttgarter Straße, French Quarter in Tübingen. The special prize, which is awarded in parallel to the urban development prize, serves to highlight particularly urgent fields of action in urban development and urban planning. It was awarded on the occasion of the 40th anniversary of the German Urban Development Prize to contributions that had already been recognised with prizes and awards between 1980 and 2010. The judging of the special prize was very complex, as it had to cover a span of 30 years, i.e. a generation, of the achievements of German urban planning that were considered outstanding at the time, and, in retrospect, it had to be based on robust, objective criteria that could adequately reflect the complexity of 30 years of urban planning history and 30 years of urban planning models.

"The robust urban design concept and the qualities of the public space are the hallmarks of the quarter, which exudes great liveliness. When strolling through the district, one has the certainty that it will gain in popularity and vitality as it ages," was the jury's verdict for the project. Thirty years after the competition for the French Quarter in Tübingen [urban development prize winner from the 2001 submission], the idea of parcelling proves to be a recipe for success with a high degree of suitability for everyday use and exemplary for participatory-oriented urban development in Germany.

The German Urban Development Award, which is endowed with a total of € 25,000, aims to promote forward-looking planning and urban development culture. It is awarded by the German Academy for Urban and Regional Planning (DASL) and sponsored by the Wüstenrot Foundation.

The prize is awarded to urban development projects implemented in the Federal Republic of Germany that stand out for their sustainable and innovative contributions to urban building culture and spatial development in an urban and rural context. The projects should take outstanding account of the current demands on contemporary lifestyles as well as the challenges to the design of public space, the economical use of resources and the obligations to the preservation of the local and urban landscape.

At its meeting in February 2021, the jury chaired by Prof. Dr. Christina Simon-Philipp awarded six prizes and seven commendations in addition to the urban development prize and the special prize. The urban development prize is endowed with €15,000 and the special prize with €5,000. The awards receive € 1,000 and the fourth category is commendations.

Due to the COVID pandemic, the planned festive award ceremony could not take place in a large round. Therefore, the nominations of the 15 projects were broadcast in a live stream with around 800 viewers on 23 April 2021 from the Akademie der Künste at Pariser Platz in Berlin. The specialist symposium, which was dedicated to the award theme of the Special Prize 2020 "Urban design revisited: prices - practice - perspectives". and the award ceremony are presented with documentary films of the award-winning projects on the website www.staedtebaupreis.de.
Anne Katrin Bohle, State Secretary in the Federal Ministry of the Interior, for Building and Home Affairs, emphasized in her welcoming speech:

"For 40 years, the German Urban Development Prize has been awarded for outstanding and forward-looking urban development projects in terms of design and urban structure. They not only receive outstanding public attention nationally, but are also given special consideration internationally. The BMI supports modern and sustainable building of high design quality. In this context, it is essential for us that the "project", i.e. an individual building or an ensemble of buildings, fits into innovative and integrated urban development strategies, because the high-quality design of the built environment is a decisive building block for the quality of life in our cities and communities. Baukultur stands not only for the result, i.e. an aesthetic, good building, but encompasses the entire complex process from participation and co-determination to planning, construction, use and maintenance. In this sense, we very much welcome the fact that the German Academy for Urban Development and Regional Planning, together with the Wüstenrot Foundation, is honouring good urban development projects and, in application of the principles of the New Leipzig Charter, is advancing the transformation of European cities into sustainable living spaces oriented towards the common good."

DASL President Prof. Dr. (Univ.-Florenz) Elisabeth Merk went on to explain the function of the German Urban Development Award and thanked the Wüstenrot Foundation for its support, without which the award would not be possible:

"For more than 40 years now, the German Urban Design Award has been honouring projects that bring societal and social issues to bear with outstanding design solutions in architecture and urban development. The continuity of standing up for sustainable urban development and thus encouraging others to stand up for quality has characterised the German Urban Development Prize since its beginnings. Special thanks go first and foremost to the Wüstenrot Foundation, which makes the prize financially and conceptually possible, as well as to all the committed participants and very personally to Prof. Dr. Werner Durth, who as a source of inspiration has shaped the prize over the years with his knowledge and passion."

The Managing Director of the Wüstenrot Foundation, Prof. Philip Kurzis the reason for the foundation's commitment to the German Urban Development Prize:

"We are currently facing major challenges in shaping our cities. The pandemic and its consequences have once again highlighted how important it is that we set the right course for the future - for people's quality of life, for coexistence in our society, for economic diversity and for the quality of our built environment. The German Urban Design Award honours the design of the projects as well as their contribution to a lively, diverse future for our cities. With our support, we want to strengthen the opportunities associated with the German Urban Design Award and promote building culture - the quality of our built environment - in Germany."
The results of the competition and details of the winners, the awarded and commended projects as well as the complete jury assessments can be found at www.staedtebaupreis.de.

A documentation of the German Urban Design Award 2020 will be published in the series "STADT BAUEN" by Wasmuth Verlag, probably in late autumn 2021.

The jury for the German Urban Design Award 2020 consisted of:
- Jury Chair Prof. Dr. Christina Simon-Philipp, Stuttgart University of Applied Sciences
- Prof. Undine Giseke, Technical University Berlin
- Prof. Dr. Markus Harzenetter, State Office for Monument Preservation Hesse, Wiesbaden
- Dr. Stefan Krämer, Wüstenrot Foundation, Ludwigsburg
- Prof. Dr. (Univ. Florence) Elisabeth Merk, President DASL, Munich
- Dipl.-Ing. Jórunn Ragnarsdóttir, LRO Lederer Ragnarsdóttir Oei, Stuttgart
- Dipl.-Ing. Verena Schmidt, Teleinternetcafe Architecture and Urbanism, Berlin
- Permanent guest for the Scientific Advisory Board Prof. Dr.-Ing. Werner Durth, Darmstadt

The results in detail
The jury reviewed and evaluated 139 projects, 58 of which received a special prize. Particularly noteworthy in the anniversary year 2020 was the exceptionally high quality of the entries submitted. After narrowing down the "shortlist" to 35 projects, these were each visited on site by a jury member between the beginning of December 2020 and the end of January 2021. The responsible actors of the projects were interviewed by zoom or outside. Despite the difficult conditions caused by the pandemic, the jury was able to get to know the projects very well.
From the "shortlist", the jury awarded one project the urban development prize and one the special prize, six projects (including two in the special prize) received an award and eight projects were awarded a commendation.
German Urban Development Award 2020

Laureate
Berlin| Quarter at the former flower market

Award
Bremen | Waller Sand
Heilbronn | Neckarbogen urban district - First building block of a new urban landscape
Regenburg | Jewish Community Center with Synagogue
Tirschenreuth | Place of learning - revitalization of the historic Fronfeste

Commendations
Anklam | Hanseatic City of Anklam- Return to the vertical city
Castle | City Landscape Castle
Frankfurt am Main | Riederwald-Siedlung, Friedrich-List-Strasse
Maitenbeth | Maitenbeth Town Hall
Munich | City Quarter on Leopoldstrasse

Special Award 2020 "Urban Design Revisited: Prizes - Practice - Perspectives"

Laureate
Tübingen, 2001| Urban development area Stuttgarter Straße, French Quarter

Award
Hochheim am Main, 1983 | Planning consultation and initiative planning for the regeneration of the old town as well as renewal measures realized so far
Cologne, 1982 | Replacement housing and block redevelopment on the site of the former Stollwerck chocolate factory in the Severinsviertel redevelopment area

Commendations
Munich, 2008 | Jewish Center
Ulm, 2006 | New Centre Ulm - Urban Redevelopment in the Citizens' Discourse

Link
https://staedtebaupreis.de/

Source: DASL-PM of 23.4.2021