On 22 October 2020, as part of the VII Arquia/Next Festival, the Arquia Foundation held the 21st edition of its annual scholarship award ceremony. This time, it was held online through the platform designed by Space Popular, which was inspired by the city of Barcelona. Before the ceremony, the corporate round table with Iñaqui Carnicero, Head of the Directorate-General for Urban Agenda and Architecture of the Spanish Ministry of Transport, Mobility and Urban Agenda, was held. At the ceremony, the work of the most promising Spanish students and young architects was recognised, and 35 scholarships for internships in European architecture studios and other destinations, as well as a research scholarship in New York, were awarded. The digital platform, which can still be visited in the coming months, had a hall dedicated to the awarded entries of the 2021 scholarship contest.
The festival included an extensive programme of debates, conversations and presentations with the selected studios from the Arquia/Next programme, as well as other guests such as Peter Cook, Carme Pinós and Anupama Kundoo.
The Indian architect with a studio in Berlin, Anupama Kundoo, a jury member for the 2020 edition of the scholarship contest, introduced her most recent work and the recently opened exhibition of the same name at the Louisiana Museum of Modern Art of Copenhagen at the Taking Time conference. On the other hand, Carme Pinós, the new jury of the scholarship contest for its next 2021 edition, introduced the topic of the contest under the motto Live and Coexist. Rethinking the city. Alternatives to the Cerdà block, or not.
Anupama Kundoo (Pune, India 1967) is an internationally recognised architect whose experimental work with materials and their impact on the environment has been internationally recognised. She is one of the most outstanding exponents of a new generation of architects from peripheral countries concerned with solutions that improve the lives of the majority and not of minorities.
She founded her studio in 1990 in Auroville, India. Her work has focused since its inception on researching materials and experimenting in order to produce architecture with low environmental impact and appropriate to the socio-economic context. An innovative approach to architecture, based on exhaustive research and experimentation when developing building technologies and integrating energy and water efficiency solutions into prototype buildings that are environmentally and socio-economically friendly.
Carme Pinós (Barcelona, 1954), graduate in architecture and urbanism from the ETSA in Barcelona. She founded a studio together with Enric Miralles with which she achieved international recognition through projects such as the Igualada Cemetery Park. In 1991, she established her own architecture studio, tackling a wide range of projects from urban reforms and public works to furniture design. Her risky attitude and constant research has earned her recognition throughout the world, carrying the name of Catalan architecture in Europe and the American continent.
Among her recent projects, we can highlight the set in the historic centre of Barcelona that includes the la Gardunya Square, the Escola Massana and the back facade of La Boqueria Market; the Departments Building in WU Campus in Vienna, the Regional Office in Tortosa and the Cube I and Cube II Office Towers in Guadalajara.
Live and Coexist. Rethinking the city. Alternatives to the Cerdà block, or not.
Coronavirus has led us to discover things that, I hope, we won't forget. One of them is the possibility of remote work which, I suppose, will be combined with on-site work in the future. Another is that many people have discovered the true meaning of neighbourhood: neighbours have seen and recognised each other while clapping on the balconies or standing in line at the local shops every day. Neighbourhoods have had neighbours and not just occupants.
My proposal is to rethink the city, to rethink housing. I want candidates to work without ordinances, just with the common sense and responsibility necessary when creating connected and coexisting spaces - as well as thinking about the environment.
I have chosen an area influenced by the Cerdà plot but with an opportunity for alternatives.
The area is large enough and well connected, so the city can be rethought, both on a programme level and regarding its volumetric design and connections.
It is not only a reflection on the urban plot, but also an architectural work. The contestant must think about the type of housing and business, as well as public areas both open and closed.
A minimum of 70,000 m2 built is requested, leaving the contestant to reflect on the degree of density and its relation to the programme.
Don't forget it is about reflecting on the city and not about designing some buildings, although contestants are free to reach the architectural definition they consider necessary to explain their proposal.
PLOT:
4 blocks between C/ Pere IV and C/Fluvià in the west and C/ Selva de Mar and C/ Venezuela in the east. It is a theoretical project, so it will be considered that there are no buildings that should be preserved in the plot.
REQUIRED DOCUMENTS:
-graphic documentation of the proposal at draft level in A3 format.
-explanatory report with schemes and reflections in A4 format.
A clearly presented unique and accurate thought will be more favourably assessed that a significant amount of information.
Carme Pinós, 2020
