NEB Prizes 2021: All Applications

“Finally, we are meeting again in the central square – and not only in the cemetery”, said an old woman at the opening ceremony. For many years the small Austrian village seemed to be slowly dying. More and more disused buildings were emerging in the centre and to satisfy their daily needs its ageing inhabitants had no alternative but to drive to other places. An innovative combination of an architectural competition with a participatory process brought the empty, voiceless place back to life.

The new headquarters building was constructed with innovative technologies for heating and cooling the office, showroom and storage areas as a lighthouse project for the whole industry. The use of a geothermal probe field for heating the building by means of optimally dimensioned brine/water heat pumps and for passive cooling enables extremely low energy costs. A photovoltaic system covers the electricity demand for the building services and ensures the CO2-free operation of the plant.

In context of the ongoing discussion on how to reduce production and the ecological footprint in the construction industry, this project is focused on unfinished buildings as an existing potential and yet an unutilized resource. The concept revolves around ways of bringing uncompleted structures to benefit society. Based on the principles of circular economy and visions for sustainable living, a set of scenarios is offered for the inclusion of these sites within the surrounding environment.

El Arce Imaginario is a registered handmade workshop where objects are made from broken skateboards to give them a new life. Principally objects made for the home (bowls, cutting boards, lamps, spoons, honeyjars...) from different types of natural wood. A large part of this wood comes from trees that fell in a storm, and also PEFC certified pine to make small furniture and childrens toys. The skateboards are collected trading a keychain for each one, to people who want to get rid of them. 

The Treetop Walk of Serralves Park, in Porto, offers an innovative way to enjoy this unique natural heritage, promoting awareness of nature conservation, developing educational programmes and scientific research – in particular, related to the carbon cycle and climate change – and hosting artistic events. It is a beautiful example of sustainable contemporary architecture!

 We are looking for innovative intervention/housing solutions that are designed for temporary emergency needs but meet high standards of aesthetics and sustainability. These include modular solutions for dynamic ecosystems, such as residential houses with a low environmental footprint and a sense of beauty.

More than 690 000 floor square meters of buildings are demolished in Finland each year. Reusing the demolished concrete building elements reduces the life cycle carbon emissions by 93–97% when compared to newly produced elements. Demolished building stock has great potential for reuse and upcycling as a part of spacious, spatially flexible and sustainable future loft housing. Upcycled Loft is a new vision on urban housing acknowledging the challenges for future dwelling and climate goals.

Each year, West Creative Industries organises student challenges in three cities, called "EXPE" (for "experience"). EXPE create a space conducive to the design and evaluation of the user experience, by mixing the skills of students in digital sciences, creation and human and social sciences to design original experiences adapted to users. They work for several months on concrete subjects, supported by socio-economic actors, from ideation to the prototyping of a testable solution.

The project to transform the avenue along 6 km aims to turn it from an urban motorway into a city civic axis of reference, a new green avenue where children leisure spaces and street furniture invite citizens to enjoy it and not perceive it as a barrier that divides neighbourhoods. Meridiana is becoming the example of how Barcelona wants big avenues to be, and at current time the 1^st km is already transformed, the 2^nd one is now being transformed and the rest are being projected.

The project addresses questions of privatization and individualization of urban sprawl in rural areas in Poland. The idea is to develop a modular building system, allowing for the creation of a common space, located on the border, between neighbors. It unlocks the fences, and thus social relations, currently closed in contemporary gated society. This solution promotes togetherness and enables communities to be more environmentally and economically resilient.