22.10.2024

Rosa Barba Prize 2023: Winning project

Building design

The Tangshan Quarry Park in Nanjing by Z+T Studio receives the Rosa Barba Prize 2023. photo: Hai Zhang

Z+T Studio’s Tangshan Quarry Park in Nanjing has beaten ten other finalists to win the Rosa Barba Casanovas International Landscape Architecture Prize 2023. The prize was awarded by a jury at the 12th International Landscape Biennial in Barcelona.

Z+T Studio’s Tangshan Quarry Park in Nanjing has beaten ten other finalists to win the Rosa Barba Casanovas International Landscape Architecture Prize 2023 – or Rosa Barba Prize for short. The prize was awarded by a jury at the 12th International Landscape Biennial in Barcelona.

Spread across five continents and ten countries, the finalists of the Rosa Barbar Prize 2023 showcased a wide range of landscape architecture approaches from around the globe. Tangshan Quarry Park stood out with its special narrative on the relationship between nature, humans and non-humans. In addition to the Tangshan Quarry Park, other projects also received awards. Three projects received recognition for their promising approaches: the Prado District of Medejean project in Medellín (Colombia) by Edgar Mazo, Hope in Cape Town (South Africa) by Tarna Klitzner Landscape Architect and West Midlands National Park near Birmingham (England) by Kathryn Moore. The Audience Award went to the park in the Prado district of Medellín by Edgar Mazo and was thus awarded twice.

Z+T Studio transformed a disused quarry into a public park. The Longquan quarry, located 30 kilometers east of Nanjing, was in operation from 1990 to 2004. In 15 years, four large craters were created on the southern side of Tangshan Mountain. The rock faces have height differences of 50 to 250 meters. These were stabilized and the quarry was subsequently made accessible to visitors. The mining history of the site is integrated into the new park’s educational program. Visitors can experience the negative effects of mining through educational elements.

The project covers an area of 40 hectares and consists of four large craters. One crater is used as a spa for a hotel, another for camping and music festivals and the two remaining craters are part of the park. The park is criss-crossed by footpaths and viewing points. The design also includes a meadow, a playground and a lake.

A large part of the project was concerned with increasing the biodiversity that has been lost due to mining. It was important to the authors that users of the park could follow and experience the recovery of the natural area. According to the planning team, the ecological condition of the former quarry has improved significantly since the park was completed in 2019.

Z+T Studio succeeds in translating a well thought-out concept into a poetic, species-rich and educational landscape architecture project, according to the jury of the Rosa Barbar Prize 2023. Human and non-human actors are taken into account. Dynamic processes are uncovered and environmental and social ecology are integrated into the project. The social significance of the project was particularly important to the jury. It had demonstrable potential for positive social change and benefits for different sections of the population. In addition, the regeneration and reclamation of the natural area and the cooperative approach were particularly praised.

The jury for this year’s twelfth Landscape Biennial in Barcelona was made up of landscape architect Martha Fajardo, architect and researcher Julio Gaeta, IFLA President Bruno Marques, landscape architect Kotchakorn Voraakhom and Harvard Professor Gareth Doherty.

225 international projects were submitted. Of these, eleven finalists were selected and presented on the first day of the Biennial at the Palau de la Música Catalana in Barcelona. The winning projects were announced on the last day of the Biennial. The Rosa Barba Prize is endowed with 15,000 dollars and is awarded to a project built in the five years prior to the call for entries. The winning projects and finalists will be published in the Biennale’s book catalog. The Biennial is organized by the Collegi d’Arquitectes de Catalunya (COAC) and the Universitat Politècnica de Catalunya (UPC).

The Rosa Barba Prize 2023 was awarded at the twelfth edition of the Landscape Biennial in Barcelona. Read here what the biennial could do even better next time.

28.12.2024

Event

Planning in September: all news

Building design

Do you sometimes lack an overview? That happens to us too. That’s why you’ll find news, discussions and planning projects well organized here. September 2022 in retrospect.

Let’s start with some good news: in September 2022, the bdla published a Pixi book on landscape architecture entitled “Landscape architect Lena plans a park for everyone”. The 24-page book focuses on the profession of landscape architect.

Events for planning

In September, the Biennale of Urban Landscape was also held for the first time at the Gelsenkirchen Science Park. Over the course of two weeks, various stakeholders interested in the future of the urban landscape in the Ruhr metropolis came together. The special thing about it: The IBA Emscher Park started at the same location over 30 years ago.

The IAA will take place again in Munich in September 2023. Since 2021, the former motor show has presented itself as a major mobility event. However, the new trade fair concept has not only been met with praise. Find out more about the discussions surrounding the IAA 2023 here.

Also interesting: The bdla is organizing two interesting events at the beginning of October. The bdla Designer Days in Berlin and the Sustainability and Climate Adaptation symposium.

Park(ing) Day conquered public parking spaces in German cities in September. The annual event aims to draw citizens’ attention to the relationship between living space for people and parking spaces.

Occupy parking spaces, create seating. In Melbourne, researchers at RMIT University have developed a non-commercial parklet. It bears the name “playful parklet”.

Projects and competitions

A special competition: the surroundings of Notre Dame are to be redesigned. Two years after the fire at the famous cathedral, the city of Paris launched a competition. Bureau Bas Smets from Brussels, together with other planning offices, won over the jury.

The Calder Gardens is an exciting project in the making. Herzog & de Meuro and Piet Oudolf are planning the gallery and garden for the works of artist Alexaner Calder.

Energy crisis: what is the status of renewables?

Also interesting: hydropower is valued as a renewable energy source. At the same time, there is also criticism of the consequences that hydropower plants entail. Find out more about the pros and cons here.

Good news in the face of the energy crisis: more solar power was produced in the EU this summer than in any summer before. 99.4 terawatt hours were produced between May and August 2022, according to calculations by the think tank Ember City Climate.

A little off the beaten track

With Build the Change, the LEGO company wants to get children excited about sustainable construction and urban planning. Find out more about LEGO’s sustainability initiatives here.

Also: The latest G+L about lighting design is available here.

08.01.2025

Design

Contrasts made from recycled natural stone

Building design

Italian designer Moreno Ratti wants to set an example against the waste of natural resources. That is why he uses natural stone waste to create new objects. His “Contrasti” series is made from recycled marble. The bowls and vases in the “Contrasti” series each consist of two volumes: a rectangular block and a round element. The designer thus plays with contrasting […]

Italian designer Moreno Ratti wants to set an example against the waste of natural resources. That is why he uses natural stone waste to create new objects. His “Contrasti” series is made from recycled marble.

The bowls and vases in the “Contrasti” series each consist of two volumes: a rectangular block and a round element. The designer thus plays with opposing shapes – contrasts, as the Italian title translates.

One half of each object is finished; only the edges of the other are cut. In order to create a visual unity, the surfaces are treated uniformly.

Ratti cooperates with the Italian company Stonethica. The company recycles natural stone to produce new raw materials. These are slabs of marble slips from the Carrara region. According to the company, the elements are glued together with non-toxic resin.

Moreno Ratti explains: “The result of Stonethica’s ecological production cycle is the creation of a homogeneous material. The layered structure results from the combination and overlapping of stone slabs.”