05 May 2023
The AHI European Award -Architectural Heritage Intervention-, a biennial competition organized jointly with the COAC, has closed registration for its sixth edition with a total of 241 projects presented, 55% of which correspond to participants who have registered for the first time. This confirms the growing interest in the event throughout Europe and its popularity.
This year, the number of nations represented has increased to 28. Liechtenstein is making its debut, while Austrian participation has tripled and Hungarian participation has doubled. Countries such as the United Kingdom also continue to increase their participation, while Bulgaria, Cyprus, Denmark and Poland, which had not participated in the previous edition, are also making a reappearance. Spain continues to be the country with the greatest level of participation, with a significant increase in projects located in the Balearic Islands. Nonetheless, the growth trend in European participation continues, and it is now nearly equal to that of Spain.
This year's participation rates confirm that last year's edition, conducted in the midst of the pandemic, was unusual in terms of the number of applications, since they are comparable to those of 2019. Intervention in Built Heritage is once again the category with the most participating initiatives, accounting for 72 % of the total. The Outdoor Spaces and Dissemination categories have remained stable over the years, although on this occasion there has been a decrease in the number of European projects in outdoor spaces. With regards client type, approximately 65% of the submitted projects were commissioned by public sector clients.
The international jury will now select shortlisted entries, finalists and winners in each of the contest’s four categories: Built Heritage, Outdoor Spaces, Planning and Dissemination. The panel comprises architects and industry professionals with extensive experience and expertise. In the Built Heritage category, the jury is made up of the architects Dikkie Scipio and Susana Valbuena, and architect Kimmo Lintula. In the Outdoor Spaces category, architects Chris Rankin and Pasqual Herrero, as well as architect Maria Viñé. In the Planning category, the jury is composed of architects Sara Bartomeus and Maria Chiara Tosi, as well as architect Carlo Atzeni. Finally, in the Dissemination category are architects Devi Kituashvili and Nicola Regusci, and architect Verena von Beckerath.
Those responsible for awarding the New European Bauhaus (NEB) Special Mention are the directors of the Award, the architects Ramon Calonge, Oriol Cusidó, Marc Manzano and Jordi Portal, together with the MEP Marcos Ros. The jury for the Special Mention for Restoration is also made up of the directors of the Award, together with architect Pedro Rodríguez Cantalapiedra.
The decision of the 6th edition will be announced on June 1st at a ceremony to be held in the Pau Gil pavilion of the Hospital de Sant Pau art noveau site in Barcelona.